National Football League

2023 NFL odds: Dak Prescott's troubling betting trend against winning teams

Updated Dec. 18, 2023 4:27 p.m. ET

Quarterback Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys were flying high, riding a five-game winning streak heading into Sunday's game at the Buffalo Bills.

But Prescott and the Cowboys came crashing down to earth, suffering a 31-10 loss to Buffalo.

The sound defeat continued a troubling trend for Prescott and the 10-4 Cowboys.

The Dallas signal-caller is now 0-3 straight up and 6-11 (35.3%) against the spread (ATS) on the road against teams with a winning record this season.

Digging deeper, since Prescott was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, he is 18-24 ATS (42.9%) when facing teams with a winning record in the regular season.

Why is this a storyline this week?

Prescott & Co. have an upcoming road game against a team with a winning record, the 10-4 Miami Dolphins, on Christmas Eve (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX and FOX Sports App).

FOX Sports lead NFL Analyst Greg Olsen said the Buffalo defense delivered a blueprint for stopping Prescott and the Cowboys after the Bills ended Dallas' five-game win streak.

"You could see the whole night that Dak just looked a little uneasy," Olsen said. "We're so used to seeing him hit that back foot, be in rhythm, get the ball out, make plays downfield. There were no explosive plays, they fell behind, so they couldn't really lean on the run game at all, and all Buffalo had to do was sit those safeties back there, continue to change the looks underneath, and they gave Dallas all they could handle."

Josh Allen, Bills crush Dak Prescott, Cowboys, Dave Helman reacts

Prescott fell from the betting favorite to third in the odds for NFL MVP after the loss.

"I think this puts an end to the MVP candidacy of Dak Prescott," FOX Sports Cowboys Insider David Helman said. "Rare to see an MVP candidate lose a game in this much of a lopsided fashion this close to the end of the season and still rebound. I guess because it is such a wide-open year, it's possible — I would call it extremely unlikely.

"It's definitely not all his fault. He didn't play well; certainly not all his fault. And you can go on and on about the various reasons why the Cowboys fell so short."

FOX Sports' Skip Bayless, host of "The Skip Bayless Show," has written three books on "America's Team."

But watching Prescott go 21-for-34 passing (61.8%) for 134 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, three sacks and a 57.7 passer rating was too much for Bayless.

Do you think Prescott's struggles on the road will continue against the Dolphins? Follow FOX Sports for the latest NFL news.