What to watch in the Dallas Cowboys’ road matchup vs. the desperate Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is not one to go over playoff situations and scenarios with his team.

Before the NFL moved to a 16-game season, McCarthy didn’t talk about the playoffs until his team got to 10 wins.

Now that the NFL schedule has gone to 17 games, he says 11 is the magic number.

And that’s all McCarthy cares about when the Cowboys (10-3) play at the Buffalo Bills (7-6) on Sunday.

“Focused on 11 wins,” McCarthy said. “You can save that (playoff question) for next week. That’s the goal, but we want to win our division. All the things we said at the beginning of the season, nothing has changed. I’m not up here avoiding the topic, but 11 wins speaks for itself.”

The good news is that it’s potentially the best of both worlds for McCarthy and the Cowboys, who would officially clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Bills.

According to the NFL, the Cowboys can punch their ticket to the postseason with:

1. A win or tie vs. Buffalo OR

2. Los Angeles Rams loss or tie + Seattle Seahawks loss or tie OR

3. Green Bay Packers loss + Rams loss or tie + Atlanta Falcons loss or tie OR

4. Green Bay loss + Atlanta loss or tie + Seattle loss or tie OR

5. Green Bay loss + Atlanta loss or tie + Detroit Lions win or tie OR

6. Tampa Buccaneers loss + Minnesota Vikings loss or tie + Rams loss or tie OR

7. Tampa Bay loss + Minnesota loss or tie + Seattle loss or tie OR

8. Tampa Bay loss + Minnesota loss or tie + Detroit win or tie OR

9. Tampa Bay loss + San Francisco 49ers win or tie + Detroit win or tie OR

10. Tampa Bay loss + Detroit win or tie + Rams loss or tie OR

11. Tampa Bay-Green Bay tie + Rams loss or tie OR

12. Tampa Bay-Green Bay tie + Seattle loss or tie OR

13. Tampa Bay-Green Bay tie + Detroit win or tie OR

14, Seattle loss or tie + Minnesota loss + Dallas clinches strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Atlanta.

Got it?

For the Cowboys, the first scenario is all that matters.

“You can’t control what the other aspects of it are,” McCarthy said. “We need to beat Buffalo. When we’re standing at 11 wins, then we’ll look around and things will be a little more clear.”

What to watch in Sunday’s game:

Cowboys preparing for inclement weather

The Cowboys thought they caught a break with a pleasant day initially forecasted for Sunday in Buffalo.

As of Monday, the game-day temperatures were expected to be the 40s, which is mild for upstate New York this time of the year.

But while the temperature remains the same, it now expected 80 percent chance of rain with wind guts of more than 20 miles per hour by game time.

The Cowboys began working wet ball drills with all their skills players in practice on Thursday and Saturday.

The equipment staff has already sent a trunk to Buffalo with all their weather gear and extra cleats.

The weather also means the Cowboys will lean more on the running game with Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle.

The duo has gotten better and better as the season has gone on. The Cowboys have surpassed 100 rushing yards in five straight games.

“You have to have it,” McCarthy said. “It’s a long season, 17 games. To think running backs are going to touch the ball 20-25 times, that’s probably not realistic.

“We have been very fortunate to have it with Zeke (Elliott) and Tony the last three years and now to have it with Tony and Rico. We are very fortunate with our running back room.”

Take home dominance to the road

The Cowboys have won 15 straight games at AT&T Stadium, including a 7-0 mark in 2023.

The Cowboys are playing as well as anyone in the NFL, riding a five-game winning streak.

But they are 3-3 on the road in this season and have no wins against team with a winning record away from AT&T Stadium.

Buffalo (7-6) game is the first of two such challenges with the Miami Dolphins (9-4) up next.

For the Cowboys to reach the goal of making the Super Bowl, they will have to win some games on the road. As of now they would be the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs.

And any hopes they have overcoming the Philadelphia Eagles (10-3) or the San Francisco 49ers (10-3) for one of the top two spots to guarantee themselves at least one one game or have a chance for home-field advantage throughout the playoff they need to survive and thrive on the road now.

It’s one reason owner Jerry Jones says Sunday’s game against the Bills is as big or bigger than last week’s 33-13 victory against the Eagles at home.

“It’s a daunting task to go to Buffalo with a very dangerous team, very talented team,” Jones said. “One that early was predicted to be dominant. Their quarterback (Josh Allen) is outstanding, presents all kinds of problems for anybody. This is every bit the challenge we had last week against the Eagles. This is a daunting task to think about going from their to the other road game that we we got (in Miami). Buckle your seat belts.”

How can the Cowboys carry home success on the road?

McCarthy said the team needs to get off to a fast start and take the crowd out of it.

Receiver CeeDee Lamb calls it bringing your own music in a hostile environment.

“I feel like we’ve gotta bring our own music,” Lamb said. “We’re gonna be in a hostile environment, so we’re not gonna get as much praise for making big plays, so we’ve gotta make that the new norm. We’ve gotta stick to our script, continue to play, make routine plays and score touchdowns.”

Either way, quarterback Dak Prescott said these games will prepare the Cowboys for what’s ahead.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge but, right now, it’s not about home or away,” Prescott added. “These are playoff-type games and it’s important for us to use this momentum and confidence we’ve built to take another step on the road.”

Micah Parson is jealous of Josh Allen and must stop him

Task No. 1 for the Cowboys defense is find away to contain Bills quarterback Josh Allen as a runner and a passer.

He has an NFL-record tying nine games with both a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown this season.

He is a load to sack and a load to tackle.

He is also interception prone. He has thrown 14 this season and the Cowboys hope to capitalize on Sunday.

Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons knows all that.

But he is admittedly envious of Allen.

“You got to put him in a different space because he was a cover of Madden you know,” Parsons said. “He’s up there with them greats. So I never told Josh this, but I’m a little jealous because he was on the cover of Madden.”

How about Allen the football player on Sunday?

“Josh [Allen] reminds me a lot of that one crazy guy at the frat... he’s that wild dude on the field,” Parsons said. “He’s going to talk trash. He’s going to get rowdy.”

Record-setting kicker Brandon Aubrey ready

Cowboys rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey, nicknamed “Butter” by Prescott, simply can’t miss.

He has made an NFL-record 30 straight field goals to start his career. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after kicking four field goals in the 33-13 victory against the Eagles, while becoming the first player in NFL history make two kicks from 59 or more yards in the same game.

Aubrey success has largely coming in the friendly indoor confines of AT&T Stadium or good weather conditions outdoors.

Sunday will be the biggest challenge to his record streak because of rain and wind expected during the Bills game.

Aubrey is ready.

“Buffalo is a tough place for kicker to kick and it’s something I want to prove I can do,” Aubrey said.