The Buffalo Bills had a dominant performance from almost start to finish in their 31-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The fact that Josh Allen threw for less than 100 yards and was still out of the game with roughly 10 minutes left in the game shows how much it was a team performance.
Even though everyone seemingly did their part, four performances in particular stood out from Week 15 for the Buffalo Bills.
James Cook
The obvious one is running back James Cook, who had a career game and has quickly become a key part of this offense. In the game against the Cowboys, he would carry the ball 25 times for 179 yards with an average of 7.2 yards per carry and one rushing touchdown.
He would also make an impact through the air with two receptions for 42 yards and caught the only touchdown pass from Josh Allen.
This was his first career game with 200 yards from scrimmage and is the fifth straight game that he had 100 yards from scrimmage. There is no question that James Cook has benefited from the playcalling by Joe Brady and he will be a big part of the offense down the stretch.
Ty Johnson
While Latavius Murray would score a rushing touchdown in this game, it was Ty Johnson who was the other running back that was probably the most impressive. The Bills didn't want to take James Cook off the field with how well he was running but when he did, Ty Johnson seemed to pick up right where he left off.
In this game, he finished with nine rushing attempts for 54 yards and an average of six yards per carry. He also added one reception for four yards.
After the trade deadline, it looked like there would be a change in the backfield with the Bills signing Leonard Fournette to the practice squad. However, Ty Johnson has played so well that Fournette doesn't have a spot in this offense right now.
This game tied his season high for yards from scrimmage as he had 58 yards against the New York Jets in Week 11. The coaching staff has found the magic formula that has unlocked the full potential of this run game with the three man attack of Cook, Murray and Johnson.
Buffalo Bills offensive line
The Buffalo Bills would not have had the succcess they did if it wasn't for the remarkable performance by the offensive line. These five linemen set the tone early as they would move Cowboys defenders off their spots and on a few occassions would push a pile to pick up 5 or more extra yards.
They set the tone throughout but the most impressive play was probably by left tackle Dion Dawkins who would drive a defender roughly 20 yards down the field on a James Cook run.
The way the Bills could run the ball today helped the offensive line keep Josh Allen upright when he would try to throw the ball. The way the offense ran the ball, made Micah Parsons a non-factor as he had only two tackles, no sacks, and no QB hits.
The Bills offensive line has another tough task against the Chargers with Khalil Mack but they have the blueprint how to beat those pass rushers.
Buffalo Bills Secondary
The Buffalo Bills did a good job pressuring Dak Prescott but that was due in part to the coverage by the secondary. The tone was really set by all the starters and it is tough to pinpoint just one or two players that stood out.
Christian Benford had the big play with an interception on an overthrow by Prescott but Jordan Poyer and Rasul Douglas came close a couple of times on intercepting the Cowboys quarterback. The Bills would be without Micah Hyde in this game and Taylor Rapp did a good job replacing him and led the defense in tackles with eight.
Meanwhile, nickel corner once again put together a solid performance with seven total tackles and one pass defended. They were able to limit CeeDee Lamb, who has been one of the best wide receivers over the second half of the season to only 53 receiving yards and the only way he got into the end zone was on a rush attempt late in the game when the outcome was already decided.
After Lamb, the only wide receiver who had double digit receiving yards was Brandin Cooks who had only 10. It was one of the best games for this group this season.