NFL Today: Dallas Playoff Chances Decimated

This week, KC lost QB Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL and had its decade long playoff streak end; speaking of torn ACLs, Micah Parsons suffered the same fate on Sunday; and J.J. McCarthy enjoyed a breakout game, but pissed his coach off. Other Fantasy football stories that intrigue us include…

Brandon Aubrey Proves He’s Human

In mid-October, we noted how the Dallas Cowboys hadn’t won or lost more than one game in a row, but things soon changed as the team went into a two-game skid, following by a three-game winning streak, and now another two straight losses.

Got that?

So while Dallas needs just one more win to match last season’s total and the offense has been world class, the D has somehow managed to get even worse.

The upshot is that the only path to a playoff spot is a 3-0 finish by the Cowboys while the Eagles go 0-3. Free advice: we wouldn’t take those odds.

On Sunday, Dallas managed to avoid an expected slow start by scoring seven points against Minnesota in the first quarter. It added another 10 before halftime, yet lost anyway to fall back under .500 for the season.

Dallas PK Brandon Aubrey’s game acted as a microcosm of the Cowboy season. He nailed four field goals (one shy of matching his season high) and scampered six yards on a fake for a first down to maintain what was ultimately Dallas’ first TD drive of the day. But in failing on field goal attempts from 51 and 59 yards, it marked the first time in his career he’s missed more than one in the same game at home.

Brandon Aubrey : 4/6 FG's (Missed from 51 & 59 yards) & 2/2 on extra points; 1 carry for 6 yards pic.twitter.com/QyCmFItTya

— Lee Harvey (@Sayian_Warrior) December 15, 2025

Aubrey was coming off perhaps his best game of the season in Week 14 when he went 5-for-5 on FGs, including a 63-yarder (one of three 55+ yard FGs in the game, an NFL first), while converting his only extra point try. His scoring dipped a bit as a sophomore last year, but he’s been more accurate on fewer field goals while making more extra points this season. Best of all, Aubrey has not missed a field goal of shorter than 50 yards all season.

And really, off days like this are not common for him. In fact, prior to these two misses, Aubrey had only been unsuccessful on FG tries twice all season, so small wonder he came in as the top ranked PK for Week 15.

The former pro soccer player has elite leg strength (hence his NFL record six FGs of 60 yards or longer) and spent two seasons in the USFL before Dallas signed him in 2023.

Consider Aubrey a top two PK again for Week 16.

Buffalo Still Alive in AFC East

The ultimate goal for the Buffalo Bills remains the Super Bowl, but if they win out, they can still match their 2024 total for wins while proving they deserved having the highest odds to win at least 12 back in early September.

And more importantly, a sixth straight AFC East division title remains on the table thanks to a huge comeback victory over New England on Sunday. In fact, based on this win, the Bills’ odds of finishing first in the division have improved to +210 as per FanDuel.

But things sure didn’t look that way even three weeks ago. When Buffalo dropped two of three to fall to 7-4 after Week 12, its chances of winning the AFC East seemed slim. But after three straight wins, the landscape has changed.

Sunday’s comeback from down 21-0 proved that these Bills remain a force to be reckoned with. And to begin the second half, they set the tone right away when Ray Davis returned a kickoff 58 yards to the New England 44-yard line.

A fourth round pick last year, he enjoyed a promising rookie season as a fairly big part of the run game, but this season has been used sparingly as a runnen, and hasn’t even had a single carry the last two games after rushing for a season-high 62 yards on nine totes in Week 13.

But Davis’ work as the team’s primary kickoff returner has been incredible, as his 32.4 yard average return ranks second in the NFL and is the best in team history.

From a Fantasy perspective, his value is primarily as a handcuff option should James Cook get hurt.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

American rock band The Presidents of the United States of America started in 1993, remaining active until 2015 with a couple of breaks in between. In 1995, they released their eponymous debut and among the deep album tracks is “Back Porch.”

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