'Dangerous!' Jerry Jones Says Dallas Cowboys Can't Overlook Buffalo Bills, Home-Field Advantage
One would think the Dallas Cowboys would be on upset alert after a high-flying Week 14 win and a date with an elite quarterback … but they aren’t even favored.
The Cowboys will visit the Buffalo Bills on Sunday as 2.5-point underdogs. As well as Dallas has been playing – going 6-1 since the bye – it isn’t without good reason.
Bills QB Josh Allen celebrates a big play against Dallas.
© Jerome Miron, USA TODAY
Buffalo badly needs a win if it wants to avoid a do-or-die Week 18 matchup with the Miami Dolphins. At 7-6, the Bills can play themselves into the playoffs, but their backs are against the wall. Going 2-2 down the stretch likely dooms them to mediocrity in a tightly contested AFC. Going 3-1, however, gives them about a 65-percent chance.
Simply put, nobody wants to play this Buffalo team. (Though maybe right now, nobody wants to play Dallas, either.) Quarterback Josh Allen is one of the few who can go toe-for-toe with how well Dak Prescott is playing right now, and his frame makes him both hard to sack and hard to bring down in the open field. Expect to see him running away from a strong Dallas pass rush frequently on Sunday.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wasn’t shy about the challenge that lies ahead.
“They’re a dangerous team,” Jones said. “At any given time, they can be as good as anybody in the NFL, in my mind. They got the players. They’ve got the quarterback. They’re just a good team,”
Added Jones: “Of all the places that a home-field advantage is different than the normal games you play, it’s Buffalo, New York.”
Bills Mafia will do its best to will its team to the playoffs. Buffalo already has three blowout wins in front of the home fans this season.
Another matchup to watch will be on the perimeter. Dallas cornerback Stephon Gilmore has made a career out of shutting down elite receivers. He did an admirable job against Eagles receiver A.J. Brown in Week 14, but Stefon Diggs is no slouch in his own right.
“This game coming up here is as good a challenge as we could have,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. “... It’s formidable to step up there and come out with a win. So we don’t have to look any farther up the road than about five days from now.”
The Cowboys also have something to play for on Sunday – the top seed in the NFC and first place in the NFC East. Against Buffalo, Miami, the Detroit Lions, and Washington Commanders, their work is certainly cut out for them.
Kickoff for this contest is at 3:25 p.m. (CT) on FOX.
