By McKenna Middlebrook / Billswire.usatoday.com
“Well, well, well…” is what BillsMafia is saying to the collective national media, who counted out the Buffalo Bills on their Thanksgiving clash with the Dallas Cowboys, 26-15.
On the national stage, the Bills had their pie and ate it too. The Bills played their most complete game of the season in Dallas showing off to the nation what many in Western New York already knew. The Bills are legitimate playoff contenders.
With that, here’s how the positional groups graded in the Bills’ Week 13 win on Thanksgiving:
Quarterback: A
Josh Allen played like a true franchise quarterback on Thursday, using both his legs and arm to make plays down the field. Allen showed that he can beat a team with his arm, he can improvise in the pocket, and turn a seemingly dead play into something positive. This is something Bills fans have seen all season, but never against a quality opponent on this big of a stage.
Allen completed 79 percent of his passes on 19-for-24 passing with 231 yards, and one passing touchdown. Allen also used his legs to rush for 43 yards and the game sealing touchdown in the third quarter.
He also showed improved decision making and better ball placement and he was making it easy for his receivers to make big plays. This type of game is something the Bills franchise has been looking for since the days of Jim Kelly.
Running backs: B
The Bills’ two running backs, Frank Gore and Devin Singletary, had 23 rushing attempts and combined for 74 yards. Singletary is now the starting running back and has emphatically taken advantage of this opportunity.
Singletary had 63 rushing yards, where he showed patient running and the ability to make defenders miss in the open field. He also showed his toughness and ability to end runs by lowering his shoulder instead of getting out of bounds. Singletary continues to display his pass catching ability with four catches for 38 yards. Singletary also caught a touchdown from John Brown on a nice trick play drawn up.
Singletary ended the game with 101 total yards.
Gore was utilized sparingly in short downs, and at the end of the game to wind down the clock. He had nine carries for 11 yards, an average of just 1.2 yards per carry. Gore also got involved in the passing game, with one catch for 14 yards.
Wide receivers/tight ends: B+
Cole Beasley made his return to Dallas in style with six catches, 110 yards, an average of 18.3 yards per catch and one touchdown. He opened the scoring with his 25 yard touchdown which tied the game in the second quarter. He created his separation through his slick footwork and smooth route running.
John Brown also got on the scoring sheet, with a 28-yard touchdown pass to running back Devin Singletary. Brown was held in check for most of the night though, he had just three catches for 26 yards.
Cole Beasley was targeted early and often by quarterback Josh Allen and made crucial catches on third down. Out of all the Bills receivers Beasley was targeted the most, but Allen distributed the ball to four other receivers and tight ends.
Tight end Dawson Knox had three catches on four targets for 17 yards. Knox again showed that he’s tough to bring down in the open field with a brutal stiff arm on Cowboy safety, Darian Thompson.
Offensive line: C
The Buffalo Bills offensive line gave up four sacks on Thursday against the Cowboys, which is never good. The Cowboys sent plenty of pressure and the Bills offensive line couldn’t handle the extra rushers. They did hold their own though when Dallas sent a four man rush.
The offensive line was also out muscled in the run game as well, with running backs Devin Singletary and Frank Gore frequently getting hit in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage. Josh Allen bailed out this unit on fourth down with his extra effort on a QB sneak. The Bills’ offensive line was pushed back, and Allen still pushed forward.
The unit wasn’t penalized as frequently though, the unit had just two penalties called against them, and only one was enforced. This is a big improvement from earlier in the season.
Defensive line: A
The Bills defensive created havoc for the Cowboys offense, especially for starting quarterback Dak Prescott. In the second quarter the Bills defensive line generated two turnovers. The first was a Star Lotulelei interception, the second was an Ed Oliver strip sack.
Oliver had the best game of his career against Dallas, the former University of Houston player made the most in his return to Texas. He had four tackles and two sacks. His first sack forced the ball out Prescott’s hands.
Trent Murphy forced a fumble in the fourth quarter which resulted in a turnover on downs and counted as a sack for Murphy. The defensive line had four in total on Thursday, with Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips combining for the fourth. The unit also did well in stopping the run, Ezekiel Elliot had just 71 yards on the ground.
Linebackers: B
Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano had the task of trying to stop running back Ezekiel Elliot, with help from their defensive line they held Zeke to just 71 rushing yards. Elliot did manage to create some chunk plays off some missed tackles, but for the most part they kept him in check.
Edmunds led the unit in tackles with eight, with Milano having just four tackles on the day. Milano did break up two passes, again demonstrating his knack for making plays and being around the ball at the right time.
Lorenzo Alexander had just one tackle, but he did flush Dak Prescott out of the pocket on multiple occasions which led to some arrant throws from the quarterback.
One big gaff from this group came early in the game as Dallas tight end Jason Witten was left wide open for the Cowboys’ opening score.
Secondary: B
Dak Prescott threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns. That normally doesn’t bode well for an opposing team, but that seemed to be Buffalo’s game plan. The Bills played more zone coverage on Thursday than they have in the past two weeks, which forced Dak Prescott to try to beat one of the leagues best secondaries.
The unit may have allowed two touchdowns but they also broke up five of Prescott’s passes, the secondary also did their role in stopping the run. Both Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer crashed into the box on several plays to meet Ezekiel Elliot at the line of scrimmage.
While the secondary didn’t shut down any one receiver, they didn’t allow any big plays, and did well to stop one of the best running backs in the NFL.
Special teams: B-
It started off looking like it would be a long day for kicker Stephen Hauschka, he missed his first field goal attempt, and his first PAT attempt. The kicker settled himself in though and converted his two other field goals, and his two other PAT’s.
Punter Corey Bojorquez had another strong game, he had just three punts but two of them landed inside the 10 yard line of Dallas. He did well to give Dallas poor field position throughout the game.
Coaching: B+
After the first drive by the Dallas offense it looked like they were going to score on every position, due to their ease of getting down the field. Head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier made the proper adjustments, and the Dallas offense wouldn’t score until 4:03 in the fourth quarter.
The offense at time looked out matched, and out schemed by a tough Dallas defense, but offensive coordinator Brian Daboll took the right risks at the right time which payed off for the Buffalo offense. I also have to commend the trick play, it was the perfect play design called at the perfect time.