Dallascowboys.com
The Dallas Cowboys (6-6) were beat 26-15 by the Buffalo Bills (9-3) on Thanksgiving Day.
Recap
For the first time in five weeks, the Cowboys quickly scored first on their opening possession that gave them an early 7-0 lead. The problem was that drive was the only good thing they did on offense. They didn't score again until late in the 4th quarter when the game was out of reach.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was 32/49 for 355 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 turnovers (1 interception and 1 fumble). Yes, when you look at the stat line, it looks like he had a great game but they are mostly empty numbers. Prescott connected with 8 different receivers and Amari Cooper led the team in receptions (8) and yards (85).
Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott looked like he was set for a big day after the Cowboys' first drive but ended up becoming a non-factor once Dallas started trailing by double digits. Zeke finished the game with 12 carries for 71 yards and 7 catches for 66 yards.
Dallas drops to (6-6) but stay in first place atop the NFC East because their division rival Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) lost on Sunday.
3 Things to Watch For
1.Ezekiel Elliott (Running Back): Zeke had a decent game this past week but will have to be better to carry his team to a victory. He will be going against another top 10 defense and will have Khalil Mack who is one of the best players in the NFL across from him.
2.Cowboys Defense (All): Look for the defense to have a big day. The Bears offense is average to below average and their quarterback has a tendency to turn the ball over. I can see multiple players recording a sack.
3.Brett Maher (Kicker): 2nd year kicker has not had the best season so far and needs to start making his field goal attempts. He missed 2 last week that would have helped Dallas stay in the game. Hopefully he can get his game back on track.
Coming Up
The Dallas Cowboys (6-6) will be on the road taking on the Chicago Bears (6-6) on Thursday night in Chicago, Illinois at Soldier Field. Kickoff is set at 7:20 pm Central time. The Cowboys still have not beat a team with a winning record this year, luckily the Bears area .500 team and Dallas should be able to come away with a win. The Cowboys should have a good mix of both run and pass plays that will allow their athletes to make big plays.
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)
Bears: Allen Robinson (WR), David Montgomery (RB)
For you gamblers out there, the Cowboys are currently -3 and the over/under is 42.5.I love Dallas this week. I would definitely take them at -3. I believe their #1 offense will overcome a terrible Chicago offense.
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Yusei Kikuchi struck out 12 in seven innings to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.
Kikuchi (7-9) improved to 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA since he was acquired by Houston a day before the trade deadline. He gave up five hits, only allowing Kansas City a run on a fielder’s choice grounder that followed two singles in the seventh. He threw 101 pitches, including 75 for strikes and walked none.
Kikuchi had no run support until the Astros chased Royals starter Cole Ragans (10-9) in a five-run sixth inning. Yainer Diaz hit a two-run single and Jeremy Peña hit a two-run truple during the inning, before Peña scored on a wild pitch.
Ragans looked dominant for much of the first five innings, allowing just one hit. At one point, he matched a Royals franchise record with eight consecutive strikeouts. The record was previously set by Blake Stein in 2001 at Milwaukee.
Ragans finished with 10 strikeouts, pushing his season total to 197, which is the most by a Royals lefty in a single season.
Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season.
Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. hit his 29th home run of the season in the eighth inning off reliever Hector Neris, who the Astros signed on Aug. 24 after he was released by the Cubs on Aug. 20.
Witt, who leads the major leagues in hits, batting average and runs, had previously had a rough time in Houston, going 0 for 11 this series. He entered Saturday 0 for 19 in his home state of Texas.
Later in the eighth, Royals right fielder Garrett Hampson robbed Alvarez of what would have been his 29th homer of the season. Hampson leaped at the wall and had to fully extend his left arm well above the yellow home run line to bring it back. Alvarez wore a large grin as he trotted back to the dugout.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: 3B Alex Bregman is “still sore” but was “much better” as he missed Saturday’s game with elbow soreness that has sidelined him for several games in recent weeks.
UP NEXT
Royals RHP Alec Marsh (7-7, 4.67 ERA) will start against Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (9-6, 3.14) as Houston goes for a four-game sweep on Sunday.