Coming off a 0-4 start, the New York Jets entered MetLife Stadium on Sunday with a lot at stake. Still, head coach Aaron Glenn 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.

Dak Prescott and Ryan Flournoy seal the game for the Cowboys

Apart from Prescott continuing his good form, it was Flournoy’s career day game that secured the win for the Cowboys. The 6th round pick (216th overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft, WR Flournoy, stepped up big time. The 25-year-old emerged as the 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). He also chipped in with 10 yards for 2 rushes.

It is still not clear when Lamb or Turpin will be back for Week 6, but at least for now, Flournoy has made his case for a WR4 or WR3 spot. Prescott, who is used to having big days at MetLife Stadium, was sacked only once and hit three times throughout the game.

Cowboys have good backup depth

America’s Team was 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.”

Yes, the Jets are not the strongest team in the NFL right now, but the Cowboys will take this win after a 1-2-1 start. And if, it’s a big if, the Cowboys continue playing the brand of football they are playing right now, they could very well be among the surprise teams of the season.

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.

The Jets must protect Justin Fields at all costs

The NY Jets’ QB completed 32 of 46 passes (69.5% completion rate) for 283 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, against Prescott’s 62% completion rate. Still, Fields was dominated by the Cowboys. 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 ended up giving up 152 yards in 16 sacks. That hurts! Especially when they have lost three close games, two by 2 points and one by 6 points.

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.

Predictions for their next matchups

In their Week 6 clash, the Cowboys will be traveling to Charlotte, NC, to play the Carolina Panthers, who may not have a strong start to the season, but the Panthers will be riding high on confidence as well after beating the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium. In Charlotte, the Panthers have won two out of three games they have played this season. Having said that, if the Cowboys get their defense right, they may take the game home 23-16.

As for the Jets, Aaron Glen’s team will be playing the Denver Broncos on October 12 in London. And knowing how the Broncos ended the Philadelphia Eagles‘ winning streak and New York’s poor show against the Cowboys, it’s not too difficult to predict the outcome. Denver should comfortably win 29-18.