The Dallas Cowboys throttled the Jets, 30-10, on Sunday afternoon, reminding the visitors from New York — as if any reminders were needed — of what the rest of their season may look like without quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers lasted just three official plays in the Jets’ season opener last week before he tore his left Achilles’ tendon. The Jets (1-1) managed to pull off a 22-16 victory in overtime against the Buffalo Bills thanks to their tremendous defense and pounding run game.
The Jets’ defense did its part Sunday, too, stopping the Cowboys (2-0) several times in the red zone and forcing Dallas to settle for field goals on five drives. But Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott wore down the defense with short passes to neutralize the Jets’ talented defensive backs. He connected with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb 11 times for 143 yards. Running back Tony Pollard caught another seven passes for 37 yards and rushed for 72 yards on 25 carries.
In all, Prescott completed 31 of 38 attempts for 255 yards and two touchdowns, thrown to tight ends Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker.
The Cowboys had the ball for more than 42 minutes, ran 83 plays and converted 9 of 18 third-down chances, leaving the Jets’ offense little chance to get going.
“Defensively, we just couldn’t get off the field,” Jets Coach Robert Saleh said. “You can’t get anything going if you don’t have the ball that much.”