There’s a good chance that if you watched the Buffalo Bills-Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving that you took a moment from your plate and yelled at the television.
And it didn’t matter if you were a Bills fan, Cowboys fan, a general football of football, or just needed a distraction from the inlaws. Your interest peaked just after the two-minute warning in the first half.
The Bills were driving into Cowboys’ territory. With the score tied at seven, Buffalo could take a lead into halftime with some clever play-calling and execution. The Bills defense shut down the Cowboys after the initial drive of the game, so Buffalo could be aggressive with their playcalling.
On fourth down at Dallas’ 30-yard-line, the Bills passed on a second field goal attempt which would have been a long 48-yard attempt, as their first one was unsuccessful. Quarterback Josh Allen fumbled the snap and jumped Superman-style over the defensive line to secure the first down.
However, this play only set up the play of the season for the Bills.
No one saw the Thanksgiving Special coming. 😏#BUFvsDAL | #GoBills pic.twitter.com/66VneXFKna
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 29, 2019
Rather than run the clock down to ensure that they would have the lead going into halftime, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll took the bull by the horns (purposeful Cowboy comparison) and threw caution into the wind.
Daboll called what is affectionately being called the Thanksgiving Special, culminating with a pass and the final lead change of the game.
Allen handed off to Andre Roberts, who was already in motion. The wideout then pitched to John Brown, who was returning across the field on a reverse. Brown then delivered a perfect pass to Devin Singletary, who ran a wheel route and was lost among the trickery of the play.
While the play was exciting, it’s the greater symbolism of the call that makes it important. Buffalo stepped on the throat of an opponent when they had the chance. This wasn’t done against a team working toward a top-ten draft pick, this occurred against the NFC East divisional leaders in front of a nationally-televised audience.
The Bills, at this moment, decided to announce the NFL-viewing audience that the team should be taken seriously.
The ball traveled through several players whom the Sean McDermott-Brandon Beane regime brought to the team in various capacities.
From the snap of Mitch Morse, brought to Buffalo to help improve a struggling offensive line; to Josh Allen, drafted to give the Bills a legitimate game-breaking quarterback; to Andre Roberts, making his way to Western New York to help a pitiful special teams unit; to John Brown, signed to give Allen a real weapon in the passing game; to Devin Singletary, an overachieving diminutive running back who simply gets the job done and support the running game; the play encapsulated so much about the Bills process over the past two-and-a-half years in an eight-second play.
That play essentially crushed the spirit of Cowboys Nation while simultaneously vaulting the Bills into the national spotlight.
It’s quite a place to be for Buffalo as they make their push into the playoff run. This drive and play epitomize the team’s overachieving status this year.
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