Football
Back in the win column.
With no CeeDee Lamb, and only one starting offensive lineman, the Cowboys just did what they needed to do and won on both sides of the football for the first time this season!
After the Cowboys took an early 10-3 lead when Dak Prescott threw a screen pass to Jake Ferguson for a 26-yard touchdown, they never looked back.
Near the end of the half, it looked like the Jets were going to tie the game heading into the break, but after Liufau made a nice play forcing Breece Hall to fumble, the Cowboys went 91-yards to end the half to take a 17-3 lead, and they weren’t done.
After getting a quick stop, the offense had around 40 seconds to add to the lead and JaVonte Williams got it started with a 66-yard run to the one-yard line, and Dak and Ferg finished it again to end the half up 23-3.
A rare miss from Brandon Aubrey on the extra point was the only issue they had in the first half.
It was a flawless stretch of football from the hobbled Cowboys.
Things were tight early as the Cowboys were leading 10-3 near the end of the first half and the Jets were driving to get a score to close the gap or tie the contest. The defense was playing well, but they were getting gashed in the running game by Jets RB Breece Hall. The Jets had driven almost 60 yards, down to the Cowboys’ 23, as well as overcoming 15 penalty yards.
On a first-down run, Hall found 10 more yards of daylight for a new set of downs, but second-year Cowboys linebacker Marist Liufau came in punched the ball loose, thwarting the drive and setting the offense up for a scoring explosion.
The peanut punch from Liufau was inspirational, and the offense needed just seven plays to go 91 yards in 1:21 for the touchdown.
The big play on the drive was a 46-yard pass from quarterback Dak Prescott to emerging wide receiver Ryan Flournoy. It was a chunk play that set up the Cowboys to be aggressive in going for a touchdown instead of a field goal.Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.
Two plays later, running back Javonte Williams ran it in from five yards out to give the Cowboys a 17-3 lead. But Dallas wasn’t done scoring.
Even in answering questions, Dak is on his A-game.
Those same Cowboys fans had a little fun with Prescott, chanting “MVP” in their quarterback’s honor. Prescott did indeed hear the chants and had the absolute best response to them.
“I mean, my ears work, so I heard it, but I didn’t hear it. It’s Week 5, so I don’t care. I don’t care if it was Week 17,” Prescott said. “I’ve told y’all what I want to win — the team goals. …. To me, I didn’t play near as well as a game that I wanted to…. So yeah, those were just happy fans.”
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott had a perfect response to being serenaded with ‘MVP’ chants at MetLife Stadium
This is exactly how one should respond to this type of situation. It’s Week 5. Who cares about the MVP award when we’re barely a month into the regular season? Prescott acknowledged the chants, which was sure nice of him, but also pointed out that it’s silly to be thinking about that stuff already. Perfect reaction.
Prescott blocking out the noise is nothing new. It’s part of being the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. But he is surely aware that he’s firmly in the MVP conversation. You’d be hard-pressed to name a single quarterback playing better than him right now. He deserves mention alongside Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, and Baker Mayfield as the current favorites.
A quick recap of how the victory went down.
Third quarter
Although the Cowboys offense couldn’t keep the momentum going early in the second half, the team’s defense made sure the New Yorkers didn’t do much either. And when the unit stopped the Jets on fourth-and-1 at the Dallas 47-yard line, Prescott and his troops were set up with good field position to begin their next drive.
After Flournoy went around the left end for 10 yards on first snap of the series, Prescott went for it all on the next one. He threw deep to Pickens, who corralled the ball in the end zone for a big 43-yard touchdown. The rout was officially on, 30-3.
The Jets did manage to add three points to their scoreboard total before the end of the quarter. A six-play, 44-yard drive finished with a 48-yard field goal by Nick Folk, snapping the Cowboys’ streak of 30 unanswered points.
Fourth Quarter
With the outcome essentially decided, there was nothing really left to do but play out the clock. The Jets did finally get into the end zone, thanks to a 10-play, 78-yard drive that first saw Fields complete a 16-yard pass to Hall on fourth-and-5 at the Dallas 17. The New York quarterback then connected with fullback Andrew Beck for the touchdown and followed that up with a pass to tight end Mason Taylor for the two-point conversion, the score now 30-14.
But when Jalen Tolbert recovered the Jets’ onside-kick attempt, the Cowboys again had good field possession to begin a drive. And they took advantage. A short pass to Williams got Dallas back on the board and marked the 12th game in his career that Prescott has thrown at least four touchdown passes.
Houston continued to impress.
Jets quarterback Justin Fields had a rough day at the office, as the Cowboys would sack him five times.
It was a collective effort from the Cowboys’ defense; however, one player stood out brighter than the others: James Houston.
Houston joined the team this offseason after three seasons with the Detroit Lions and a short stint with the Cleveland Browns last season.
On Sunday, Houston could be found in the Jets’ backfield numerous times. The 2022 sixth-round pick finished the game with 1.5 sacks
Houston burst on the scene in his rookie season with the Lions, finishing the 2022 season with eight sacks. However, since then, Houston hasn’t had more than one sack in a season; a lot of that has to do with battling injuries.
But 2025 is a different time. Houston has 3.5 sacks already this season, and is looking like the leader of the Cowboys’ pass rush.
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