Tag: 2023 week 2

3 Major takeaways from Cowboys’ strong 2-0 start to 2023

If Week 1 sounded the alarm, Week 2 started up the cement mixer. Dallas might just have a juggernaut in each phase of the game in 2023. | From @cdpiglet

Coming into the season, there were a myriad of storylines centering around the Dallas Cowboys. There was the alleged regression of quarterback Dak Prescott. Many claimed he had been surpassed by Daniel Jones and foresaw him struggling against the New York Jets defense. There were questions stemming from head coach Mike McCarthy taking over playcalling duties and about the defense’s need to improve against the run and of course the lack of a good kicking option. Across all three phases, Dallas was going to have issues on the football field.

Yet here are those same Cowboys, starting the season 2-0, crushing the two New York teams by a total score of 70-10. They look like the most complete and dominant team in the NFL, attacking opponents in all three phases of the game. Offensively, they’ve used a conservative approach that includes heavy doses of CeeDee Lamb and the running backs. Defensively, they’ve been suffocating following the lead of Micah Parsons, and they’ve also sported a playmaking special teams unit with an incredible rookie kicker.

CeeDee Lamb’s standout performance vs Jets sets expectations

CeeDee Lamb provided a necessary spark for the Cowboys offense against one of the league’s best defenses, earning him player of the game. | From @TimLettiero

On March 6th, 1997, The Notorious B.I.G. was crowned king of the New York rap game. On September 17th, 2023, the Dallas Cowboys steamrolled the New York Jets to crown themselves the kings of New York. After dismantling the New York Giants in emphatic fashion, Dallas looked to do more of the same back at home against the Jets and they delivered.

Without Aaron Rodgers, the Jets attempted to lean on the run game, but Dallas shut that down almost instantly, leaving the ball in Zach Wilson’s hands. That went about as well as it could have for the Dallas defense but the Dallas offense was the leading factor in today’s game. HC Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott did their jobs today keeping the ball moving and staying efficient, but a certain pass catcher took the game by the scruff of the neck.

With Brandin Cooks sidelined with a knee injury, CeeDee Lamb stepped up and had himself a day. Lining up both inside and outside, he was able to torch a Jets secondary that had picked off Bills QB Josh Allen three times in Week 1.

Mere minutes into the game he and quarterback Dak Prescott connected on a beautiful pitch and catch down the left sideline.

With just under a minute left in the first quarter and the offense pushed up against their own goalline, McCarthy and Prescott called ole reliable and sent Lamb on a slant. A perfect ball between defenders and a missed tackle led to a lot of open field for Lamb as he took the rock 30 yards downfield.

He’ll definitely be thanking Center Tyler Biasdasz after tonight for backing him up on his fumble.

He’d continue to haul in catch after catch and consistently move the chains for the Dallas offense. He’d top off a fantastic first half with this catch, putting him over 100 yards on seven receptions.

Lamb would finish the day with 11 catches on 13 targets for 143 yards, 66 of them being after the catch. It’s safe to say WR1 and QB1 are on the same page and firing on all cylinders.

By the numbers: Cowboys dominant across the board in Week 2

The numbers reflect a dominant victory by the Cowboys in Week 2 that involved all three phases of the game and total control throughout. | From @ReidDHanason

With a 30-10 victory over the Jets in Dallas’ home opener, the Cowboys moved to 2-0 and now sit atop nearly all NFL power rankings. It was another dominant showing for their offense, defense and special teams, and it was statement performance against one of the NFL’s more talented rosters.

Even without Aaron Rodgers under center, the Jets were considered a worthy opponent. They bested an AFC favorite Buffalo team in Week 1, and hoped their suffocating defense and strong running game could keep the good times rolling in Arlington.

That clearly didn’t happen and as the numbers show, Dallas was superior in nearly every way.

The Cowboys grabbed an early lead on their opening drive and never relinquished. They methodically piled up points and for the second week in a row, produced a dominant win in all three phases of the game. Here’s a look inside the numbers.

4 Downs: The biggest turning points in Cowboys’ blowout of the Jets

The Cowboys beat New York with a familiar script in Week 2, here are four downs that show how the Cowboys got it done. | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Jets 30-10 in the home opener to improve to 2-0 for the first time in the Mike McCarthy era. In victory, the Cowboys followed a familiar script; get ahead early, then go hunting with an opportunistic defense.

This was easy to see coming for the Dallas defense. Playing against a quarterback who has a knack for giving the ball away, as soon as the Cowboys got up double-digits, the floodgates opened, leading to the rout.

Dak Prescott paced the offense with another efficient game where the new Texas Coast Offense was on display. Without wide receiver Brandin Cooks, there was more small ball than anticipated, but the Cowboys still managed to put up 382 yards of total offense and 30 points, despite playing most of the fourth quarter on cruise control.

Here are the four downs that made the difference for the Cowboys in the Week 2 win.

Twitter reacts to Cowboys thumping Jets to move to 2-0

A look at some of the best tweets from before during and following the Cowboys 30-10 win on Sunday. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have wowed the viewing public once again. After throttling the New York Football Giants in Week 1, the club turned their attention to their home opener. Hosting the New York Jets a week after they lost Aaron Rodgers for the season took some of the steam out of the matchup, but these are professionals.

Dallas proceeded to place a professional-grade whopping on Zach Wilson and the Jets, opening up the scoring with a first-drive touchdown and never looking back. By the time it was over, the Cowboys sat with a 2-0 record and a +60 scoring differential through just two weeks. It was an enjoyable ride for all those watching, and it was all captured on social media.

Micah Parsons, Cowboys sweep Gotham series, ground Jets 30-10

DC wrote a graphic novel in two parts, dominating the Gotham dynamic duo in back-to-back weeks. | From @KDDrummondNFL

When the dust settled on the 2022 season, the guantlet had been set for the Dallas Cowboys. The divisional rotation lined up the AFC East and the NFC West to be the additional opponents for the NFC East, and Dallas knew they were in for a rough schedule.

Once announced, the schedule placed the two New York teams at the front of things, giving the DC the chance to write their own graphic novel centered around Micah Parsons and the Cowboys’ defense. After blanking the Giants on the road in Week 1, the Cowboys returned home and vanquished the Jets to the tune of 30-10.

Parsons may be the ultimate villain for opponents, needing no mask to hide his identity. One week after notching a sack and using his pressure to get other players sacks and turnovers, Parsons turned things up a notch on Sunday, notching two sacks, forcing and recovering a fumble and still getting enough pressures to lead to more turnovers.

Dallas intercepted Zach Wilson three times on the game among their four forced turnovers. Meanwhile Dallas QB Dak Prescott threw his first two touchdown passes of the season after completing his first 12 passes of the game. CeeDee Lamb caught 11 of Prescott’s 31 completions for 143 yards on the afternoon as Dallas improved to 2-0.

Cowboys LG exits game with elbow injury

The Cowboys’ sole OL spot playing with a backup is now down to third string. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have an offensive line concern heading into the halftime break. CBS Sports’ Tracey Wolfson reported that the one backup offensive lineman who is starting is undergoing x-rays.

Dallas has been without starting left guard Tyler Smith through both games as he nurses a hamstring injury suffered early in the practice week ahead of the season opener. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Chuma Edoga, a free agent pickup this offseason, formerly of the New York Jets. Edoga left the first half early to get his elbow looked at.

Filling in for him is UDFA rookie T.J. Bass, who took the last snap of the half, a kneel down with Dallas leading 18-10.

WATCH: Prescott carves up Jets defense, Parsons carves up their OL

The two key players for the Cowboys made their presence known immediately in Week 2. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Mike McCarthy had a plan, and the Dallas Cowboys ran it to perfection. Winning the opening toss, the Dallas head coach elected to give his offense the first crack at things. Presumably, the club wanted to get out to an early lead and put the pressure on the New York Jets and their QB Zach Wilson.

Dak Prescott accepted the challenge. After an opening dose of Tony Pollard, Prescott found CeeDee Lamb on two plays that got them into Jets territory. On third down, Prescott raced out of pressure for a 15-yard gain that put them inside the 10. That was soon followed by a third-and-goal conversion to tight end Jake Ferguson for the club’s first passing touchdown of the young season.

That put the Dallas defense on alert, and of course Dan Quinn’s unit delivered. Veteran DE DeMarcus Lawrence blew up the first run, dropping exciting RB Breece Hall for a four-yard loss. Two plays later, Micah Parsons got the defense off the field with his second sack of the season.

The Cowboys lead 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

 

Cowboys-Jets inactives: Cooks, Smith out, leave shorthanded in Week 2

The Cowboys are missing two key pieces on offense in Week 2 while the Jets are without their first-round pass rusher. | From @cdburnett7

The Dallas Cowboys are missing their newest weapon for the home opener in AT&T Stadium against the New York Jets. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks was listed as question able throughout the week with a knee injury nad it’s going to keep him out in Week 2.

Second-year lineman Tyler Smith is inactive for the second-straight week as Dallas awaits their full-strength offensive line. It’s a lingering hamstring injury, and he’s still day-to-day moving forward. Dallas hopes his absence doesn’t bite them too badly against a strong New York front. On the defensive side of the ball, safety Donovan Wilson will spend another week on the sidelines as he works back from a calf injury in training camp.

For the Jets, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was already moved to the IR, but his loss is obviously the largest. Take a look at the full list of inactives for the Cowboys’ Week 2 bout with the Jets.

Cowboys-Jets Advanced Stats: Dallas offense a lot better than most thought

The Cowboys and Jets face off and here’s the true tale of the tape between the two clubs. DVOA, EPA, Big-play potential and more. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Somehow, in the context of a 40-0 blowout victory, detractors looked to find something wrong with Dallas’ performance. With Dak Prescott failing to record a passing touchdown, the offense’s performance somehow got labeled as a disappointment despite scoring 27 points in limited action.

Per the tweet above, that clearly was not the case. The advanced statistics support this theory as outlined in the rest of the article below. Each week the Advanced Stats Notebook looks to gather stats and metrics that truly function as measures of team quality and then use an overview to determine which team should have the advantage. For the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, here’s how things shake out heading into their Week 2 matchup Sunday afternoon.