Bills vs. Cowboys: 6 Holes in Buffalo's Defense Tony Romo Must Exploit

Former Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells once said “You are what your record says you are,” and right now, the Dallas Cowboys are 4-4. So in essence, they are just an average team.

Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills represents another must win contest for the Cowboys. They cannot afford to fall to 4-5 with the Giants possibly running away with the division and allowing the Eagles a slither of playoff hope.

The Cowboys have to win this game.

There are a few ways that this can be achieved, and I’m sure defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is looking at the tape of the Bills and Jets game to find more holes in the Bills that the Jets exposed.

While I believe that Dallas will emerge victorious, there has to be a path to victory for the roving Tony Romos.

Here are six holes in the Bills defense that Romo must abuse.

Buffalo Bills 25th Ranked Pass Defense

The Bills allowed rookie Andy Dalton to pass for close to 300 yards, Tom Brady destroyed them for almost 400 yards and before Oakland quarterback Jason Campbell went down with an injury he diced the up for 323 yards.

Is there anything left to say?

Romo has the weapons and the ability to carve up the Bills secondary, and all signs say that he will do so. Head coach Jason Garrett has had a little bit of a lasso around him lately, but with DeMarco Murray running so well, the Cowboys haven't had an immediate need to overtly pass the ball.

But because Miles Austin is injured, Dez Bryant and Laurent Robinson will be utilized more, so Garrett may have to get more creative or use more of Murray in the pass game.

Either way, Romo should do well.

Defensive Secondary Holes: Wide Receiver/Cornerback Matchups

The Bills aren't really full of small corners, but they aren't behemoths, either. Reggie Corner is a 5'9" corner who weighs 181 wet.

Football is a game of inches, but matchups will be key in this game as well. Dez Bryant is a big physical guy who won't see much single coverage for most of the day due to Austin's absence, and because of that, Romo should fully utilize Laurent Robinson.

I believe that Dallas can do well against the Bills defensive backfield, but it will all depend on how Romo and Garrett exploit varied matchups.

Defensive Secondary Holes: Adding DeMarco Murray to the Passing Game

When Murray was a senior at Oklahoma, he caught 71 balls for 594 yards. I understand that this is a totally different ballgame compared to college, but Murray isn't just a one-dimensional type of player.

So far, Murray has caught nine balls for 68 yards, and his longest reception went for 17 yards.

Murray is developing into a wonderful young running back, but Garrett and Romo will have to find ways to get him involved with catching the ball more often. Whether it's a simple wheel route or lining him up in the slot, Murray is too dangerous to be one-dimensional.

Buffalo’s 20th Ranked Rush Defense

The Bills don't have a good defense; it doesn't really take a rocket scientist to unearth this factoid. Buffalo gives up the yards, but has a bend don't break type of defensive outfit.

DeMarco Murray has been on a role as of late, and because Romo has full control of the offense, it will be up to him to identify the Bills defensive scheme to call audibles for running plays.

That is much easier said than done, but from a pure superficial standpoint, if Buffalo lines up in the dime on 2nd-and-6, then Romo should audible out to a running play.

The effective use of the Cowboys skill players will be key.

Play Action and Roll Out Passes

I believe that Romo is best when he's out of the pocket because he can freelance a little and direct his receivers as he sees fit. That's not a great way to play the game, but you have to call games to your quarterbacks strengths.

Dallas likes to use the shotgun, so rolling Romo out of the pocket probably won't happen. But the playaction is a great way to get the Bills linebackers and corners to bite for a long to moderate gain.

If Murray gets going early and Dallas uses him often, that should set the play action up well and put Dez Bryant in a one-on-one situation.

Advantage Dallas.

Soft in the Middle of the Field

Jets tight end Dustin Keller caught four balls for 64 yards, and Giants end Jake Ballard went off for five and 81 yards.

Every single team knows that Witten will be used, but with the Bills having such a soft pass defense, Witten may be able to exploit certain matchups against certain linebackers.

If Witten is doubled along with Bryant, then using Robinson and Ogletree across the middle should open up the edges along with the deep ball.