5 Cowboys who deserve blame for humiliating loss in Buffalo

Entering Week 15, the Dallas Cowboys were riding high. They had just won five games in a row including a huge 33-13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. That win put them in first place in the NFC East and while they needed help to keep the tiebreaker over the Eagles, they had everything going their way.

Then, they headed to Western New York and looked out of sorts against the Buffalo Bills. They were blown out 31-10 and deserve to take a lot of heat after going out there and throwing dangerous passes with the game put away already.

As frustrating as the loss was, the Cowboys still clinched a playoff spot on Sunday. Despite that, they lost their lead in the East and made things much easier on Philly. Now, they'll be ready to move on from this loss and prepare for Miami but we're going to take a look back and identify four Cowboys who are to blame for the loss.

5. Damone Clark, Linebacker

Looking at the statistics alone, it seemed as though Damone Clark had a great day. The second-year linebacker finished with 11 tackles, seven of which were solo takedowns. While that was impressive, he was on the wrong end of one huge play.

In the second quarter, Clark found himself in coverage on James Ford and he was outmatched. Ford ran right past Clark and the linebacker was never able to get close. The end result was an 18-yard touchdown reception and a 14-0 lead.

On the season, Clark has been a positive force on the Dallas D. He's taken over the lead linebacker role from Leighton Vander Esch and has done well. But on Sunday, he wasn't the player we're used to seeing and this was just one example of that.

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4. DeMarcus Lawrence, EDGE

Before diving into this one, it has to be said that DeMarcus Lawrence is a veteran leader for this team and has done far more good than most players on the roster. Having said that, he helped set the negative tone early in the game against the Bills.

Dallas allowed Buffalo to march right down the field but at the six-yard line, they finally got a stop when Josh Allen was unable to connect with Stefon Diggs. That should have meant a 3-0 start for the Bills rather than 7-0. That might not feel like much but it would have been a win for the defense considering the way they were pushed around on the drive.

It wound up not leading to a field goal though as some laundry made its way to the field. It turns out that Lawrence was flagged for unnecessary roughness on Allen. That gave the Bills a fresh set of downs and moved it to the three-yard line. Two plays later, Latavius Murray ran it in from two yards out and the Bills were up 7-0.

Penalties have been a theme for Dallas this year and the last thing they needed was for a team leader to get hit for such a costly one. From there, it became a theme as well with the Cowboys being flagged on the few occasions they actually made a stop.

3. Sam Williams, EDGE

As stated when discussing DeMarcus Lawrence, the penalties that negated defensive stops became a theme. After being forced to punt on their first two possessions, the Cowboys defense was again set to get the ball back for their offense. This time, they forced a fourth-and-eight and KaVontae Turpin fielded it at the Dallas 24.

That punt ended up coming back, however, thanks to Sam Williams. The second-year defensive end got into the backfield and had a shot at blocking the punt. The problem is that he left his feet and sold out on the block, only to miss the ball. Instead, he came down hard on Sam Martin which resulted in a 15-yard penalty for roughing the kicker.

The defense came back onto the field and this time, they were at the Buffalo 41 thanks to the free yardage. They were unabel to stop the home team after this and Josh Allen ended the drive with an 18-yard touchdown to James Cook — who had an insane 179 yards on the ground and 42 through the air as well as two total touchdowns.

Williams has been a solid pass rusher when he's on the field and there are times he's a weapon on special teams. In this one, he reminded us that he can also get the team in trouble with penalties — something he's done several times this year.

2. Dak Prescott, Quarterback

Dak Prescott has had an MVP-caliber season but there's a chance he lost that on Sunday. That might sound extreme but we're not talking about unbiased voters or even a normal player. There's a true bias against the Cowboys and Prescott is held to a much higher standard than anyone else. Even during their loss to the Bills, it was said they couldn't defeat winning teams as their victories over Seattle and Philadelphia have already been forgotten.

That means this game will be used as proof that Prescott isn't an elite player. They'll throw out all the success he's had this season and re-hash this one over and over — just as they did with the San Francisco loss. This game was hardly in the rearview and media members were jumping at the chance to end Dak's MVP chances.

While none of this treatment is fair, it is fair to say Prescott didn't have a good game at all on Sunday. He finished with a mere 134 yards on 21-of-34 passing and had no touchdowns with an interception. And there were at least two other passes that could have been picked off.

Prescott struggled for sure but the Cowboys as a whole were bad on offense. Their receivers were unable to get open consistently but when there was a big play there, Prescott missed. The best example came on the opening drive when Brandin Cooks was wide open for a huge gain and potential touchdown. Prescott ended up overthrowing him and before long, they were punting the ball away.

As a whole, the entire team was flat and that falls on everyone. Having said that, Prescott is the leader of the team, and his inability to capitalize on the plays that were there played a huge part in the defeat.

1. Mike McCarthy, Head Coach

When a team comes out as flat as the Cowboys did in Week 15, that falls on the head coach. Whether that's fair or not, this is the one who leads them throughout the week, and in Mike McCarthy's case, he's also the one who calls the plays on offense. That's why he deserves to have the finger pointed at him for the nonchalant way this team approached a road game against a hungry opponent.

Buffalo was just 7-6 and has been sloppy all year long. They even needed an offside penalty from Kadarius Toney last week to escape with a win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Yet against the Cowboys, they looked like a well-oiled machine.

They were also the hungrier team. Buffalo needs to win out to ensure they make the postseason and that's how they played. Dallas also needed to win out to try and get a home playoff game but they came out as if they just locked up the No. 1 seed.

In addition to the team playing as if they wished they were anywhere else, McCarthy failed to challenge an obvious turnover. Marquise Bell had punched the ball out from the arms of Stefon Diggs and Donovan Wilson had a clear recovery. McCarthy kept the flag in his pocket and before long it was 21-3 Buffalo.

McCarthy also continued to dial up passes with the game out of hand and at one point, nearly got CeeDee Lamb injured with a deep shot. Throw in all the penalties and McCarthy has a lot to fix before they take on the high-flying Dolphins next week in another road game.

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