Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs New York Jets

Play-action, edge control among Cowboys-Jets key battlegrounds on Sunday

A look at the philosophical and schematic factors that will determine the winner in the Cowboys-Jets tilt on Sunday afternoon. | From @ReidDHanson

One week into the 2023 regular season and the Dallas Cowboys find themselves on very different sides of the spectrum than their Week 2 opponent. After losing Aaron Rodgers for the season in Week 1, the vibe has changed in New York. Their excitement for the season has turned to determination and the ultra-talented Jets appear hellbent on proving they can win despite their loss at QB.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, are coming off the biggest blowout of the week. They’re riding high atop the power rankings and their biggest threat this week appears to be drinking their own Kool-Aid. Where both teams start resemble each other is in their overall talent on the field. Like Dallas, the Jets are supremely gifted on defense. They possess talent at all levels and have roster depth to back it up.

Led by Robert Salah, New York’s defense is essentially an even better version of the 49ers squad that bounced Dallas from the postseason two years in a row.

Coming from the San Francisco coaching tree, the resemblance is understandable for Salah’s team. He leans on Cover 2/4 often, spreading his linemen wide up front and leaning on his explosive LBs to fill in the gaps seemingly everywhere.

The ability of the Jets defense cannot be overstated and at the moment, appears to be the best Dallas will face this season. As such, it will require a patient gameplan and success in a few key matchups for the Cowboys to come out top.

The absence of Rodgers doesn’t suddenly make this game easy, and the Cowboys’ mental toughness will be put to the test as they welcome the Jets to their home opener in Arlington.

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb looks to ‘make a statement’ vs Jets CB Sauce Gardner

From @ToddBrock24f7: Lamb says practicing every day against Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore has been the perfect prep for going up against the Jets’ star DB.

With just 143 yards in their season opener, it feels like the Cowboys’ passing game is still waiting to make its true 2023 debut.

But patience is a virtue, especially for an NFL wide receiver. And it’s one CeeDee Lamb- and the whole Dallas offense- is exercising as they come off a 40-0 blowout that, oddly, provided zero passing touchdowns and practically no aerial highlights at all.

“Best thing you can do,” Lamb told reporters this week, “don’t rush it and let it come to you.”

The two-time Pro Bowler caught all four balls thrown to him against the Giants and racked up 77 yards. While that per-game pace would put him awfully close to the career-best 1,359 he posted last season, Lamb has his sights set on improving.

This week’s date with the Jets is guaranteed to be drier and likely to be a lot closer on the scoreboard, so it should provide Lamb with far more opportunities than he got at soggy MetLife Stadium.

But the former first-round pick knows he’ll be seeing top-notch coverage from Sauce Gardner.

Lamb welcomes the challenge.

“Always a testament to your position,” Lamb explained. “Obviously, Sauce had a lot of success last year, and he’s a great DB. And [fellow Jets cornerback] D.J. Reed, I played him in college, so I’m very familiar with him. I look forward to games like that, matchups like that.”

That’s not even including Jets safety Jordan Whitehead, who picked off Bills passer Josh Allen three times in New York’s thrilling Week 1 win.

But Lamb is likely to be shadowed by Gardner, the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft. The All-Pro and reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year ended the 2022 season with just two interceptions, a number that’s mostly a product of opposing passers shying away from testing the 6-foot-3-inch cornerback.

When they did go after him, Gardner was terrifically effective. Opposing quarterbacks completed just 48% of their passes against him, and he led the NFL with 20 passes defended. He also had the highest PFF grade of any cornerback in the league.

“For starters, his height,” Lamb answered upon being asked what makes Gardner so good. “His technique, he knows his leverage. He’s very smart, tall. He’s not your average DB.”

Lamb is confident, though, that Cowboys offensive playcaller Mike McCarthy, coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, and quarterback Dak Prescott are capable of dialing up a better-than-average game plan that attacks the Jets secondary, with an air raid that looks- on paper, at least- to be incredibly explosive.

“Any given time, any given Sunday, honestly,” Lamb warned. “Just being out there with the guys and making the routine plays, things that we’ve been practicing and preaching since camp, to see it come to fruition, that’s probably the best feeling. And I think that’s what we’re looking forward to.”

Lamb says the work he’s been getting in every day against Cowboys cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Trevon Diggs is the perfect training ground for facing a talent like Gardner.

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The Oklahoma product says he gets a different lesson with each practice rep, depending on who’s guarding him.

“He’s probably the smartest DB,” Lamb said of the 13-year veteran Gilmore, “that I’ve ever lined up against. I get one yard down the field off a release, he knows– He’s kind of eliminating routes in his head. I mean, if you beat him, you got him. But I don’t know if you could do it twice.”

As for Diggs, Lamb offered, “He has the best ball skills out of all the DBs. So if the ball’s in the air, it makes me track it differently. And then looking eye-to-eye when I line up to a guy that’s my height- technically- it kind of makes you want to get in your bag a little more. … It’s great work in practice.”

And after all that practice- not to mention a season-opener that kept the Cowboys passing attack stuck safely in first gear- Lamb is more than ready to show Gardner what he’s been learning. And saving up.

“Test my abilities,” Lamb previewed, “and see where I am and make a statement.”

The Cowboys hope that statement ultimately sounds a lot like a second straight win over a New York foe.

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Former Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein considered ’50-50′ for Jets in Week 2

From @ToddBrock24f7: After being released by Dallas prior to the ’22 season, Zuerlein was the Jets’ top scorer last year. He is questionable with a groin injury.

When the Jets take the field at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, they already know they’ll be without their Week 1 starter at quarterback. They now may also be without last year’s team points leader and a familiar face to many of the Cowboys player and coaches.

Kicker Greg Zuerlein suffered a groin injury during the team’s practice on Thursday, according to Jets head coach Robert Saleh. The former Cowboys specialist will not practice on Friday and is considered “50-50” to play in Week 2’s game.

The Jets will reportedly work out several kickers in case a late roster move is needed.

“It’s not serious,” Saleh said of the injury, “but serious enough to put Sunday in question.”

Zuerlein, now 35 and in his 12th NFL season, kicked for Dallas in 2020 and 2021. He was brought aboard when John Fassel took over the Cowboys special team coordinator role; the two had previously spent eight years together with the Rams.

Over his two seasons in Dallas, Zuerlein went 63-for-76 on field goal attempts, with nine of those misses coming from 50 yards or beyond. He was released in March of 2022 in a salary cap move.

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“Greg the Leg” soon signed with the Jets and went on to lead the team in scoring with 118 points. He connected on all three field goal attempts and his lone PAT try in New York’s overtime win versus Buffalo on Monday.

If Zuerlein is unable to go in the Cowboys’ home opener, it will leave the Jets with their backup quarterback trying to put the ball in the end zone against a Dallas defense that pitched a shutout in Week 1… and, if he cannot, relying on a brand-new kicker to put it through the uprights against a field goal unit that blocked one and returned it for a score to start their regular season.

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4 keys to Cowboys avoiding a Jets upset in Week 2

Dallas will need to maintain focus despite the assumption they should have an easy time of it against the Rodgers-less Jets. Here’s how. | From @cdpiglet

The 2023 Cowboys announced their intentions on Sunday night with an opening week beatdown of their division rival, the New York Giants. Dallas did their job at MetLife Stadium to a 40-0 tune and then settled in to watch their Week 2 opponent, the New York Jets and nemesis Aaron Rodgers.

The Jets appeared to be an incredible test for the Cowboys with their unbelievable defense and all-time outstanding QB. Four plays into their opener, the entire dynamic changed. A torn Achilles tendon ended Rodgers season, and Zack Wilson was back as the starter at QB.

Whatever the game plan was for Dallas to beat a Rodgers-led Jets team, it now shifts, and the ability for New York to upset the Cowboys becomes a much greater task. Here is how Dallas avoids a letdown in their home opener and remains undefeated after Week 2.

Cowboys, McCarthy look to ground Jets’ two-pronged run game: ‘Stop it and keep it stopped’

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys run D got off to a strong start vs Saquon Barkley, but Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook pose a serious home-run threat in Week 2.

Mike McCarthy doesn’t put much stock in year-to-year comparisons. Each NFL season brings new personnel, new coaches, new schemes, new tactics to every squad across the league. What a team did or didn’t do well one year typically has little bearing on what to expect the following season.

But the Cowboys coach knows that until his defense demonstrates they can shut down opposing rushers on a week-in, week-out basis, it will be seen as an exploitable vulnerability, just like it was in 2022.

So despite the Cowboys defensive front having a strong showing in their 2023 season opener, seeing Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook come to town is a focal point of this week’s prep.

“You’ve got to stop the run and, really, the action passing game, too, because of the big-play opportunities I’m sure they’re going to try to challenge us with,” McCarthy told reporters at a Thursday morning press conference at The Star.

“We know that’s how people are going to come after us.”

Last year, the Cowboys were in the bottom third of the league in rushing yards allowed, giving up 129.2 yards per game, on average. Sunday’s season opener against was statistically better; the Giants gained 108 yards on the ground. The Cowboys’ 3.9 yards allowed per carry, if stretched out over last season, would have had them tied for third place overall.

That’s encouraging.

But Hall also showed out in Week 1, compiling more rushing yards than anyone in the NFL except Christian McCaffrey. Yes, most of the speedster’s 127 yards came on one 83-yard scamper, but that’s precisely what McCarthy wants to prevent.

“Both these backs can take it to the house,” the coach explained, “so that’s definitely a focus for us.”

Cook was held to a pedestrian 33 yards against Buffalo, but the longtime Viking has typically performed well against Dallas, averaging 90.5 rushing yards per contest over four career meetings with the Cowboys.

Hall and Cook combined to add another 46 yards in the passing game in the Jets’ overtime win over the Bills, and the Cowboys defensive front will be charged on Sunday with keeping that contained as well.

And now with Aaron Rodgers sidelined, Gang Green may lean even more heavily on a backfield-based attack than originally expected, even with backup Zach Wilson having a full week with the first-stringers and his coaches having ample time to sift through their offensive playbook to find the pass plays best suited to him.

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While the 24-year-old passer could certainly rise to the occasion after an emotional win on Monday, the Cowboys’ best chance of keeping the Jets offense in the hangar starts with enforcing a full ground stop against their one-two attack at running back.

“It’s important to stop it,” McCarthy said, “and keep it stopped.”

That would also go a long way in announcing to the rest of the league that this year is indeed different in Dallas.

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Jets vs Cowboys: 6 things to know about Week 2 opponent

The easy answer after Week 1 is that the Jets will find life difficult Dallas, but everyone knows the NFL is more complex than that. | From @BenGrimaldi

It was almost a perfect win for the Dallas Cowboys to open the schedule, but the NFL season moves quickly and the team is now preparing for the New York Jets in Week 2. At 1-0, the Cowboys have the look of a contender, and now they return to Texas to play their first home game of the year.

Expect things to be different in Week 2, games are rarely that easy. The Jets present new challenges and are coming off a thrilling overtime win on Monday Night Football. Because the Jets finished the league’s opening week slate, the Cowboys get an extra day of rest, which could be the little help that swings the tide in their favor.

Here are six more things to know about the Cowboys’ Wek 2 opponent.

Maintaining focus after big win historically a challenge for Cowboys

The Cowboys have to be careful in Week 2 because they have a history of relaxing after big wins, resulting in some damaging letdowns. | From @ReidDHanson

It’s natural to exhale after a big win. So much work, preparation and pressure are put on teams each week in the NFL, it’s almost impossible to not breathe a sigh of relief when success is found.

The Cowboys are coming off what is arguably their most successful Week 1 performance ever. Matched up against a division rival and 2022 playoff equal, Dallas posted a 40-0 win on the road during Sunday Night Football. If that’s not deserving of a dramatic exhale, perhaps nothing is.

But with an exhale comes an easing. Focus and intensity often follow suit and the Cowboys go into the following week a little more confident and a little less battle-ready.

Looking back to 2022, the Cowboys had a few memorable blowout wins. They beat Chicago 49-29. They handled Minnesota 40-3. They dispatched Indianapolis 54-19. And they downed Tampa Bay in the postseason 31-14.

How did they do in subsequent action?

Following the big Bears win, they lost in horrific fashion to Green Bay. But then following the Vikings, they beat the Giants by eight points.

Following the Colts, they barely overcame the 3-13-1 Texans, 27-23, and then lost immediately after to Jacksonville in a critical December affair. And who can forget the debacle against San Francisco where nothing went right, after the big win in Tampa Bay where everything went right.

Technically they were 2-2 after those big games, but anyone who remembers that game in Houston knows that was about as flat as this team has seemed and the only reason they won was because of the lackluster opponent.

2021 wasn’t quite as bad, but still offered some great examples of letdowns after big wins.

The Cowboys beat the Falcons 43-3 and then lost the next two games to Kansas City and Las Vegas. They beat Washington 56-14 only to lose to lowly Arizona the next week. They beat the Eagles 51-26 and then proceeded to lose to San Francisco.

Some of those “next week” opponents were excellent teams, so the losses weren’t exactly shocking. But the Cowboys finished both seasons with 12 wins each year so they were also a really good team. An abnormal percentage of their losses came after big wins that had them feeling pretty darn good about themselves.

Following the big win in New York on Sunday, could they be in store for another letdown?

The Cowboys likely had their matchup with the Jets in Week 2 circled, if for no other reason, because of the presence of Aaron Rodgers. For years Rodgers has been the Cowboys’ boogieman. And with ties back to Mike McCarthy’s best days as a coach, it’s hard not to think that game had special significance.

But with Rodgers out with an Achillies injury, the hype is missing from this Week 2 battle. The Jets are still an extremely formidable opponent but with Dallas coming off a huge win against the Giants and the boogieman banished back into the closet, an exhale is understandable for the Silver and Blue.

Does this make them rife for an upset?

Based on their history and the circumstance, certainly.

Staying humble and focused after a big win has appeared to be an issue for the Cowboys over the past two seasons. Being consistently intense is something that eludes this franchise and is arguably the only thing that separates this ridiculously talented roster from their next Lombardi trophy.

This week is a test in the Cowboys’ quest to become great. Exhaling is both natural and dangerous. Dallas has to find a way to maintain the edge amidst all the hype. A home game against a Rodger-less Jets team will be a test to see if they’re championship-ready.

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Schottenheimer: Cowboys held back on offense, happy to keep Jets guessing

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys OC says the team was “wise” about what they showed and what they didn’t in their 40-0 romp versus the Giants in Week 1.

Cowboys fans who may have been disappointed to not see more bells and whistles from the team’s offense on Sunday night will want to remain patient.

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has confirmed that the team certainly held a few things back during the 40-0 throttling of the Giants to open the season.

Some of that restraint was based on the nasty weather that invaded MetLife Stadium, some was based simply on having a commanding lead, some may have been letting Dak Prescott, Tony Pollard, CeeDee Lamb, and other playmakers settle in and shake off the rust after sitting out the entire preseason.

But just because every play call was working, the Cowboys resisted the urge to call every play they had.

“We were wise about what we wanted to use and what we showed and didn’t show with some of our personnel packages and things like that,” Schottenheimer told reporters at The Star on Monday.

Though Prescott went just 13-of-24 on the night for under 150 yards- one of the lowest totals of his career- the offense was efficient overall, to the tune of 4.8 average yards gained per play. With that kind of pace and a big lead, Dallas simply didn’t need every club that was in their bag.

Some of those unused plays may make the call sheet in Week 2 when the Cowboys host the other New York team in the AT&T Stadium home opener.

“The cool thing is, you’ve practiced those for, really in this case, two weeks,” Schottenheimer said, “because, really, we started this prep two weeks ago. So those carry over nicely into the things that fit based on what the Jets do, so I think that’s definitely a benefit.”

For those who wanted to see Deuce Vaughn used more exotically, those who had hoped for an all-out air assault employing the team’s top speedsters on the field together, those who maybe had a hankering for some smash-mouth fullback action or schoolyard trickeration?

It’s all coming. Eventually.

“We want to be multiple. We want to make it hard for the defense. We want to roll personnel groupings. We want to use all of our pieces,” Schottenheimer explained. “They’re just chess pieces, is all they are. We want to be able to do that, so we’ll slide over the ones that fit this week, and there’ll probably be a number of those that do. The ones that don’t? You don’t remove them; you just put them on hold for another week to where they do fit.”

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The Jets defense should pose a stiffer challenge for the Dallas offense. Against the three-time-defending AFC East champion Bills, they forced four Josh Allen turnovers and recorded five sacks.

And as the Jets enter a short of week of prep, the Cowboys are happy to keep them guessing at what unscouted looks may be waiting for them when they get to Arlington.

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Rodgers’ torn Achilles confirmed, Cowboys to face Zach Wilson

From @ToddBrock24f7: Aaron Rodgers is lost for the season; the Jets will turn to the former No. 2 draft pick when they visit AT&T Stadium in Week 2.

The eagerly-anticipated rematch between the Cowboys and Aaron Rodgers is off.

The 39-year-old quarterback suffered a fully torn Achilles tendon just four plays into his first game with the Jets on Monday night. The severity of the injury was confirmed Tuesday morning; Rodgers will miss the rest of the 2023 season.

Zach Wilson, the second-overall pick in the 2021 draft, came on in relief of Rodgers and led the Jets to a stunning overtime victory versus Buffalo, winners of the last three AFC East crowns. Now it will be the 24-year-old Wilson under center when the Jets come to AT&T Stadium in the Cowboys’ home opener.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy had been looking forward to facing his former quarterback again.

“I’m excited about it. Personally, I’m excited for Aaron, for this chapter in Aaron’s life. And he knows that,” McCarthy had told reporters on Monday, just hours before Rodgers suffered his injury.

The two spent 13 years together in Green Bay before McCarthy was fired during the 2018 season. Their first rematch against one another came in Week 10 last year, when the Cowboys fell in an overtime loss at Lambeau Field. Rodgers was 14-of-20 passing, compiling 224 yards and three touchdowns that day.

The Jets acquired Rodgers this offseason and retooled most of their offense around him. After his departure on New York’s opening series Monday night, Wilson finished the evening 14-of-21 for 140 yards and a touchdown, a spectacular juggling grab in the end zone by wide receiver Garrett Wilson, 2022’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

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Despite Wilson’s showing, the Jets may lean more now on their rushing attack when they come to Dallas on Sunday. That effort was led in Week 1 by Breece Hall, who averaged 12.7 yards per carry on 10 carries. Dalvin Cook, a longtime NFC rival from his years with Minnesota, is also in Gang Green’s backfield this year.

The Cowboys defense was ferocious in their season opener, recording the largest shutout win in franchise history, notching three takeaways, and sacking Giants passers seven times while allowing just 1.7 yards per pass play.

Now instead of being tested by one of the greatest to ever do it, the Dallas defense will have in their sights a presumed backup thrust back into a starting role on a short week of prep.

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