Cowboys Flake, Jets Awake: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Bad

The Cowboys defense is a bend but don’t break unit – except when they are not. On the first play after Dallas failed to convert a fourth and two from the Jets seven yard line, the defense found a way to get the ball back for the offense quickly.

The Jets lined up in 11 personnel (one running back and one tight end) with two wide receivers to the left of the formation. The tight end did not run a route and became the sixth blocker.

Jets receiver Robby Anderson was on the right side of the formation and ran a double move on Cowboys corner Chidobe Awuzie. Anderson had five-yards of separation from Awuzie when he caught Jets quarterback Sam Darnold‘s pass at midfield.

Cowboys single high safety Jeff Heath was not able to keep Anderson in front of him. He dove to catch the Jets receivers feet but missed letting Anderson have a 50 yard uncontested trot to the end zone for a 14-3 Jets lead.

The Jets took 12 seconds to hand the ball back to the Cowboys offense. However, their lead jumped from four points to 11.

The Dallas offense needed a strong response to break the Jets momentum. CBS analyst and former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said that this Cowboys drive becomes really important.

Four plays and 1:34 of game clock later, the Jets had the ball back after two Dallas completions and one incompletion netted only eight yards. The Jets would march 65 yards in six plays and 1:33 of game clock time to increase their lead to 21-3.

With about four minutes left in the first half, the Cowboys were trailing 7-3 and had a fourth down on the Jets seven-yard line. So what should have been a 7-6 deficit or even a 10-7 lead quickly turned into a 21-3 hole Dallas would never be able to climb out.