This Week 5 matchup with the New York Jets had the makings to be one of those trap games for the Dallas Cowboys. Fortunately, the Cowboys were able to overcome a multitude of obstacles in order to secure
the 37-22 victory, their third of the season.
For the most part, the Cowboys looked pretty good in all three phases the game Sunday afternoon. There was however a little bit of bad and ugly sprinkled in, although quite a bit less than we’ve seen from them this season. Today, we’re going to take a look back at one good, bad, and “ugly” thing from this Week 5 victory.
THE GOOD – Javonte Williams and Ryan Flournoy
There were a lot of good things that took place Sunday afternoon for the Dallas Cowboys, but career days by both Javonte Williams and Ryan Flournoy certainly stood out the most. Williams’ 135 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 16 carries was his first 100-yard game with the Cowboys and his first since his rookie season in 2021. He’s performing like one of the best RBs in the league so far this season and has been a difference maker for the Cowboys. Joining him having a career day against the Jets was WR Ryan Flournoy. He may have earned himself more playing time after hauling in six catches for 114 yards, his most productive day in the league.
THE BAD – Cowboys run defense
While the defense overall played better than they have in the last few weeks, including five sacks on the day and a huge turnover, the Cowboys run defense was bad in this Week 5 matchup. The Jets offense was able to put up 378 total yards on Dallas’ defense, but to be fair, much of that was in garbage time. But Dallas gave up 144 yards rushing on only 22 Jets’ carries, with Breece Hall repeatedly breaking off big gains for 113 yards on the day and an 8.1 yards per carry average. They might have sacrificed run defense gap control for a stunting pass rush this week.
THE UGLY – The Big Uglies were pretty on the o-line for Dallas
The Cowboys entered this Week 5 matchup looking as if they were at a severe disadvantage due to the number of injuries they had on the offensive side of the ball. They were going to be without CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin as well as four of their starting five offensive lineman. It wouldn’t have been much of a surprise to see Dak Prescott and Company struggle because of all of this, but surprisingly enough they didn’t seem to skip a beat. The big uglies that were injury fill-ins along the offensive line stepped up their game, allowing Dallas’ offense to pick apart the Jets defense and secure their third “W” this year.
