ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Bills offense found its legs just in time to make a playoff push.
Josh Allen played happy spectator by standing back and watching James Cook run left, right and up the middle as Buffalo escaped with a 31-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
“I felt like a kid who didn’t do anything on a class project but got an A,” Allen said after throwing for just 94 yards, with one passing touchdown and one rushing. “But I’ll do this 10 times out of 10, man. Like, keep going.”
A matchup between two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL — Allen entered the week with 35 total touchdowns, and Dak Prescott was the first to pass TDs with 28 — turned into a Bills scramble. Cook finished with 179 yards rushing and 221 yards from scrimmage, both career bests, while scoring on an 18-yard run and a 24-yard run as the Cowboys’ five-game winning streak was snapped.
“I let it all blow over when I had the opportunity,” said Cook, a second-year player who is the younger brother of New York Jets running back Dalvin Cook. “They were opening it up and I was hitting it. Finding that rhythm.
Political cartoon
The Bills (8-6) have won back-to-back games for the first time since their three-game winning streak ended on Oct. 1, and have made the AFC playoffs, one game ahead of Denver and Pittsburgh.
The Cowboys (10-4) clinched their third straight playoff berth before kickoff thanks to losses to Green Bay and Atlanta on Sunday and Detroit’s win over Denver on Saturday. But nothing else went well for Dallas, which fell one game behind San Francisco, the best team in the NFC.
Buffalo rushed for 266 yards, held the ball 10 minutes longer than Dallas and racked up 28 first downs to the Cowboys’ 14.
The NFL’s highest-scoring offense was limited to a field goal in 57 minutes. Dallas is 7-0 at home, outscoring opponents 279-108, but drops to 3-4 on the road, where they are outscored 156-152.
“It’s a gap. That’s part of my message. We’re playing well at home, and there’s a pretty big gap in our road games,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “We realize that. “We have a long flight home to keep talking about and thinking about.”
Dallas, after beating Philadelphia 33-13, plays two of its last three games on the road.
The Bills played a keep-away game by running the ball in the steady rain, stumbling a Cowboys offense that finished with a season-low 195 yards.
“They outgained us and continued to dominate the ball, control the ball, and kill the clock. We didn’t convert on our third downs, which is something we’ve been great at all year,” Prescott said.
“This was our way of winning games. So they beat us in the formula.”
Buffalo’s defense, depleted by injuries, missing two other regulars in edge rusher AJ Epenesa and safety Micah Hyde, had three sacks and limited Prescott to 21 of 34 passes for 134 yards with an interception. And the Cowboys’ offense, which has scored 40 or more points five times this season, was scored five times and was limited to eight first downs before getting six on its final drive.
Four of the Bills’ first five possessions lasted more than 4 minutes, 40 seconds.
Latavius Murray capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive for Buffalo with a 2-yard run. The Bills went up 14-0 on Cook’s 18-yard catch on their third drive, which was extended after Sam Williams was flagged for roughing up Bills punter Sam Martin.
The game was essentially over after the Bills’ opening drive of the third quarter, which took up 8:22 of the clock and ended with Tylee Bass nailing a 23-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 24-3 lead.
Buffalo’s top 20 rushing yards are tied for the second-most in team history, the most since 1996. Cook’s rushing total was the highest by a Bills player since Fred Jackson had 212 yards in a 2009 season-ending win over Indianapolis.
After their 20-17 victory over Kansas City, the Bills are trying to secure their fifth consecutive berth in the playoffs and remain in the competition for their fourth straight AFC East title.
“It was like all systems go today,” center Mitch Morse said. “We still have an uphill battle ahead of us, but this is a great first step.”
Cowboys: RG Zack Martin did not return after injuring his quadriceps in the first quarter. McCarthy said Martin told him he would be OK.
Bills: DT Jordan Phillips is not back after injuring his wrist.
Cowboys: At Miami next Sunday.
Bills: At Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Buffalo Bills showcased an overpowering rushing attack led by James Cook in their commanding 31-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Cook’s exceptional performance on the field not only propelled the Bills to a resounding win, but also solidified their standing as a formidable force in the league. With Cook’s dominant rushing and the team’s resounding victory, the Bills have proven themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the NFL.