Cook powers Buffalo past Cowboys; Rams upend Commanders 28-20
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — James Cook had a career-best 179 yards rushing and scored twice as Buffalo dominated on the ground, and the Bills beat Dallas 31-10 on Sunday, ending the Cowboys' five-game winning streak.
Josh Allen threw for just 94 yards for the Bills (8-6), who won consecutive games for the first time since a threegame winning streak ended on Oct. 1. Buffalo gained ground in the AFC playoff race, moving one game ahead of Denver and Pittsburgh.
The Cowboys (10-4) clinched their third playoff berth before kickoff thanks to losses by Green Bay and Atlanta on Sunday and Detroit beating Denver on Saturday. But nothing else went right for Dallas, which fell a game behind NFCbest San Francisco.
The Cowboys, who are 7-0 at home — where they've outscored their opponents by a combined 279-108 — dropped to 3-4 on the road, where they've been outscored 156-152.
Buffalo rushed for 266 yards, held the ball for 10 minutes more than Dallas and had 28 first downs to the Cowboys' 14.
The Cowboys, who had scored 40 or more points five times this season and enjoyed eight wins by 20 or more, were held to a season-low 195 yards of offense. Dak Prescott finished 21 of 34 for 134 yards with an interception.
So much for the momentum Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy hoped his team would carry over from a 33-13 win over division rival Philadelphia last week. Dallas closes its schedule with two of its last three on the road.
The Bills, coming off a 20-17 victory at Kansas City, are trying to secure their fifth straight playoff berth and stay in contention for a fourth consecutive AFC East title.
Buffalo's interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady used the running game to play keep-away against a Cowboys offense that entered the week leading the NFL with 421 points.
The Cook-led attack overwhelmed a defensive front that was missing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. Cook scored on an 18-yard catch three minutes into the second quarter and put the game away with a 24-yard scamper 2:30 into the fourth.
Allen had an easy day, only attempting 15 passes and completing seven. He had a touchdown pass and 1-yard TD rush.
Latavius Murray opened the scoring with a 2-yard run to cap Buffalo's first drive. And Dallas had little chance after Tyler Bass hit a 23-yard field goal to cap Buffalo's opening drive of the third quarter, which ate up 8:22 minutes of clock.
RAMS 28, COMMANDERS 20
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Stafford passed for 258 yards and hit Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson for touchdowns, leading the Los Angeles Rams to a 28-20 victory over the freefalling Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Kupp's eight receptions for 111 yards were highlighted by a 62-yard TD catch right after halftime for the Rams (7-7), who have won four of five to push their way into the playoff picture even in a self-described remodeling season.
Kyren Williams overcame the first two lost fumbles of his two-year NFL career to rush for 152 yards and a touchdown while his Rams slid into one of the three NFC wild-card playoff positions alongside fellow 7-7 teams New Orleans and Minnesota.
The Rams' defense largely shut down the Commanders (4-10) in the first three quarters before Washington backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett made things interesting in his first significant playing time of the season.
Brissett relieved Sam Howell in the fourth quarter and immediately led two touchdown drives for the Commanders, who have lost five straight. Curtis Samuel caught two TD passes, including a 3-yard grab with 1:46 to play.
Howell passed for 102 yards and threw a 19-yard TD pass to Samuel in the third quarter for the Commanders' first points, but they returned from their bye week with more of the same defensive lapses, offensive inefficiency and mental mistakes that have dominated the past three months of coach Ron Rivera's fourth season.