Buffalo Bills 26, Dallas Cowboys 15
1. This is it. This is the point in history in which we stop talking seriously about the 2019
Dallas Cowboys. Surprise: a team that hasn't been able to beat a single opponent with a record above .500 wasn't able to beat its
Thanksgiving opponent that arrived with a record above .500. And not only did they not beat them, they watched their opponent coast to victory in the second half.
The
Cowboys flirted with a win, scoring first before the
Bills wrested momentum away from them before halftime. From there, they put the ball in the hands of
Dak Prescott, who was forced to throw it 49 times, completing 32 of those attempts for 355 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, which is a stat line that's pretty appealing in a box score but not so much on the tape. The most glaring outcome: At the end of a 69-yard drive, the
Cowboys took a shot at the end zone in a play that initially looked like it might be a touchdown. It was overturned, and on the ensuing play -- fourth-and-goal from the Buffalo 6 -- Prescott threw a swing pass to
Ezekiel Elliott, who looked to have room to run into the end zone. The attempt went into the dirt.
That play was the 2019
Cowboys in a nutshell: Talented enough to get there, but not good enough to execute. Chalk up another loss to a team above .500.
2. Thursday's result and the fashion in which it was reached brings Jason Garrett's status into serious question. An exasperated Jerry Jones was caught on camera at multiple moments in the second half as the
Bills continued to widen the gap on the scoreboard and in the desire category, and he left his visible seat in the final minute as the
Bills kneeled out the clock. Videos surfaced on Twitter shortly thereafter of Jones and his son, Stephen, walking with stern expressions into Dallas' locker room. Another video included the muffled sound of a player on a screaming tirade from behind the closed doors of the locker room.
Things aren't looking great in Dallas, and Garrett might not survive long enough to see how it ends. You'd never guess this team is still in first place in its (bad) division.
3. OK, enough about the turmoil in Dallas. I'll be the first to admit that I never thought
Josh Allen (and his early penchant for turnovers) would pan out in the NFL, but two seasons in, he's proving me and plenty of other doubters wrong.
Allen was excellent Thursday, leading the
Bills offense on multiple scoring drives and doing it with his actions, not words. Allen's desire to win showed in a fumbled QB sneak that the QB recovered and then continued to drive his legs to fight through a defender for two yards and a first down. Allen ran in a touchdown on his own later in the game and finished with a sparkling line: 19-of-24 passing, 231 yards, one touchdown and a 120.7 passer rating.
Allen has evolved from a deep-ball chucker who was always good for a disastrous turnover or two per game to the quarterback evaluators imagined could be possible when drooling over his size and arm. He's extending plays with his feet, gradually becoming more accurate and doing so without a ton of weapons to speak of. We'll see where this road takes him, but right now, it's looking pretty good.
-- Nick Shook