The Dallas Cowboys didn’t play a 15th game in a regular season schedule until 1978, when the NFL expanded to 16 games.
In the 45 years of Week 15 games that the Cowboys have played, they hold a 25-20 record overall. Dallas is 12-9 at home and 13-11 on the road in Week 15 contests.
The Cowboys will be on the road against Buffalo this week where they are 2-3 against the Bills in games played in upper New York state.
Ominously, Dallas is just 2-6 in Week 15 games played against AFC opponents. Dallas has never played Buffalo in Week 15.
They defeated Pittsburgh at home in 2012 and the Raiders in Oakland in 2017 for their two Week 15 wins.
They have lost two Week 15 games to the Jets. In addition they have single game losses to the Colts, Jaguars, Browns, and Chiefs.
The Cowboys’ 23-14 mark against NFC opponents is highlighted by their success in Week 15 games against NFC South teams.
Dallas is 3-0 against the Saints, 2-0 against the Buccaneers, and have defeated the Falcons in Week 15 too. The lone South division loss came at the hands of the Panthers at home in 1997.
The Cowboys are 5-2 against the NFC West with identical 2-1 marks against the Cardinals and Rams, along with a win over the 49ers.
Dallas is 1-1 against the NFC North with a win over the Vikings offset by a loss to the Packers.
Against their East division rivals, the Cowboys are 11-10. They are 3-2 against the Giants but 4-4 against both the Eagles and Commanders.
Streaky Schedule
Dallas played its first three Week 15 games on the road.
Back-to-back wins over the Eagles in Philadelphia in 1978-79 was followed by a loss to the Rams in Los Angeles.
The Cowboys played the next six Week 15 games at Texas Stadium. They beat the Eagles and Saints before dropping two straight to the Redskins in 1983-84.
A win over the Giants was followed by a loss to the Eagles and a three-year streak of playing away from home in Week 15 ensued from 1987-89.
Only one other time since then has Dallas played more than two straight Week 15 games either at home or on the road.
From 2001 to 2006, the Cowboys were away on Week 15 of the schedule. They went 2-4 during that stretch.
When Dallas takes the field today against the Bills, they will be playing their third-straight Week 15 road game.
They defeated the Giants in 2021 but fell last year in overtime to the Jaguars on a bizarre, walk-off Pick Six.
Dallas has won its last three Week 15 home games (2016, 2019, and 2020) but since 1986 they have never had more than two consecutive Week 15 homes games.
Against The Bills
Dallas is 2-0 against Buffalo in the Super Bowl, winning back-to-back championships at the Bills’ expense. They are just 6-5 in regular season meetings.
The Bills are 3-2 against Dallas in games played in Buffalo thanks to the Bills winning the last meeting, 16-6, in 2015.
Dallas won the first meeting in Buffalo, 49-37, back in 1971.
The Cowboys are 4-2 in games against the Bills played in Texas. Dallas won the first two games against the Bills that were played at Texas Stadium.
The Cowboys held on for a 17-10 win in 1976 the first time they hosted the Bills, then added a 27-14 win in 1981.
The Bills only win at Texas Stadium came in 1993, a 13-10 victory with Emmitt Smith still holding out. The Cowboys avenged that loss with a 10-6 win in 2003, the last time the Bills played inside Texas Stadium.
Dallas rolled to a 44-7 victory the first time Buffalo traveled to AT&T Stadium in 2011.
But the Bills won 26-15 the last time they played in Arlington on Thanksgiving Day in 2019.
WEEK 15 ALL-TIME VS. OPPONENTS
- NFC EAST
- GIANTS (3-2)
- EAGLES (4-4)
- COMMANDERS (4-4)
- NFC WEST
- CARDINALS (2-1)
- RAMS (2-1)
- 49ERS (1-0)
- SEAHAWKS (0-0)
- NFC SOUTH
- FALCONS (1-0)
- PANTHERS (0-1)
- SAINTS (3-0)
- BUCCANEERS (2-0)
- NFC NORTH
- BEARS (0-0)
- LIONS (0-0)
- PACKERS (0-1)
- VIKINGS (1-0)
- AFC EAST
- BILLS (0-0)
- DOLPHINS (0-0)
- PATRIOTS (0-0)
- JETS (0-2)
- AFC SOUTH
- TEXANS (0-0)
- COLTS (0-1)
- JAGUARS (0-1)
- TITANS (0-0)
- AFC NORTH
- RAVENS (0-0)
- BENGALS (0-0)
- BROWNS (0-0)
- STEELERS (1-0)
- AFC WEST
- BRONCOS (0-0)
- CHIEFS (0-1)
- RAIDERS (1-0)
- CHARGERS (0-0)
