A Few Thoughts about the Cowboys Game, in no particular order

[Virgil]

For those of you who read this after the game because they were out doing other things, couldn't get the game where you live, or whatever else; please stop reading now and find a way to watch this game on replay.  Today's win over the Cowboys was arguably the biggest Bills win in the past 20 years.  The Fitz win over the Pats at home is a close second to me.  Usually, when I write these, I take some time to decompress and find the positives and negatives from the game.  Today, I needed the time to just calm down filter out my fandom excitement.  This is the best I've felt about this team in a very long time.  This team would have beaten anyone in the league today and nothing I write can possibly reflect the product we all saw today.

 

After the game, I put my air pods in and walked through some stores to check out some deals.  I was listening to the post game shows and really taking it all in.  I had some friends text me about the game and I thought about how absurd it must be to non-Bills fans to see us get so excited about winning a non-conference game against a now 6-6 team.  But as I listened to the hosts and other fans calling in, it's not about this season as much as it's about the Bills organization as a whole.  No one on the pre-game picked us to win.  The refs were against us early.  We were on prime time where we haven't won in forever.  We are a team who has folded against desperate teams and find the most humiliating ways to lose when everyone is watching.  We were down 7-0 early and looked like we were in for a long day.  But with 10 minutes left in the game, we were running clock because game was ours.  We didn't just win today, we dominated and gave the biggest middle finger to every outside doubter on the world's stage.  It was emotional.  It was a statement.  It was well deserved.  And with that...

 

1 - On 3rd and 6, Josh Allen throws a ball across his body to a streaking McKenzie who catches it across his body with a man in tight coverage.  It's not a play that will make the highlights or many probably noticed at the time.  But to me, that was everything you need to know about Allen's accuracy improvement as an NFL starter.  To put that ball in that tight spot and continue that drive was everything to me.  In that moment, I knew that Allen was going to be our QB for a very long time and we drafted the right man.  Many have thought the light switched on for Allen in the past few weeks.  Today proved it.  Josh Allen has arrived.  He went 11-11 at one point.  His 3rd down pass to Beasley from the end zone was amazing and one that not all QB's can make.  His TD pass to Beasley was a perfect combination of his mobility, keeping his eye's downfield, and arm strength.  I don't have the time to talk about everything that Allen did today, because this would be pages.  He was the best QB on the field today and it was the best QB performance I've seen in 20 years for the Bills.  Even his deep ball, which wasn't completed to Foster was perfectly thrown.  His back shoulder pass to Knox, perfectly thrown.  Allen jersey's will be selling in abundance.  And after his 4th and 1 fumble recovery that he muscled into a 1st down and then let his emotion take over, those sales will be well deserved. 

 

2 - Oliver - Holy crap kid, I said I was sorry last week.  Let it go already.  Oliver played like the pass rushing DT that so many of you thought he would be when we took him #9 overall.  He was a wrecking ball out there today.  His sacks were complete domination over one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.  His strip sack was all him.  He was pushing right through guys and played with a very high motor.  Maybe the benching was good for him and turned the lights on, because they are definitely on.   If Oliver can bring this type of performance out against Brady in a few weeks, look out.  He's quietly amassed a solid sack total this season and is trending up.  Oh yeah, he also tracked and brought Zeke down on quite a few plays.  Just a great day for this kid.

 

3 - Daboll - Another guy I owe an apology to today.  I only had one moment where I mentally swore at the man, which was right after the first turnover where we didn't come away with any points.  I thought he was going to get cocky again and prove how smart he was.  I was both very right and very wrong.  The trick play from Smoke to Motor was beautifully executed and drawn up.  Motor could have crawled into the end zone.  We had a great combination of run and pass, solid short, medium, and deep passes.  It was a well rounded game.  Besides a few plays were our offensive line got blown up (Lawrence had a few plays over Ford), we really didn't have many negative plays.  Just a great overall game plan on a short prep week.  Hats off good sir.

 

4 - I cried when we started to get blown out against the Cowboys in our first Super Bowl against us.  I was thirteen at the time and remember being so frustrated that we just couldn't find a way to win the big game.  It's been over 20 years since that game and I still have that feeling when we are playing a national game.  It's stupid to have such emotion invested into a team that doesn't know you exist, but we all know what it's like to have a personal stake in a team.  Between Allen's excitement after his 4th down conversion, Tre dancing on the sidelines and eating Allen's chicken, the locker room reception for Beasley, and all the fans calling into the radio show; so many of you felt it too.  This wasn't any game.  This was 20+ years of hoping that the Bills were going to be relevant again.  We have 10 days to enjoy this.  Wear your Bills gear with pride. 

 

5 - Beasley/Brown - Beasley had the stats today, but Brown was just as important in this game.  These two have been so big to our team and credit to Beane for bringing them in.  Beasley has been our main guy the past two games and has made the most of it.  The way Allen is finding him in the red zone or on 3rd downs shows kind of QB/WR chemistry we haven't seen since Fitz/Stevie.  And while Beasley got the stats, Brown was downfield making huge blocks.  On Allen's rushing TD, Brown cleared the way.  On the trick play, Brown threw a beautiful pass.  Brown has been so selfless these past few weeks, it just goes to show the type of players we have.  For him to not show up on the stat sheet, but contribute in an offense that has been dominant for two straight weeks, shows just how far we've come.

 

6 - Front Seven - One of my favorite stories is from an old soccer coach who talked about the soccer legend Pele'.   He would watch him as a kid and be unimpressed for the first few minutes of a game; thinking he wasn't anything special.  Then BOOM, he would just turn it on and dominate the game.  He was watching teams tendencies and learning how to beat them.  To me, this is what the Bills defense has now done two weeks in a row.  For the first few drives, we don't blitz, disguise our coverage's, or anything else really impressive.  McD and Frazier just watch and learn.  Then BOOM, we just come right after the offensive line.  Our defense absolutely shut the Cowboys down after their second drive and it was dominating.  Dak never seem comfortable as our front 7 were everywhere.  Shaq came up with a big sack.  Hughes had an amazing pressure where he ran around the entire offensive line.  The Bills pass rush put on a clinic today, continuing their work from the past few weeks.  The pressure was so good, that on 4th and goal at the end of the game, Dak made a terrible throw while anticipating pressure that wasn't even there. 

 

Special shout out to Star with the INT and tip on the field goal.  Just another player really bursting out these past few weeks.

 

7 - Defensive Coverage - I don't think I realized how fast Milano was until I saw him track down Zeke on a few passing plays.  Poyer was used a lot more in man coverage today, even on Cooper.  Tre was everywhere, again.  Besides a few chunk plays and the first drive, Dak had the quietest 300+ game I've seen in a long time.  Hyde SHOULD have had an interception (took me a while to calm down from that call).  Edmunds played fast and decisive against the run and pass.  I said before the game that we needed a bend but don't break coverage unit today and that's what we got.  Dallas took quite a few shots downfield to no avail.  Every DB seems to have a shining moment in coverage.  Just great job overall for this unit.

 

8 - Refs - Thankfully, this forum has a profanity filter because this would get ugly real quick.  I don't buy into conspiracy theories but it was hard today.  Just the way in which the ref's presented their calls to the crowd felt like they were trying to prove a point after taking a beating for the phantom tripping calls against the Pats.  There were two very iffy calls against Tre early for illegal contact that gave the Cowboys first downs.  There was the hit on Allen not called, which wouldn't have been so bad if they didn't call one against us for hitting Dak later on.  Then, you have the illegal hands to the face call against us that negated Hyde's interception.  Even the announcers couldn't see what happened.  Just those things alone is usually enough for the Bills to fold.  But not this Bills team.  They just keep coming, kept fighting, and beat the refs and the Cowboys.   ***** the Refs and there needs to be some form of accountability for these games.

 

9 - Hausch - I really don't know what to do here.  As he missed his extra point, I kept thinking about the Cleveland game and thinking about what could be in this game.  Until we finally pulled away and he made his last field goal, I kept waiting for his misses to haunt us.  Thankfully, the Cowboys kicker helped ease the pain.  In most seasons, I would think the Bills would bring in some kickers on the 10 day break, but field goal kickers as a whole are having overall bad seasons this year.  I don't know if it's a confidence thing, his leg is in decline, or what, but I'm officially worried about Hausch and have zero faith in him from 50+ yards.  We are going to need him as we go deeper in the season and I hope we can get this kicking situation figured out.

 

10 - McD - Thank you.  On a short week, against the Cowboys, on national tv, thank you.  You can't understand what this win means to us.  Thank you for bringing Allen along the right way.  Thank you for benching Oliver and waking him up.  Thank you for building a culture that had these guys celebrating Beasley in the locker room.  Thank you for keeping your composure, always seeing the big picture, and sticking to your plan.  Thank you for having the humility and making changes to your defensive pressure schemes and throwing Daboll in the box.  Thank you for clapping all along the way and being in touch with the Bills fan base and community in a way I haven't seen in a long time.  You're hard work is noticed and paid off today.  Thank you McD. 

 

 

*Bonus* Can we please give Knox one open field play a game?  He stiff armed another guy this game in typical dominating style.  I left my seat when that happened

 

 

I'm spent.  There so much I couldn't get to and I apologize.  There's just no way to sum up this game in a recap.  I'm going to watch this entire game again tomorrow and let it all sink in.  It's going to be a great 10 days.  I'm glad it brought everyone a better Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful for the Bills, Allen, McD, and the entire organization.

 

Go Bills!!!!!

Edited November 29, 2019 by Virgil

[Mike in Horseheads]

That was a few great thoughts!

[HappyDays]

This was your best one yet. Really nice post.

 

Agreed that this win felt like a middle finger to everyone outside of the fanbase. Beating the Cowboys in their stadium on prime time despite the referees doing everything they can to give the game away, it was the culmination of everything I've been waiting to see since 1999.

 

I knew Allen COULD have a game like this, but I definitely had doubts that he would ever put it all together. This game proved he could do it with the spotlight on him. I'm glad I don't have to make any excuses for him today. He made all of the "normal" plays consistently, threw in a few special plays, and had no costly mistakes. 3 games in a row he has looked like the guy and he's getting better every week.

 

The 4th and 1 conversion is a historic play for the Bills. I don't care if it came in a non-conference regular season game. It meant everything to anyone that rooted for the Bills over the past 20 years.

Edited November 29, 2019 by HappyDays

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

Didn’t read a word of this but go Bills!!!

[nedboy7]

A glorious win for this franchise. 

Great post. 

[ILBillsfan]

Nice write up Virgil. 

 

The Ref's were horrible today and the Bills won despite them.  Pretty sure that hands to the face was on Phillips hitting Dak's face mask but not sure.  The calls on Tre to start the game had me going oh boy ref's got paid by Jerry.  Then the no call on the Allen slide.  Spot on Gore's third down run.  Late hit on Jerry was bogus and not even going to comment  on the holding by Dallas offensive line.  

 

 

[whatdrought]

Great post. Keep on predicting defeat and we’ll keep on winning.

[Virgil]

Just now, whatdrought said:

Great post. Keep on predicting defeat and we’ll keep on winning.

 

It's amazing how many posters get genuinely mad at me for doing that

[DQW87]

The thing that seemed really different this game was every time they had a "here we go again moment", when you expected them to collapse to begin because of a bad play or a bad call, it never happened.  As a matter of fact, it not only didn't happen, they just kept overcoming whatever it was and playing better and better.  After we didn't score on the first turnover because of a missed field goal, I totally expected the Cowboys to drive down the field and score and take over the momentum.  I just couldn't believe the number of times the offense and the defense rose to the occasion and made huge plays.  It shows you how good a team this team can be when both units are playing at a high level.  It was so enjoyable knowing the country was finally seeing what we all get to see.  That this is a real contender and a team that may just be peaking at the right time!

[HappyDays]

4 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

It's amazing how many posters get genuinely mad at me for doing that

 

At this point I'm going to be mad if you stop.

[ganesh]

Your commentary on Sean brought tears to my eyes...Well written.  Faith and Confidence is a huge thing and when you keep that up, good things will eventually happen. Go Bills!

[WMDman]

Well written as always Virgil!

[ganesh]

A few other comments:

 

It is amazing how this offense has turned around with the introduction of Singletary to this offense three weeks ago.  He has made a HUGE difference. 

 

And the most impressive thing they did today was that  7 1/2 minute drive in the 4th quarter to get the FG.  That was HUGE....They dominated the Cowboys defense and methodically marched forward.  Usually,  we would be at the receiving end of such drives...But NOT Today....That drive effectively put the game away for good.   

[loveorhatembillsfan4life]

Nice post. You know I never thought about your thoughts of our d watching and learning their tendencies. Your probably spot on And coupled with Romo’s comments about Mcd baiting them to find out how they react to a particular coverage for later in the game.

 

I remember that throw to McKenzie and it was big. That throw to Beasley out of the end zone was just a dart and I think a few of his best passes were incompletions due to great coverage.

 

I love Hausch, and there is no way anything is happening this season. We play it out. But we have to really look at this in the offseason. Can we find someone more reliable, I don’t know. But I’m worried about his leg, and mentally what place is he in.

 

thanks for taking the time to write up a nice summary. We all could write pages, I am still so hyped up I don’t want to go to bed 

 

I have to also say I have checked out a few afc east message boards just to read their thoughts and Josh is getting some pretty good praise after today. 

Edited November 29, 2019 by loveorhatembillsfan4life

[Tcali]

technically the bills havent beaten a winning team yet.(ducks)

[Doc Brown]

1 minute ago, Tcali said:

technically the bills havent beaten a winning team yet.(ducks)

Titans are 6-5

[Nihilarian]

Nice write up Virgil! 

 

What a great team win and it was an entire team today, coaches, players! The Bills overcame the penalties, the refs, the loud crowd and playing on the road during a short week. 

 

Great day to be a Bills fan!   

[dma0034]

I'd like the Bills to focus on two things on defense going forward:

1. Coming out to play on the First Drive. It seems like teams have been able to go down and score on Buffalo on the first drive a few times this year. Honestly the Bills looked like they had no answers for the Cowboys for the First Drive

2. It improved throughout the game but tackling was a little bit of an issue in the first half

[Gambit]

40 minutes ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

Didn’t read a word of this but go Bills!!!

You honestly should give it a shot. Was probably one of the best posts I've read on here. Solid write up Virgil. 

Edited November 29, 2019 by Gambit

[GregPersons]

Great post!

 

I've been thinking, it's kind of been my assumption that the Bills are still a few players away from making a real run. 

 

But here's a hot take—

 

They already have all the players they need. They just need those players to play better. They need the draft picks they've already used and the cap space they've already spent on these players to play at the level they played today as their floor. 

 

They're doing it already. White, Allen, Singletary, Milano, Lawson, Oliver, Edmunds, Ford, Dawkins. 

 

That core of draft picks need to keep upping their game like they have been, and turn themselves into the stars this no-name anonymous Bills group into champions.

 

On to Baltimore. They are the AFC Championship game. Play like you're at that level. Then you have the Steelers, that's your wildcard game. Show what you can do. Patriots for the Division -- could steal the damn division. Jets as another practice wildcard game.

 

They're 9-3. Everyone is assuming they will make the playoffs at 10-6. But they could be 11-5, or, 12-4, or 13-3.