3 Takeaways from Cowboys' Week 15 Loss vs. Bills

The Dallas Cowboys destroyed all of the momentum gained from their Week 14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles with a disastrous Week 15 defeat against the Buffalo Bills.

The Dallas defense let the Buffalo offensive line push it around for four quarters and Dak Prescott could not get anything going with the Cowboys offense.

Dallas' all-around futility on Sunday afternoon put it in an 18-point hole at halftime that it did not come close to dragging itself out of in the second half.

The loss was a huge blow to Dallas' chances of landing the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC and winning the NFC East.

The Cowboys now need to root for the Seattle Seahawks to beat the Eagles on Monday night so the two rivals are back on level terms at 10-4.

Cowboys Could Not Stop James Cook

Rich Barnes/Getty Images

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: James Cook #4 of the Buffalo Bills runs past Dorance Armstrong #92 of the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

James Cook ran all over the Dallas defense from start to finish.

Buffalo's top ball carrier finished with 179 yards on 25 carries. He also caught two passes for 42 yards.

Cook was used in the same way he was last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, who also could not slow him down.

The Bills made it a point to bully the Cowboys on the interior and that game plan worked to perfection.

Buffalo put together three scoring drives of 11 or 12 plays in the first half and followed that up a 15-play field-goal drive and a six-play series that resulted in a touchdown in the second half to finish off the game.

Cook played a heavy role in all of those series and he ended up as the main reason why the Cowboys left upstate New York with a loss.

Dak Prescott Had No Answer to Buffalo's Offensive Success

Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Dorian Williams #42 of the Buffalo Bills tackles Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

The Dallas offense that posted over 30 points in five straight games going into Week 15 looked devoid of answers for a majority of Sunday's loss.

Dak Prescott finished with a season low of 134 passing yards and he completed just 21 passes, which was his lowest total since October 16.

Buffalo's defense sacked Prescott on three occasions, forced him into an interception and got pressure on him on countless more plays to make him uncomfortable in the pocket for four quarters.

Prescott's best drive of the game came in garbage time, when he led the Cowboys on a 15-play, 80-yard drive to score the team's lone touchdown.

Everything from Prescott's poor performance to the rough defensive showing must be cleaned up in order for Dallas to contend with the Miami Dolphins in Week 16.

Dream of NFC Home-Field Advantage Seems Dead

Rich Barnes/Getty Images

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Tony Pollard #20 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

Dallas looked nothing like a team in contention for the No. 1 seed in the NFC on Sunday.

The defeat delivered a huge blow to the team's home-field advantage chances because now it is essentially two games behind the San Francisco 49ers.

San Francisco is up a game in the win column and owns a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cowboys.

Even a Week 16 swing in which the Cowboys beat the Dolphins and 49ers lose to the Baltimore Ravens would put Dallas second at best in the NFC.

The Cowboys may not be allowed to sniff the home-field advantage conversation for the rest of the season if the Eagles win on Monday night.

A Philadelphia win in Seattle would put it one game ahead of the Cowboys with two games against the New York Giants and the Arizona Cardinals left on its schedule.