Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs New York Jets

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.

 

Report: Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks expected to miss Week 2 vs Jets

The Dallas Cowboys haven avoided the catastrophic injuries thus far this 2023 season, but they are not unscathed. Wideout Brandin Cooks, the club’s top free-agent acquisition this past offseason, will be unavailable for the team on Sunday according …

The Dallas Cowboys haven avoided the catastrophic injuries thus far this 2023 season, but they are not unscathed. Wideout Brandin Cooks, the club’s top free-agent acquisition this past offseason, will be unavailable for the team on Sunday according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. A knee sprain is the culprit.

The Cowboys worked to improve their wideout corps after last year’s debacle saw Noah Brown as the team’s No. 2 receiver and the lack of quality depth helped Dak Prescott to a league-leading 15 interceptions in just 12 games. Dallas hopes they’ll see improvement out of veteran Michael Gallup, who was recovering from an ACL injury during his lackluster 2022 campaign, and second-year wideouts Kavontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert.

CeeDee Lamb, the club’s top receiver, had a strong start to his season although on a low target count. Lamb grabbed all four throws directed his way for 77 yards, a 19.3 average per catch.

The club will miss Cooks though, as the veteran has six different 1,000-yard campaigns under his belt and brings a speed element and route-running savvy that must be respected. The Jets pass defense intercepted Buffalo QB Josh Allen three times last week but aside from those plays did not do much to stop the Bills’ passing attack.

It will be tougher for Dallas, but losing Cooks for this contest does not mean things should automatically fall apart.

 

Here’s how the Cowboys can combat Jets defensive depth and rotations

The Jet like to rotate their defensive linemen throughout a game but the Cowboys can put a stop to it. | From @ReidDHanson

Like Dan Quinn’s unit in Dallas, Robert Saleh’s Jets defense runs frequent rotations of personnel on and off the field throughout the game. They lean on their line depth to keep players fresh but also to put specialists in optimal position to succeed. It gives the Jets an advantage over opposing offenses because they can roll deep into their roster with limited overall drop-off.

Dallas has a similarly dominant defense at their disposal. While schemes and personnel differ between the two, they share familiar traits in their overall depth and dominance. Dallas logged 10 players with 17 or more snaps in Week 1. So, it stands to reason, if anyone knows how to limit the effectiveness of a rotational line, it’s Dallas.

The Cowboys know firsthand the best way to stop a rotation is to prevent substitutions in between plays. Opponents have done it to Dallas occasionally over the years and it’s forced the Cowboys to keep tired personnel on the field for longer than they would have liked.

If offenses stay on the field and line up instead of huddling, they will prevent the defense from swapping in fresh players. If the Cowboys can catch New York with a mismatch of personnel, they could gain an advantage by sticking with it for an up-tempo drive.

With a veteran quarterback like Dak Prescott under center, they can easily make their play calls at the line of scrimmage. And at home, Prescott can clearly communicate from under center since crowd noise will be in his favor. Once they’re at the line they can use the play-clock to its fullest. The point is they will prevent the Jets from substituting.

In Week 1, eight Jets defensive linemen logged 20 or more snaps. And that number should jump to nine when Carl Lawson makes his way back into the lineup. Standout star tackle Quinnen Williams took the most snaps at 52, but everywhere else the line rotates early and often.

The Cowboys saw significant success playing out of 12 personnel against the Giants in Week 1.  Two-TE sets could be the key to success again in Week 2.

The Jets cycle their defensive line but don’t adjust much in the back-seven. Based on snap counts, they played 56 of their 69 plays in nickel. If the Cowboys can catch them in a mismatch with 12 or 13 personnel, they may want to stick with it, play hurry-up, and prevent the Jets from substituting.

It’s not something for every drive but can be a great way to move the ball against a defense that leans on its rotations.

The Cowboys’ Week 2 opponents may not present immense challenges offensively, but their defense is one that should keep them within arm’s reach of victory throughout the season. It’s hard not to appreciate and respect what Saleh has built in New York. Lost in the doom and gloom of Aaron Rodgers’ injury is the fact Saleh has a defensive juggernaut on his hands.

Mike McCarthy and the Dallas offense may need to play some fast-break offense to break the Jets’ press.

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TV coverage maps, how to stream Cowboys-Jets, plus 10 top prop bets

If you’re in red, you get to move ahead. If you’re in blue, here’s what you’ll need to do. If you’re not in debt, here are some solid bets. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are ready to roll for their home opener of the 2023 season. After taking over Gotham in Week 1 with a 40-0 blowout victory, the Cowboys will now host the other team from New York in the AFC’s Jets. Dallas’ victory last week was the franchise’s largest shutout victory ever and could be a sign of great things to come this season. The three other times Dallas has shut out a team by 35 or more points, they’ve gone to the Super Bowl. The two previous times that happened in Week 1, they won the Lombardi.

Now the club will take on the Aaron Rodgers-less Jets after the future HoF QB was lost four plays into their win over Buffalo. New York was able to pull out the victory though, which shows they are more than capable of pulling off what Dallas did in 2022 when they lost QB Dak Prescott for five games and went 4-1. Want to catch all of the action? Here’s how, along with our favorite bets for the contest.

Cowboys’ Zack Martin ‘took every rep’ on Friday; Saturday to give clue on groin injury

From @ToddBrock24f7: Martin downplayed the injury that limited him this week; Saturday’s practice squad elevations could indicate whether he’ll play Sunday.

Cowboys right guard Zack Martin caused some concern when he showed up on the team’s injury report this week with a groin injury. The issue had the eight-time Pro Bowler listed as “limited” on both Thursday and Friday.

Martin’s own words and what he did in practice on Friday were cause for optimism among Cowboys Nation heading into Week 2’s home opener against the Jets, but officially, he’s considered questionable for Sunday’s game.

Saturday, however, will be very telling in regard to his actual gameday outlook.

In his regular Thursday appearance, the 32-year-old lineman told Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan shortly after first appearing on the team’s injury report, “Oh, I’m doing good. It was just a little tight. They were taking care of me today.”

Martin’s nonchalant answer about the injury was perhaps bolstered by news that he “took every rep” in Friday’s practice (according to head coach Mike McCarthy), despite keeping the “limited” classification for a second straight day.

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The future Hall of Famer is expected to start, but as Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News points out, Saturday’s practice squad elevations will provide a major clue.

If the club uses one of their two gameday elevations on Sean Harlow, Alex Taylor-Prioleau, or Earl Bostick Jr., it’s a sign that the Cowboys coaching staff acknowledges a “realistic chance” that Martin will need to sit.

If the elevations are used on other positions, the team likely feels good about Martin’s state of readiness.

Martin is slated to line up against Jets veteran defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, the No. 3 player chosen in 2019’s draft and a first-team All-Pro last year.

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Cowboys Final Injury Report concerning for offense ahead of Jets in Week 2

The Cowboys will have to work through some injury concerns when they square off with the Jets on Sunday. The final injury report is out. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys don’t have the level of injury the New York Jets are dealing with, but things aren’t exactly great ahead of the Week 2 clash. Nothing comes close to trumping Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles injury and the downgrade from him to third-year starter Zach Wilson, of course. But the club’s home opener is less than 48 hours away, but for the second straight week the offensive line became less healthy as the game got closer.

Zack Martin’s addition to the injury report starting Thursday makes 3/5th of the starting lineup to be listed along the OL and there’s also a new concern at wide receiver. Meanwhile the Jets know the worst is behind them and aside from Rodgers the prospects of the rest of the roster are good to play on Sunday. Here’s a look at the game designations for Tyler Smith, Brandin Cooks, Donovan Wilson and more as the teams have released their final practice reports of the week.