The Dallas Cowboys suffered a blowout loss at the hands of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon, falling by a score of 31-10. They saw their five-game winning streak snapped as a result, and now, there is another storyline worth monitoring: the Cowboys’ struggles on the road.
Dallas is now just 3-4 away from home this season, prompting questions as to why the Cowboys play so differently outside the friendly confines of Cowboys Stadium (where the team is 7-0).
What’s funny about all of this is just last Monday, many had Dallas pegged as NFC favorites after its dominant 33-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only that, but Dak Prescott was named the frontrunner for the MVP award after his seventh straight terrific performance.
But this week, Prescott has once again fallen in the MVP standings after going 21-for-34 with a season-low 134 yards and an interception against the Bills.
The Cowboys went from media darlings to not being able to win on the road, all within the span of seven days.
It’s both hilarious and ridiculous at the same time, because it just demonstrates the complete volatility of the 17-game NFL regular season.
We even saw this earlier in the year, when the Cowboys got off to a dominant 2-0 start, outscoring their opponents 70-10 over their first two games. They were labeled championship favorites before losing to the lowly Arizona Cardinals the following week. Then, the same people who were booking the Cowboys’ trip to the Super Bowl were calling them frauds.
It’s almost as if the big picture is entirely neglected when it comes to Monday mornings. Given that the NFL season is so short, I guess it’s understandable, but it doesn’t make it any less ludicrous.
The fact of the matter is that Dallas is 10-4 and remains one of the league’s best teams in spite of its Week 15 defeat. After all, Buffalo was in desperation mode and badly needed a win in order to keep its playoff hopes alive. It did just that, controlling the tempo of the game from start to finish and securing a much-needed victory against a Cowboys squad that is already comfortably in the NFC playoff picture.
So, how much can we really hold this loss against Dallas?
If you want to question the Cowboys’ aptitude on the road, that’s fair, but 3-4 isn’t a terrible road record, and Dallas has a chance to right the ship next weekend against the Miami Dolphins.
Watch: if the Cowboys end up beating the Dolphins in South Beach on Christmas Eve, the narrative will flip. People will forget about their previous road struggles and will then begin discussing just how impressive their resume is.
Let’s not worry about Dallas just yet, and let’s not continue jumping to conclusions week-to-week regardless of how tempting it may be.
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