COWBOYS REPORT

Cowboys come up short; Bills up next

Jason Garrett
Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys (6-5) were unable to score a touchdown for the first time all year in their 13-9 loss to the New England Patriots (10-1).

Recap

The Cowboys' No. 1 offense was shut down this past Sunday by New England's top ranked defense. Dallas was unable to cross the goal line and their best offensive players were kept in check. The Cowboys gave the ball to the Patriots twice (Interception and a blocked punt) deep in their own territory that led to 10 point deficit early in the 2nd quarter.

Quarterback Dak Prescott was 19/33 for 212 yards, 1 interception, and NO touchdowns. He was forced into having his worst performance of the year so far. Prescott was unable to connect with super star Amari Cooper who had zero catches.Receivers Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb both led the team with 4 catches each.

Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott had 21 carries for 86 yards and 4 catches for 40 yards. He was unable to make any big plays as the Cowboy offense went 2-13 on third down. With the offense unable to move Zeke was unable to carry his team to a much needed win.

Dallas falls to (6-5) but luckily they stay in first place atop the NFC East because their division rival Philadelphia Eagles (5-6) also lost.

3 Things to Watch For

1.Ezekiel Elliott (Running Back): Zeke was contained this past week, but I would look for him to have a break out game this week.He will be going against another top 3 defense but the Buffalo Bills are average against the run and strong against the pass.

2.Randall Cobb (Wide Receiver): Led the team this past week in receiving and should have another opportunity to do it again with Bills lock down cornerback Tre'Davious White shadowing Amari Cooper or Michael Gallup.

3.Jason Garrett (Head Coach): Finally looks to be on the "Hot Seat" according to owner Jerry Jones.Garrett had some very questionable play calls last week and was once again out coached. Let's see if he can figure something things out and put his best athletes in position to make big plays.

Coming Up

The Dallas Cowboys (6-5) will be at home going up against the Buffalo Bills (8-3) on Thanksgiving Day in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for Thursday at 3:30 pm Central time. The Cowboys are up against a team with a winning record and so far this year, that looks like a loss for them. Hopefully, Zeke will be able to carry the team to a win with a 20+ touch game.I can see it going either way and at least it will be a very good game.

If you have any fantasy players, the only must start players are:

Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Amari Cooper (WR), Dak Prescott (QB), Michael Gallup (WR), Randall Cobb (WR)

Bills: Josh Allen (QB), John Brown (WR), Devin Singletary (RB)

For you gamblers out there, the Cowboys are currently - 6.5 and the over/under is 45. After last week, there is no way I can lay 6.5 points. I would lean on Buffalo but I think the under is the play here.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Astros beat the Orioles, 10-7. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Jeremy Peña and Christian Walker each hit a three-run homer, and the Houston Astros outslugged the Baltimore Orioles 10-7 on Friday night.

Colton Cowser went deep for Baltimore, but the Orioles couldn’t pull this game out despite twice cutting a four-run deficit to one.

Steven Okert (2-2) got the win in relief for Houston, and the Astros — who are without injured closer Josh Hader and lefty reliever Bennett Sousa — held on. Houston signed veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel and he was with the team, but the AL West-leading Astros didn’t use him. Bryan Abreu struck out four to end the game and get his second save.

Rookie catcher Samuel Basallo, who agreed to an eight-year, $67 million contract before the game, did not start for the Orioles, but entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh and tagged out a runner at the plate the following inning.

Peña’s drive to left capped a four-run third that included two Baltimore errors. Jeremiah Jackson’s two-run double made it 4-3 in the fourth, but after Orioles starter Cade Povich (2-7) was pulled with two outs in the fifth, Yennier Cano came on and immediately gave up Walker’s homer.

The Orioles trailed 7-6 after Cowser’s solo shot in the seventh, but pinch-hitter Victor Caratini’s two-run double in the eighth made it a three-run game, and Peña’s comebacker bounced off reliever Corbin Martin and into shallow right-center field for an RBI double.

Orioles infielder Vimael Machín hit a solo homer in the eighth in his first big league plate appearance since 2022.

Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. allowed three runs in four innings after coming off the injured list (right finger blister).

Key moment

Jackson nearly made a diving catch on Caratini’s hit with two outs in the eighth, but once the ball got past him in right, two runs scored to make it 9-6.

Key stat

The Astros improved to 15-8 in games in which their opponent starts a left-handed pitcher.

Up next

Cristian Javier (1-1) starts for Houston on Saturday night against Dean Kremer (9-9) of the Orioles.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome