ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five thoughts on the Buffalo Bills game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday at Highmark Stadium:
1. For all intents and purposes, the playoffs have begun for the Bills. Last week’s dramatic win at Kansas City effectively prevented elimination.
Though the same level of urgency should apply to Sunday’s game, a loss against an NFC opponent is survivable. It could be argued the more important regular-season games for the Bills are the last three that follow this one because they’re against AFC clubs, including two divisional rivals.
But a win against the Cowboys would do plenty to add to the Bills’ surging credibility as a serious postseason contender. They took a major step in that direction by beating the defending Super Bowl champions on the road last week.
The Cowboys are one of four teams with an NFL-best 10-3 record. They’ve won five games in a row and seven of their last eight. They also have a highly talented roster that arguably has better players on both lines.
If nothing else, beating the Cowboys would represent a quality W and allow the Bills to build on the solid momentum they’ve had through their last three games. Losing to them would not necessarily be overly damaging.
2. Josh Allen is steadily building a case for MVP.
The argument goes beyond the fact he leads the NFL with 35 offensive touchdowns. It’s more about the way Allen has led the Bills out of the six-game stretch that turned their season sideways and could still ultimately be something from which they aren’t able to recover soon enough to reach the playoffs.
Despite continuing to add to his giveaways, he has gotten his game back in order and has fully returned to the form necessary to carry the Bills into the postseason. Allen is seeing the field well and is showing as much composure as ever when it comes to making decisions on where and when to throw. He’s also utilizing his mobility in ways that keep opposing defenses off-balance, even when they devote a spy to him.
Above all, Allen is showing greater assertiveness when it comes to being a team leader. The words he spoke in support of Sean McDermott right after the Chiefs’ game and earlier this week were powerful. They strongly shut down the notion, mentioned in a series of online stories, that the quarterback and coach aren’t on the same page. They also made it clear McDermott’s poor decision to reference 9/11in a four-year-old speech to the team, the headline-making part of the series, had not left any lingering damage to his reputation with his players or in the organization.
Allen even took it upon himself to provide some leadership for fans.
“We’re in December,” he said. “It’s not gonna be the warmest of days slash nights. And you know what a home team and a home crowd can do to an opposing offense is what we need. We need Bills Mafia to be loud, we need Bills Mafia to show up in numbers and be ready to root us on because we absolutely need them, this game especially. Any false start, any delay of the game, even just the energy and the flow of what’s going on, we feed off of Bills Mafia. That’s going to be a huge part of how we attack and how we win, is going to be with the crowd.”
3. Dak Prescott has mostly made his MVP case. Now, he’s trying to seal the deal.
Prescott is having a career year. He leads the NFL with 28 touchdown passes. He also has reached career highs for completion percentage (69.3) and passer rating (107.5). He has two-plus TD passes in seven consecutive games, which is the longest such streak by any quarterback this season.
Prescott thrives with the help of a superb offensive line. The Bills’ pass rush will have to be at its best. That might be more difficult with A.J. Epenesa missing the game with a rib injury, though that might be offset by the strides Von Miller seems to be making in his comeback from the major knee injury he suffered last season.
“It looks like he has a good amount of time in the pocket,” defensive back Taron Johnson said of Prescott. “So, he’s very comfortable back there and just kind of reading the defense easy.”
Prescott’s favorite target is CeeDee Lamb. He has 96 receptions for 1,253 yards and eight touchdowns, all of which put him in the top five in the league.
“They move him all over,” Johnson said. “He’s a really good route-runner. Great at the point of attack, especially when it comes to catching the ball and then breaking tackles, getting yards after catch. So, make sure, even he catches the ball, just doing a good job tackling and having the safeties have an eye on him, making sure that they know where he is at all times.”
4. There will be an intriguing chess match between Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
In three games on the job, Brady has been nothing short of masterful. He has consistently gotten the best out of Allen and found ways to get double-digit players involved as pass-catchers.
Brady has made the running game a far greater priority than it was with his predecessor, Ken Dorsey, overseeing the offense. Brady understands the importance of giving the defense multiple concerns, both in terms of scheme design and play-calling. He also knows how effective it is to incorporate running backs into the passing game, taking advantage of constant coverage mismatches against bigger and slower defenders because the smaller, faster guys are occupied with the Bills’ slew of receiving talent. James Cook has 100-plus scrimmage yards in four straight games, which is tied for the second-longest active such streak in the NFL.
Brady will face one of his greater challenges against Quinn, who has been impressive in getting the Cowboys’ pass rush to consistently pressure quarterbacks and putting together a turnover-happy secondary that has overcome the season-ending injury to star cornerback Trevon Diggs. However, it’s fair to expect this will be a big game for Travon’s brother, Stefon, because of Quinn’s insistence on playing man-to-man coverage to maximize the pass rush.
5. It’s remarkable that a season that once seemed on the verge of disaster suddenly offers a great deal of promise.
The Bills no longer have the look of a team in a nosedive. They’re rebuilding their relevance, which received a major boost with the win against the Chiefs and can grow even larger with a victory against Dallas.
At 7-6, the Bills don’t look any less a contender than any of the teams ahead of them in the playoff picture. In fact, it’s fair to stay, with Allen, they look more than capable of reaching the postseason and making a deep run once in the playoffs.
With the Chargers, Patriots, and troubled Dolphins on the schedule after Dallas, the Bills’ schedule offers as reasonable a path as any team could have to put together a strong enough record to qualify for postseason play.