With Week 15’s Sunday slate in the books, the playoff picture has gotten much clearer. Unfortunately for the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills – both losers of two-straight games – they have finally been ousted for playoff contention.
Although these two disappointing clubs are basically playing for nothing this coming Sunday, you can still expect them to play with a lot of pride even with the next season already in mind. Plus, it never hurts to have more football games to bet on, right?
Let’s take a closer look at how the Cowboys and Bills square-up below. Afterwards, check out Week 16’s more critical matchups with our previews for Patriots vs. Jets and Packers vs. Cardinals.
[sc:Football ]
Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills Preview
Where: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park
When: Sunday, December 27, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Dallas Cowboys (+6) at Buffalo Bills (-6); total: 43.0– view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the Dallas Cowboys (4-10)
At last, the Dallas Cowboys’ turbulent season is virtually over.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Without starting quarterback Tony Romo, the Cowboys are basically nothing. This wasn’t more evident than in their latest loss, a 19-16 heartbreaker against the Jets last Thursday night. In fact, the team’s QB situation just got even worse.
After two abysmal plays – an interception followed by a 19-yard sack on the ensuing drive – head coach Jason Garrett finally pulled the plug on quarterback Matt Cassel’s starting duties. In Cassel’s place, Kellen Moore played his first NFL game in four years, and also became Dallas’ fourth QB to have taken the helm this season.
Moore may have given America’s favorite team more of a spark on offense, but apparently, turnovers are still prevalent coming from Cowboys QBs this campaign. He threw three picks on the day and finished 15-of-25 through the air with just 158 yards and a lone TD pass to Dez Bryant.
What’s more perplexing about Dallas’ offensive play is how the team refuses to run the football. Darren McFadden rushed for exactly 100 yards on 16 carries on Thursday, giving him his fifth 100-yard game of the season. McFadden is rather capable of carrying his team’s offense on his back, but the Cowboys abandon the run game often and almost always resort to their less-than inspiring passing game.
Running the football should be imperative for the Cowboys to steal this coming Sunday’s game in Buffalo. And they better put up a lot more points if they want to upset the Bills, because the total has gone under in all three of the team’s games against the AFC East this season while posting a discouraging 1-2 record straight-up and 1-1-1 ATS.
Betting on the Buffalo Bills (6-8)
So much for Rex Ryan’s attempt at turning the success-starved Buffalo Bills organization around.
Buffalo’s postseason hopes were crushed emphatically on Sunday at the hands of the Washington Redskins, who won the contest (35-25) behind a five-touchdown day from Kirk Cousins, with three of those TDs coming from Washington’s first three possessions.
And with the loss, the Bills have officially missed the playoffs for the 16th-consecutive season – the longest active postseason drought in the NFL.
Ryan’s supposed defensive brilliance was nowhere to be found in this game yet again, as his team only managed to get to Washington’s Cousins just once. On the contrary, it was the Redskins D that had a much better showing by turning Buffalo’s O-line to minced meat with five sacks and six tackles for loss of their own.
It was such a pity too, because quarterback Tyrod Taylor and Sammy Watkins had great rapport that afternoon in the Bills passing game. Taylor had an error-free day with 235 yards on 16-of-25 passing, with Watkins hauling in all two of Taylor’s TD passes and finishing with 111 receiving yards on five catches.
The Bills might as well work on their aerial assault for the remainder of the season with nothing else left to play for. Especially now, since starting running back LeSean McCoy might be out for Sunday’s game against Dallas with a right knee injury. McCoy exited the Bills-‘Skins game early in the third quarter, and it’s hard to gauge if backup Mike Gilleslee’s four carries for 81 rushing yards (mostly by way of one solid 60-yard TD run) is merely a flash in the pan or not.
Yet in spite of the Bills’ inconsistent play on both sides of the ball, the total has actually gone over in four of the last five games that the team has played in Ralph Wilson Stadium. However, they only went 2-3 SU/ATS during that span.
Writer’s Prediction
Buffalo makes quick work of Dallas, 23-14.
Forget feeling sorry for the Cowboys and the Bills; create a betting account now to turn their disappointing seasons into more of your own winning predictions before the NFL’s regular season comes to a close.
