Allen, Bills score 26 straight to handle Cowboys

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills looked right at home on a national stage. Allen threw for 231 yards and a touchdown, completing 12 straight passes at one point, and the defense checked the Dallas Cowboys after an opening touchdown drive Thursday in a convincing 26-15 win in Arlington, Texas.

Buffalo (9-3) tightened its grip on a playoff spot and moved within 1 1/2 games of AFC East leader New England, which plays at Houston on Sunday night. Dallas (6-6) now is a half-game ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East. The Eagles visit Miami on Sunday.

Allen completed 19 of 24 passes, spraying his completions to seven different receivers, and rushed for a score in his first nationally televised game. He made frequent use of former Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley, who caught six balls for 110 yards and a score in his homecoming game. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott hit on 32 of 49 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw an interception and lost a fumble. He found Ventell Bryant for a 15-yard score with 4:01 left in the game, but it was too little, too late.

Prescott got the Cowboys off to a fast start, hitting tight end Jason Witten with an 8-yard scoring strike less than 4 1/2 minutes into the game. But the game's remainder belonged to Buffalo. Allen found Beasley for a score-tying 25-yard touchdown pass with 8:01 left in the second quarter, capping an eight-play, 85-yard drive. The Bills used trickery to take the lead for good on the first play after the two-minute warning, as wide receiver John Brown took a reverse and threw to Devin Singletary for a 28-yard score. The Bills led 13-7 at half after Stephen Hauschka missed the extra point.

Buffalo took the second-half kickoff and scored on Hauschka's 41-yard field goal that banked in off the right upright, then upped the margin to 23-7 when Allen scrambled 15 yards for a touchdown with 3:37 left in the third quarter. Hauschka's 26-yard field goal with 8:20 remaining in the game gave the Bills a three-score lead at 26-7.

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