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Turkey wasn't the only thing that got carved on Thanksgiving Day. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills cut up the Cowboys defense Thursday for a 26-15 victory. I hope everyone ate before this game, because defeat surely left a bad taste in Cowboy's fans mouth.
The Good
Stop the presses, Amari Cooper had a catch! In all seriousness, Cooper was the lone bright spot for an otherwise abysmal Cowboys offense. He had eight catches for 85 yards on 11 targets. Good but not great numbers, but a huge upgrade over the performance he put on last week against Stehpon Gilmore and the New England Patriots.
For once the Cowboys offense did not get off to a slow start. On their opening drive, Dak Prescott played with confidence and had connections to Cooper and Ezekiel Elliot for big gains. On second and goal, Prescott was able to find a wide open Jason Witten for the first touchdown of the game. It seemed as though that was all the Cowboys could achieve on offense until garbage time in the 4th quarter.
Another good thing about this game…. The halftime show wasn't bad. Most NFL games on Thanksgiving have halftime shows that are forgettable at best. But the Cowboys brought on pop star Ellie Goulding to entertain the crowd while Jason Garrett tries to figure out how to salvage this game and his career (More on Garrett Later). Let's be honest, she put on a better show that the Cowboys offense.
The Bad
Do not let Prescott's numbers fool you. Most of his completions came in the fourth quarter with the Bills playing prevent defense. Prescott looked great in the opening drive, but afterwards looked as though he couldn't quarterback to save his life. He had one interception and one fumble before halftime. Luckily, the inception lead to a missed field goal by Steven Hauschka, but the fumble lead to a Buffalo special in which Allen handed the ball off to Andre Roberts, who gave the ball to John Brown to throw to a wide open Devin Singletary for their second touchdown of the game. Hauschka later missed the extra point, but Prescott and the offense had no answer for the Bills scores until garbage time when it was too little too late.
Speaking of bad kickers, Brett Maher was absolutely terrible. He missed both his field goal attempts and made one extra point. He missed one field goal from beyond 30 yards and one field goal from beyond 40 yards. How is it possible to play better in a bad weather game on the road than at home with perfect conditions? Maher has looked wildly inconsistent which is a common theme for the Cowboys.
Let's face it; the Cowboys don't even look like a playoff contending team. If it wasn't for the fact that they play in a bad division, the Cowboys could have been written off after their loss to the Jets. Time and time again they constantly fall under pressure, and when their games become must win games, they fold like a house of cards. Despite all of the talent this roster has, they have continued to underperform and shot themselves in the foot time and time again.
The Ugly
Coming off of a short week, players were expected to miss some time due to injuries. Leighton Vander Esh and Jeff Heath both missed this game and the absence shows. Allen and the Bill's offense essentially could do whatever they wanted to against the Cowboys. Stopping the run proved most difficult, for Singletary, Allen, and Veteran Frank Gore combined to rush for 117 yards and one touchdown by Allen.
The moment you all have been waiting for Jason Garrett has to go, period. Jerry Jones after the game said now is not the time for a coaching change, focused on getting to the Super Bowl, according to ESPN. All this does is assure Jason Garrett will at maximum last until the end of the regular season. The writing is on the wall. The Cowboys need to move on, and Jerry's clear frustrations at the game were evident that change is coming. It's only a matter of when not if anymore.
The ugliest part of the game took place after the final score. Multiple reports claimed that screaming could be heard from the Cowboys' locker room. And who was behind all of the screaming? Allegedly it was Michael Bennett trying to encourage his team, but it must have been canceled out with all of the other noise going on in the room. Jerry Jones even came down to speak to his team, but supposedly left mid speech with tears in his eyes. Seems as if things are intensifying emotionally for the Cowboys, and it can only get worse form here on out.
The Cowboys play the equally underachieving Bears next Thursday night. Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives at this point of the season so it will be interesting to see what happens when two desperate teams square off under the bright lights of Thursday Night Football.
The NFL playoffs are finally here, and the Texans will kick off the postseason by hosting the LA Chargers this Saturday at NRG.
And while the Texans are only 3 point underdogs, the national media is making it seem like Houston has no chance against Justin Herbert and company.
ESPN's Rex Ryan has gone as far as calling the Texans a "bye" week for the Chargers, giving the team no chance to win despite playing at home.
However, the Texans are no stranger to this situation, as they were given little chance to win against the Browns in last year's Wild Card game. And we know how that ended, with the Texans thrashing the Browns 45-14.
It's certainly fair to predict the Chargers will come away with a win this Saturday, they have been playing much better football than Houston in recent weeks.
But it's important to remember that home underdogs have performed well in the Wild Card round. In fact, home underdogs are 16-14 all-time in the Wild Card playoffs, and both home underdogs won last year (Texans, Buccaneers).
Speaking of last year, many credit the Texans defense for securing the win over Cleveland, with two pick sixes in the second half helping to seal the deal.
But the real reason Houston won the game was because of CJ Stroud and the offense. Stroud threw 3 touchdowns before halftime and the team was leading 24-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter. That's when the defense tacked on two interceptions for touchdowns and put the game out of reach. Stroud and the offense also went on to score another TD on a Devin Singletary run.
If Stroud and the offense didn't put so much pressure on Joe Flacco and the Cleveland offense to score, he may not have forced those passes that were picked off.
Now, many will point to the Chargers having the best defense (points allowed) this season, but it's worth noting the Browns had the number one defense (yards allowed) last year as well.
Bulls on Parade
Houston's defense will have its hands full against a strong rushing attack led by JK Dobbins. And Justin Herbert has been terrific this season, spreading the ball around to his top two targets, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.
Fortunately for the Texans, they are extremely healthy on defense this week. While Jimmy Ward and Jalen Pitre are out for the year, we'll finally get to see linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris play together for the first time this season.
The defensive line is expected to be at full strength as well, keep in mind Jonathan Greenard was injured and unable to play against the Browns last year.
Outlook on offense
We should see the best possible version of the offensive line this Saturday. We're all aware how many hits Stroud has taken due to poor o-line play. But with Tytus Howard and left guard and Juice Scruggs at right guard, Stroud should have more time to get the passing game going, featuring Nico Collins.
Speaking of the receivers, it's pretty amazing that this receiver group is almost identical to last year's in the Wild Card round. Stroud didn't have Stefon Diggs (on the Bills) or Tank Dell (injured) to throw to last year, either. But he does have one big addition in Joe Mixon this year. Hopefully, they can get Mixon involved in the passing game, and the shuffling of the o-line provides Mixon with some holes to run through.
X-factor
At least there's a possibility newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson could provide a spark to the offense. Last year John Metchie and Robert Woods were the main targets besides Collins and Dalton Schultz.
What does Vegas think?
The Chargers are favored by 3 and the total is set at 42.5 points
Don't miss the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap previews this week's big game!