Coming off a 0-4 start, the New York Jets entered MetLife Stadium on Sunday with a lot at stake. Still, head coach Aaron Glen could not avoid being the only NFL team without a win this season with a 37-22 loss. As for the Dallas Cowboys (2-2-1), despite their brilliant run against the Green Bay Packers, the duo of QB Dak Prescott and WR Ryan Flournoy was denied the win. But not this time.

Prescott was once again sensational, leading the offense with young Flournoy to win the second game of the season. Having passed for 237 yards and four TDs without a single interception, Prescott made the Jets’ defense struggle throughout the game. 

The game had enough action to disappoint the Gang Green, who hoped for a fight. Led by Justin Fields, the Jets tried to come back in the 2nd half. But they had already given a 20-point lead to the Cowboys (halftime score 3-23), which proved too much to close. Here are our 5 takeaways from the game.

Cowboys have good backup depth

America’s Team were playing without 6 starters – WR CeeDee Lamb, LT Tyler Guyton, LG Tyler Smith, RG Tyler Booker, C Cooper Beebe, and WR KaVontae Turpin. That’s why the owner and GM, Jerry Jones, was concerned in the pregame show as well.

“If we can get out of here with a win, this (would be) truly a team win, Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. You gotta be able to win sometimes when you don’t have six of your top 10 highest-paid players on the field.”

However, the 6th round pick (216th overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft, WR Ryan Flournoy, who was elevated to the active roster after the season started, stepped up. He emerged as their WR1, catching six of the nine targets for 114 yards. Though he failed to score, that’s double the yards of George Pickens, their next best WR yard-wise (57). Not only that, Flournoy also chipped in with 10 yards for 2 rushes.

The Jets need to work on defense, particularly interceptions

The Jets have broken almost 9 decades of NFL records. Since 1933, they have become the first team to play the first five games of the season without any interceptions. Not only that, they now rank last in the league with -8 turnover margin. It also allowed the Cowboys to make big plays.

During the last minute before halftime, RB Javonte Williams made a 66-yard run from the Cowboys’ 33. Jets safety Malachi Moore stopped him at 1 yard from the red zone. But from there, America’s Team scored a quick and easy touchdown. Just before this play, they utilized another long run to score.

At the 1:20 mark in the 2nd quarter, on 1st and 10 down, Dak Prescott passed the ball to Ryan Flournoy at Dallas’ 38 mark. He then ran it for 46 yards before safety Tony Adams stopped him at the Jets’ 16 mark. It just took them 2 more passes to score a touchdown.

Jets need solid protection for Justin Fields

Fields completed 32 of 46 passes (69.5% completion rate) for 283 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, while Prescott finished the game with 18 of 29 passes (62% completion rate) for 237 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. Though the Jets QB was more accurate, the Cowboys still dominated them. How?

The key difference-maker was sacks. While Prescott lost only 1 yard in 2 sacks, the Jets’ offensive protection was nowhere in the game. America’s Team sacked Fields 5 times, losing 49 yards. Overall, the rivals have only lost 36 yards in 7 sacks, but the Jets have given up 152 yards in 16 sacks. That hurts!

Particularly when they have lost two games by 2 points and 1 game by 6 points.

Justin Fields needs some confidence

Fields arrived in New York with a 14-29 win-loss record. But those losses had one special observation: If the rivals needed a win, all they needed was 21 points on the scoreboard. Now, add 5 games in the 2025 season, and this trend continues.

If Aaron Glenn is serious about change in the results, he better give some confidence to his signal caller. After all, sport is about bouncing back from the lows. A few days back, analyst Rich Eisen praised the coach and his quarterback on Julian Edelman’s show. But nothing seems to be clicking for the Jets.

Cowboys also need to ramp up their defense

The Jets are battling with the mental aspect of the sport as they were already 0-4. But the Cowboys are playing great. Even then, they have also recorded 1 interception in 5 games. Their rivals have intercepted the ball 4 times. It might hurt them in key games.

So, while they have dominated the last 3 games, America’s Team has to go a long way. They have gone 3 decades without an NFC Championship appearance or a Super Bowl. Will we see their crusade this year? Stay connected as we will keep bringing the latest news about your favorite athletes and teams.