Dallas (1-2-1) at New York Jets (0-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox.
Against the spread: Cowboys 1-2; Jets 2-2.
Series record: Cowboys lead 8-5.
Last meeting: Cowboys beat Jets 30-10 on Sept. 17, 2023, in Arlington, Texas.
Last week: Cowboys tied Packers 40-40; Jets lost to Dolphins 27-21.
Cowboys offense: overall (1), rush (12), pass (1), scoring (5).
Cowboys defense: overall (32), rush (20), pass (32), scoring (31).
Jets offense: overall (21), rush (3), pass (29), scoring (19).
Jets defense: overall (20), rush (25), pass (14), scoring (28t).
Turnover differential: Cowboys minus-4; Jets minus-7.
WR George Pickens. His first game without new sidekick CeeDee Lamb, who's sidelined with a high ankle sprain, was the best of his four with Dallas and perhaps of his four-year career. His high point in Pittsburgh was about explosive plays, with a per-catch average of 48.8 yards on a 195-yard day. It was about important plays with his 134 yards on a career high-tying eight grabs against the Packers. He set up the first of two touchdowns in the final 41 seconds of the first half with a spectacular contested 28-yard catch at the 1. He scored the second on a 15-yard grab, the first of seven consecutive lead-changing TDs. The last lead-changer was another 28-yarder, this time a catch-and-run play for a 37-34 lead with 50 seconds left. With the Steelers, Pickens eclipsed 100 yards in both of his games against the Jets.
WR Garrett Wilson. The star wide receiver is off to another outstanding start and seems to make at least one eye-popping catch per game. Wilson actually had two such grabs for touchdowns at Miami, but one was called back for a questionable offensive pass interference penalty. He entered Week 5 ranked tied for fourth in the NFL with 27 receptions, sixth with 311 yards receiving and fifth with 38 targets. Wilson has at least one catch in every regular-season game since entering the league in 2022, the only player to do so during that span.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott vs. Jets secondary. Prescott leads the NFL with 1,119 yards passing and 121 completions through four games and he'll face a defense that has struggled at times in pass coverage. The secondary is also banged up with nickel cornerback Michael Carter II dealing with a concussion.
Cowboys: Lamb and rookie RG Tyler Booker have high ankle sprains and are out for the game. Dallas didn’t put either on injured reserve last week, which means the team thinks their absences could be shorter than four games. ... LT Tyler Guyton (concussion), S Malik Hooker (toe) and WR-KR KaVontae Turpin (foot) are also out. ... LG Tyler Smith (knee) and RB Miles Sanders (knee/ankle) are questionable. ... This will be the third of at least four games without C Cooper Beebe, who's on injured reserve with a foot issue.
Jets: Coach Aaron Glenn said Carter will miss the game. ... RB Braelon Allen was placed on IR with a knee injury. ... Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson has missed the past two games with an ankle injury and was listed as questionable to play. ... RB/KR Kene Nwangwu is also questionable after sitting out three games with an injured hamstring. ... CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (ankle) could make his Jets debut.
The Jets had won three in a row against the Cowboys before their most recent meeting in Texas in 2023, New York's first game after then-QB Aaron Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon in the opener. Brandon Aubrey kicked five field goals, including a 55-yarder, in the 30-10 win. ... The Cowboys are 11-4 against the NFC East-rival Giants at MetLife Stadium, but 0-2 there against the Jets. ... The teams first met in 1971, when Dallas won 52-10.
The Cowboys are one of four teams to rush for at least 100 yards in all four games. The previous time they did that was 2016, when they hit the century mark the first 15 games and rookie Ezekiel Elliott led the NFL in rushing. ... Prescott is the new franchise leader in completions with 2,901 after passing Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman against the Packers. ... Prescott needs 11 attempts to pass Tony Romo for second behind Aikman and can tie Romo for second in regular-season victories at 78. The 10th-year pro had his 30th 300-yard passing game and 30th rushing TD against Green Bay. ... Prescott can become the fourth player with at least 30 completions in four consecutive games, joining Tom Brady (five in a row games in 2022), Kirk Cousins (four in 2018) and Patrick Mahomes (four in 2020). ... RB Javonte Williams has already tied his career high with four touchdown runs. ... Jake Ferguson’s 34 catches through four games are the most for a tight end in the Super Bowl era. With six catches against the Jets, he would be the fourth tight end with at least 40 receptions in his team’s first five games, joining Philadelphia's Zach Ertz (41 in 2018), San Francisco's Eric Johnson (41 in 2004) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Antonio Gates (40 with the Chargers in 2007). ... Ferguson is second overall in receptions in the NFL entering Week 5. His 8-yard touchdown against Green Bay was his first score since 2023. … LB Jack Sanborn had a career-high 14 tackles with two tackles for his loss in his only game against the Jets, three years ago with Chicago. ... The Jets are looking to avoid their fourth 0-5 start in franchise history and first since starting 0-13 in 2020 under Adam Gase. ... Glenn joined Gase (2019) and Lou Holtz (1976) as the only coaches to begin their Jets tenures with 0-4 starts. No coach has started his tenure 0-5. ... QB Justin Fields returned last week from missing a game with a concussion and was 20 of 27 for 226 yards and a touchdown, but also lost a fumble on a sack. He ran for 81 yards, the third most by a Jets quarterback in franchise history. He also became the first QB this season with 75 yards or more rushing and a passer rating of at least 100 in the same game. ... Wilson needs four receptions to pass George Sauer (309) for 10th in franchise history. ... The Jets have struggled with penalties this season with 32 accepted, including 20 in the past two games. ... The defense has not had a takeaway through four games, the only NFL team without one. ... New York had no sacks or quarterback hits on Miami's Tua Tagovailoa on Monday night. ... LB Jamien Sherwood joined Washington's Bobby Wagner as the only players with 10 or more tackles in at least three games this season. ... K Nick Folk kicked a career-best 58-yard field goal last week. The 40-year-old kicker is 7 for 7 on field goals and has made all seven of his extra points.
Jets RB Breece Hall could see an increased workload with Allen sidelined. This week, he takes on a Cowboys defense that ranks last overall in total yardage allowed. Hall is also a safety valve out of the backfield with 13 receptions, second on the Jets behind Wilson.
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