Bills Central

Bills Stun Cowboys On Thanksgiving Day With 26-15 Win

Entire offense pitches in while Buffalo's defense forces multiple turnovers in Dallas

Shannon Shepherd

First Quarter: Dallas Eats Early

A frustrated Dallas offense, with a head coach on the hot seat, wasted no time getting to work against Buffalo.

The Cowboys, who failed reach the endzone against New England on Sunday, drove 75 yards on their first possession. Dak Prescott found a wide open Jason Witten who trotted into the endzone for eight yards and a 7-0 lead. It was Witten's 71st career touchdown.

The Buffalo offense didn't find momentum til their second drive.

Facing a third down on the Bills own two yard line, Josh Allen fired a pass from the Buffalo endzone to Cole Beasley for 29 yards. 

It was their lone highlight of a first quarter that ended with Dallas holding onto their 7-0 lead. Ezekiel Elliott shined in the frame with 56 yards rushing.

Second Quarter: Beasley's Back, Buffalo's Defense Gets Two Servings

Everything changed in the second quarter.

The Bills first scoring drive of the game started with a 14 yard John Brown reception followed by a 26 yard Devin Singletary run.

No surprise at all, it was all capped off by Beasley scoring for the Bills in his previous team's stadium. The 25 yard touchdown marks Beasley's fifth score of the season, matching his career best.

The Buffalo defense got in on the action on the very next drive. Defensive tackle Star Lotulelei came up with an interception on Prescott putting the Bills at the Dallas 29 yard line. 

The Bills offense went three and out and making things uglier, Stephen Hauschka missed a 50 yard field goal.

But, the Bills defense would give their offense yet another chance.

With 3:30 remaining in the half, rookie Ed Oliver sacked and forced a fumble on Prescott which was recovered by Trent Murphy.

This time the Buffalo offense got the job done - in a surprising way.

Brian Daboll flipped to the "trick plays" section of the Bills playbook. A reverse play was handed off to Brown, yes...the wide receiver, who sailed a touchdown pass to Singletary. The 28 yard strike stunned the Dallas crowd.

Hauschka's kicking woe's continued though, as he missed the extra point.

Before the half, Dallas' kicker Brett Maher also missed a field goal, which ended up being tipped by Lotulelei, to close out a wild first half, with Buffalo leading 13-7.

Third Quarter: Allen Takes The...Pie

The Bills started the half with the ball and finally were able to capitalize on the kicking game. This time Hauschka got lucky, doinking a 41 yard field goal off the right upright and over the crossbar to put the Bills ahead 16-7.

In response, the Cowboys kicking game was not able to rebound. Following a 46 yard drive, Maher missed from 47 yards.

After the miss, Allen strung together a drive that included four straight completions and ended with his most impressive move of the day - scrambling for a 15 yard carry into the endzone. It's Allen's eighth rushing touchdown of the season, a category where he leads all quarterbacks. Buffalo led 23-7.

Dallas would put together their longest drive since the opening score - 69 yards - and opt to go for it on 4th and goal from the six yard line. Prescott failed to find Elliott and the Cowboys turned the ball over with seconds left in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter: Chewing Up Clock

The offense didn't miss a beat in the final frame. 

Off the turnover on downs, they chewed up seven minutes of playing time and drove 86 yards. Hauschka made his second field goal, this time good from 26 yards, and the Bills took a 26-7 lead.

The Cowboys would make things interesting with four minutes to play. Prescott found Ventell Bryant for a 15 yard touchdown and Witten was successful on the two-point conversion. The score narrowed the Bills lead to 26-15.

The Bills would get the ball back with four minutes left and milk every second out of the clock. Facing fourth and 1 at the two minute warning, Allen dove forward for a first down that would seal the 26-15 Buffalo victory.

Allen finished the game with 231 yards passing and a touchdown in addition to a rushing score. Cole Beasley was his top rated target with 110 yards receiving.

You can see the entire box score, here.

With the win, the Bills improve to 9-3, continuing to match their best start since the 1996 season. They are now 5-1 on the road for the first time since the 1960s. Next, the host the Baltimore Ravens on December 8th.

Published
Shannon Shepherd
SHANNON SHEPHERD

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