Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets: Predicting a winner
By Chris Hill
After suffering two straight losses, the Dallas Cowboys fly to New Jersey to take on a winless New York Jets team. Let’s breakdown the Week Six matchup.
On Sunday, the 3-2 Dallas Cowboys travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the 0-4 New York Jets in a matchup of teams desperate for a victory. The Cowboys are coming off an embarrassing showing at home in a 31-21, turnover-filled loss to the Green Bay Packers, and the Jets remained winless on the season after going down to the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-6.
All the early season talk about the Dallas Cowboys having one of the most complete teams in the league came to a crashing halt over the past two weeks. Last Sunday saw a Cowboys team that struggled in all three phases and looked unsure of itself for the majority of the game. As usual, the rumors of head coach Jason Garrett‘s imminent demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Last week, quarterback Dak Prescott had too many turnovers, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and the run defense was anemic, and kicker Brett Maher made everyone long for the good ‘ole days of, now Minnesota Vikings kicker, Dan Bailey. By the way, Bailey was just named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
The fact that Dallas had an opportunity late in the fourth quarter in a game they trailed 31-3 is a clear sign they had the better team, but the Cowboys are not good enough to beat a playoff-caliber team when they turn the ball over. Despite complaints about the playcalling against the Saints and the inability to stop the run against the Packers, the Cowboys likely win both games if they don’t turn the ball over.
As bad as the Cowboys looked early in the game last week, the Jets have looked ten times worse over the past couple of games. Their offense has been completely putrid gaining a whopping 233 total yards in the two-week stretch. A lot of that was due to quarterback Sam Darnold being out since Week One with mononucleosis.
On the season, running back Le’Veon Bell is averaging a paltry 2.9 yards per carry, but with Darnold back in the lineup, there is a reason for some optimism. The Jets will be a team with nothing to lose but a lot to prove. This could be a dangerous combination for Dallas.
Let’s jump into the match up from an offensive, defensive, and special teams perspective then predict a final score.