TONY’S TAKE - FIVE THOUGHTS ON BILLS-COWBOYS

by Tony Fiorello

ORCHARD PARK, NY - NOVEMBER 13: Detailed view of a Buffalo Bills helmet prior to an NFL football game between the Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on November 13, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

Five thoughts on the Buffalo Bills' 31-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys:

1. Man did the Bills run the ball well or what? James Cook has been on absolute fire over the last few weeks with over 100 yards from scrimmage in five consecutive games - which no Bills running back has done since LeSean McCoy in 2016. Cook's finally showing the potential that made him a second-round draft pick a year ago, and Buffalo's starting to reap the benefits of it.

2. Credit goes to not just Cook and his offensive line for performing well (especially on concepts like counters and trap plays with Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown as the lead blockers), but to offensive coordinator Joe Brady as well. He's essentially made Cook the second-most important skill player on offense (behind Stefon Diggs) for Josh Allen to work with, and the numbers don't lie - over the last two games the Bills' usage of "11" personnel (one back, one tight end and three wide receivers) is at 57 percent of their snaps while "12" personnel (one back, two tight ends and two receivers) is around 42 percent, which has lead to Cook ranking third in the NFL at the time of this writing in yards from scrimmage behind just San Francisco's Christian McAffrey and Miami's Tyreek Hill.

3. What do those numbers mean? It means the Bills are spreading the field more and creating more room for Cook to operate both on the ground and in the air - plus "11" personnel was the Bills' main identity on offense the last several years, and they're getting back to basics. Additionally, when Allen isn't playing at his usual elite level - like the rare instance that happened on Sunday - Buffalo now has a weapon they can turn to beyond just Allen, Diggs and company. Brady has experience working with versatile running backs from when he was with McCaffrey in Carolina and he's applying the knowledge gained from there to Buffalo by using Cook as a chess piece.

4. Sean McDermott had an excellent defensive gameplan that made Dak Prescott's afternoon miserable. Lots of late movement from the secondary and linebackers to disguise various zone coverages and blitzes (McDermott's calling cards) kept Dallas off balance all game long, and the execution of it by guys like Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Taron Johnson, Jordan Poyer and Taylor Rapp was near-flawless. Not to mention that Leonard Floyd, Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips were excellent and gave Dallas' offensive line fits on stunts - which resulted in getting in Prescott's face numerous times.

5. We're on to Los Angeles!

Tony Fiorello's work has been published in numerous outlets, including Buffalo Sports Page, The Buffalo News, WNYAthletics, Bee Group Newspapers, From The 300 Level, Sports and Leisure Magazine, Community Papers of Western New York, The Niagara Gazette, The Tonawanda News, Western New York Hockey Report and Buffalo Hockey Central. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @anthonyfiorello.