The Dallas Cowboys hadn’t won on the road against the New York Jets since 2003, and today felt like it could be another loss given all the injuries. Dallas was down four starters on the offensive line,
with Tyler Smith technically being active but being held out as a precaution. That was on top of CeeDee Lamb still being out, as well as KaVontae Turpin.
It didn’t seem to matter, as the Cowboys dominated the Jets from start to finish. The 37-22 final score doesn’t even reflect how much of a runaway this was for the Cowboys.
New York started out with the ball, and they had little trouble moving. The Cowboys defense did what it’s done often this year – give up easy passes on critical third downs – and the run defense suddenly looked incapable of stopping a nosebleed. Yet, they stiffened up at the last second, forcing an incompletion on third and goal. The Jets settled for a field goal.
Dallas returned the favor, settling for a Brandon Aubrey field goal after Dak Prescott sailed a pass on third down. Early on, it looked like the Cowboys were getting along well with their patchwork offensive line but were missing Lamb and Turpin.
Then, things clicked.
Javonte Williams started pouring it on in the run game and Prescott started finding guys all over, namely Ryan Flournoy. That helped spur a drive that ended with Ferguson holding the ball in the endzone. Not long afterwards, Marist Liufau forced a fumble that Sam Williams fell on top of, and the Cowboys offense moved right back down the field again, thanks in large part to a massive bomb to Flournoy.
After Williams ran in for a touchdown on the next play, the Jets quickly went three-and-out, giving the Cowboys a shot to double-dip before halftime. On the very first play, Williams broke multiple tackles and bowled over his own teammate to rip off a 66-yard run. Prescott then found Ferguson again for a wide open touchdown.
That meant a 23-3 halftime lead, and for much of the third quarter, it felt as if neither team could do anything more. The Jets went for it on fourth and short but Justin Fields threw incomplete. Two plays later, Prescott hit a 43-yard bomb to George Pickens for a touchdown.
At that point, the game flipped. Holding a 30-3 lead through nearly three full quarters, Dallas went into a clock-killing mode, while the Jets started trying whatever was in the book to move the ball. It ended up resulting in two fourth quarter touchdowns, with Prescott hitting Williams for his fourth touchdown of the day in between, but this game was over by the time the fourth quarter began.
This game marks an inflection point for the Cowboys. After the tie last week, and with all the injuries they’re dealing with, Dallas came into this game with plenty of excuses. The Jets were desperate for their first win, too, just as the Bears were two weeks ago. The Cowboys locked in and made sure that didn’t happen again.
Notably, the run game continued to succeed despite so many backups on the offensive line; Williams earned his first 100-yard game as a Cowboy. Prescott hit 237 passing yards and four scores, with just one sack on the day. And Flournoy led the team with 114 yards on six catches, a revelation for this ailing receiving corps.
This was exactly the kind of performance the Cowboys needed, and they delivered it in spite of the all injuries and adversity facing this locker room right now. That has to feel good.
