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Tony Casillas on Cowboys loss to Bills, Jimmy Johnson
Former Cowboy Tony Casillas talks about Dallas getting dominated by the Buffalo Bills and how special it will be to see Jimmy Johnson go into the team's Ring of Honor.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - At various times this season, the Miami Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys have looked like contenders or pretenders.
Both teams are 10-4, have offenses and defense ranked near the top of the league, and have taken care of lesser competition - sometimes winning by eye-popping margins.
But both have struggled against the best teams in the league.
Three of Miami's four losses have come against teams with winning records, while all 10 of its wins have come against teams that entered at .500 or worse. The Cowboys' only win against a team that currently has a winning record came two weeks ago in a 33-13 blowout of the ebbing Philadelphia Eagles.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said he told his players to not think about playoff seeding - Miami currently holds the No. 2 spot in the AFC and can clinch a playoff berth with a win Sunday - or the "narrative" that they can't beat good teams.
"Anything other than to concern yourself with the next opponent, which for us is the Dallas Cowboys, any other narrative that has to do with good teams or playoff seeds or the next three games, all that stuff," McDaniel said Monday, "I gave them the clearance to tell all members of the media to - with all due respect - ‘F' off, with all due respect."
Whether they pay attention to it or not, the Dolphins can change that trend Sunday at home, where they have won 18 of their last 21 games. Tua Tagovailoa has a .792 winning percentage at home, which is the second best among active quarterbacks with at least 20 home starts.
The Cowboys are 3-4 on the road. Last week, they lost 31-10 at Buffalo, giving up 266 yards rushing while recording only 195 yards total.
"You can't get to where you want to go being a .500 team on the road," Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said. "You're not going to be playing playoff games at home with that record either. It's definitely a focus for us."
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is averaging 304 yards passing with two interceptions and a 74% completion rate at AT&T Stadium. On the road, he's averaged 216 yards per game with five picks and a 63% completion rate.
The Cowboys clinched a playoff berth before kicking off against Buffalo but still have a chance to win the NFC East and secure the top seed in the conference.
McCarthy said his team will lean on a mix of veterans and youngsters the rest of the way.
"This is why we spend so much time with our younger players," he said. "Because this is the time of year that young players are playing. And it's the most important time of the year because we're all fighting for playoff seeds and so forth. I think the biggest thing is just to stay after it, stay consistent and lean on your leadership."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
MORE: Dallas Cowboys Coverage on FOX 4
Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins
What: Dallas Cowboys (10-4) vs. Miami Dolphins (10-4)
When: Sunday, December 24, 2023, at 3:25 p.m.
Where: Hard Rock Stadium
How to watch: In Dallas, you can watch the entire game on FOX 4. If you're outside the DFW area, you can catch it on all FOX stations throughout Texas. You can stream it on the NFL app and NFL Network. NFL rules prohibit FOX 4 from streaming the game so, as much as we'd LOVE to stream the games here, we can't. Sorry.