Buffalo @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 27, 2015 ) Dallas 6, Buffalo 16

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was pretty direct with his comments after the team's latest loss on Sunday, and then cleared up any mystery two days later about head coach Jason Garrett and his staff. The Cowboys look to give Jones something positive to say and strengthen their bid for the playoffs on Thursday when they host the Buffalo Bills.

“When you're general manager, which I am, those coaches are out there at my ultimate decision," Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "It's very much within my realm of purview, if you will, to not only be standing there as an owner but be standing there as the general manager who put the staff there to begin with." Dallas remains atop the NFC East despite dropping two of its last three games, including a 13-9 decision to New England that saw the Cowboys' top-ranked offense fail to get untracked and star wideout Amari Cooper held without a catch. That's not promising news with Buffalo boasting the NFL's third-ranked defense, one that limited Denver to just 134 yards in a 20-3 rout on Sunday. Defensive end Shaq Lawson collected two of the four sacks by the Bills, whose 8-3 record is the team's best since 1996.

TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Cowboys -7. O/U: 46

ABOUT THE BILLS (8-3): Josh Allen answered his four-touchdown performance (three passing, one rushing) in Buffalo's 37-20 win over Miami on Nov. 17 by tossing two scoring strikes versus the Broncos. The 23-year-old also rumbled for 56 yards in both games, with that total pushing him over 1,000 in his first 23 NFL games to join Lamar Jackson, Robert Griffin III, Michael Vick and Cam Newton as the lone quarterbacks to accomplish the feat. Speedy John Brown reeled in his third touchdown reception in two games on Sunday while former Cowboys wideout Cole Beasley led the team with six catches for 76 yards and a score. "Maybe it doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but definitely my usage, I'm very happy with the things I get to do during the game," the 30-year-old Beasley said, per the Dallas Morning News.

ABOUT THE COWBOYS (6-5): Garrett wasn't interested in publicly getting into a back-and-forth with Jones or debating what the team needs to do in order for him to keep his job. "We just focus on what we need to do to coach and play our best and get ready for this ballgame," Garrett said Tuesday. "Buffalo's a good football team, so we'll just keep our attention right there." Dak Prescott (NFL-best 3,433 yards) answered three straight three-touchdown performances and a 444-yard passing day versus Detroit on Nov. 17 with less than half that yardage total (212) while completing a season-worst 57.6 percent of his throws versus the Patriots. Ezekiel Elliott rolled up 126 scrimmage yards (86 rushing, 40 receiving) last week and traditionally has feasted on foes on Thanksgiving, amassing 263 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in two holiday games.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Cooper would love a repeat performance of last year's effort on Thanksgiving, as he had eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns in Dallas' 31-23 win over Washington.

2. Buffalo rookie RB Devin Singletary recorded season highs in carries (21) and yards (106) on Sunday.

3. Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch is expected to miss his second straight game with a neck injury, per Jones.

PREDICTION: Cowboys 24, Bills 17