The biggest storyline heading into the Dallas Cowboys' Week 16 road matchup against the Buffalo Bills is Kellen Moore getting his first NFL start at quarterback. Make of that what you will. Moore is the fourth quarterback to take the field for the Cowboys this season. Tony Romo has missed plenty of time after breaking his collarbone not once, but twice, and Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel have both started games in Romo's absence.
Cowboys vs. Bills 2015 live stream: Game time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Kellen Moore will make his first NFL start for the Cowboys against the Buffalo Bills this week.
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
The Cowboys benched Cassel in Week 15 after he was called for intentional grounding on a play that resulted in a Darrelle Revis interception. There was no Cowboys player even remotely in the vicinity of Revis, who appeared to be the intended receiver. Two series later, Cassel took a sack that resulted in a loss of 19 yards, and that was that. Moore entered the game, completing 15 of 25 passes for 158 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
The Cowboys will face a Bills team that let Kirk Cousins and the Washington offense run wild in Week 15. Cousins completed 22 of 28 passes for 319 yards and four passing touchdowns, and added another touchdown on the ground. Washington won with a final score of 35-25, pushing the Bills to 6-8. Buffalo has been eliminated from playoff contention for the 16th straight season.
The Bills’ defense was a top-five unit in 2014, allowing an average of 312.2 yards per game and just 18.1 points per game. In the offseason, Buffalo hired Rex Ryan, a head coach with a track record of fielding strong defenses, and the way the defense has regressed under Ryan has been surprising.
Bills players have called Ryan’s defense “complicated” and have said that play calls come in too slow on the field, which allows offenses to take advantage of Buffalo when they’re unprepared for the snap. The Bills led the league with 54 sacks in 2014, but this year’s pass rush isn’t anywhere near that level. Now, they rank 30th in the league in sacks with just 20 on the season. Players have pointed to the tendency to drop defensive linemen into coverage -- they can’t cover receivers and rush the passer at the same time, obviously.
Ryan has talked about making adjustments, but there haven’t been drastic changes on the field. Should the Bills continue to struggle defensively against the Cowboys on Sunday, it should make Kellen Moore’s first start a little easier. Ryan’s job should be safe once the season ends. Jason Garrett’s job may be another story.
There’s no question that injuries have made Garrett’s job much more difficult this season, but the NFC East was really anyone’s for the taking. Coming into the week, no team in the division had a winning record. But the Cowboys have been at the bottom of the NFC East for most of the season, and at 4-10 they have been eliminated. They rarely looked competitive since Tony Romo broke his collarbone the first time.
Although the postseason is no longer possible, both the Bills and the Cowboys would benefit from finishing the season strong, starting with this week’s matchup.
How to watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo, N.Y.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston
Online: Watch NFL Live
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