Dallas Cowboys And Buffalo Bills Battle For Pride As Season Nears End

By Shawn S. Lealos

The slim hopes that the Dallas Cowboys had for a postseason playoff spot died on Saturday night when they lost to the New York Jets. They are now mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and this week they play the Jets divisional rivals, the Buffalo Bills; a team that also found themselves out of the playoffs after losing back-to-back games to NFC East teams. Here is a look at the Bills heading into their game with the Dallas Cowboys.

Season Record

Heading into Week 14, the Buffalo Bills were still dreaming of the playoffs. They sat at 6-6 and were eyeing a possible Wild Card spot. They then started a three game set of games with NFC East teams and things looked bright. The NFC East was the worst division in the NFL and not one team in the division had a winning record. The Bills then dropped games to the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins and at 6-8, found themselves out of playoff contention.

Buffalo Bills on Offense

When the season opened, Rex Ryan made a quick and decisive decision. He chose to start Tyrod Taylor at quarterback over former starter E.J. Manuel and veteran Matt Cassel. Taylor has proved Ryan smart in making the decision. Manuel was shaky at best in his tenure as the starter and this was a sign that Ryan was making the Bills into his team. Taylor has a very impressive 101.8 rating with 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions on the season. Three of those interceptions came in one game and he only had two the rest of the season.

However, for this game, the offense is missing some key weapons against Dallas. Receiver Robert Woods is out with a severe groin injury and starting running back LeSean McCoy has a torn MCL. Taylor still has his number one receiver with 44 receptions and 827 yards, to go along with an impressive nine touchdown receptions. However, Woods was the leader on the team in targets and with Percy Harvin on the IR, Chris Hogan will have to step up.

At running back, McCoy is a tough loss, as he has dominated the Cowboys over the years; but it is not as tough of a break. Karlos Williams is there to step in and has proven to be a great starting running back in the NFL. He has two 100 yard rushing games this season and is averaging six yards a carry. He also has seven touchdowns, five on the ground and two through the air. With the wide receiver corps banged up, the Bills will want to run the ball against a solid Cowboys run defense.

Buffalo Bills on Defense

When talking about a Rex Ryan football team, the first thing that comes to mind is defense. His father, Buddy Ryan, coached one of the greatest defenses in NFL history with the 1985 Chicago Bears. With the New York Jets, Ryan's defense ranked number one in 2009, in the top five the next two years, and then went 10, 11 and six his final three years there. Ryan's defense always delivered. In his first season in Buffalo, his defense ranks a very low 21st. Part of that has to do with players not buying into his system.

Defensive superstar Mario Williams came out after the Bills' loss on Sunday and said that he was disappointed in the defense and the substitutions that the team ran. Interestingly, Williams also said that, if the team was winning, he wouldn't complain. That is a problem though, when a team leader starts to call out his coaches publicly. Williams has single digit sacks for the first time since joining Buffalo in 2012. He also has only 17 tackles on the season, a career low for a full season.

Williams complaints make sense when the numbers are revealed. The Bills rank 30th in the NFL in total sacks, proving they can't get to the quarterback this year. Buffalo also ranks 10th in the NFL in turnover ratio. They have 13 interceptions on the season and only seven fumble recoveries.

Buffalo Bills' Players to Watch

Sammy Watkins: The Dallas Cowboys should keep this game close, as they have almost all their games this season. However, eight times this season, Dallas has blown a lead in the fourth quarter, usually to a big pass and run. That makes Sammy Watkins the man who could torch the Cowboys suspect secondary in this game.

Preston Brown: Two Bills' defensive players have over 100 tackles. One of them are safety Corey Graham, but it is the second player that is just as dangerous. Brown has 109 tackles on the season and has two interceptions and one fumble recovery. He also has four passes defensed and a touchdown on defense. The way the Cowboys are turning over the ball, this is the player who could beat them.

Outlook

The Dallas Cowboys actually have a chance to win this game. The Cowboys defense is best against the run and has only given up a huge performance to one running back this season. However, the Bills are using their backup, albeit talented backup. However, the way to beat Dallas is through the air and the Bills have only one wide receiver that can threaten the Cowboys defense. The big question is whether or not the Bills defense can stop complaining long enough to shake up Kellen Moore in his first ever NFL start. Buffalo should win this game, but Dallas has a great chance to keep it close and win a low scoring affair.

Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.