EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Dak Prescott threw two of his four touchdown passes to Jake Ferguson, Dallas scored on two 90-yard drives in the second quarter with a makeshift offensive line missing four starters and the Cowboys rolled past the winless New York Jets 37-22 on Sunday.
Javonte Williams ran for 135 yards and a touchdown and also caught a TD pass, George Pickens also had a TD reception and the Cowboys (2-2-1) bounced back from a disappointing 40-40 tie against Green Bay last week.
Prescott finished 18 of 29 for 237 yards behind a line that had left guard Tyler Smith (knee), left tackle Tyler Guyton (concussion), right guard Tyler Booker (ankle) and center Cooper Beebe (foot) all out. Right tackle Terence Steele was the only regular starter playing.
The Cowboys' victory gave coach Brian Schottenheimer a win over the team for which he was the offensive coordinator from 2006-11. It also kept the Jets (0-5) winless under Aaron Glenn, who's the first coach in franchise history to begin his tenure with five losses. It's New York's fourth 0-5 start and first since starting 0-13 in 2020 under Adam Gase.
Dallas’ defense, which has struggled without Micah Parsons, didn't let Justin Fields and the Jets do much until the game was well in hand. The Cowboys had five sacks of Fields, who was 32 of 46 for 283 yards and late touchdown passes to Andrew Beck and Garrett Wilson, along with 2-point conversion tosses to Mason Taylor and Josh Reynolds.
Breece Hall ran for 113 yards and caught four passes for 42 yards, but also had a momentum-shifting fumble in the second quarter.
The Jets took their only lead on a 25-yard field goal by Nick Folk after a promising start to their opening drive that included three third-down conversions. But on third-and-goal from the 7, Fields' screen pass got batted into the air off the facemask of Dante Fowler — and the ball hit the SkyCam camera overhead — and fell incomplete.
Brandon Aubrey capped the Cowboys' first possession with a 35-yarder to tie it at 3.
After New York opted to punt on fourth-and-5 from Dallas' 43, the Cowboys got the ball at their 10. Prescott marched Dallas 90 yards on 13 plays, helped by three third-down conversions. It was capped by Prescott's screen to Ferguson, who took it into the end zone from 26 yards out for a 10-3 lead.
Dallas got its second touchdown drive of 90 or more yards after getting the ball at its 9 when Marist Liufau forced Hall to fumble and Sam Williams recovered. Hall appeared to injure his left elbow on the play, but returned to start the second half.
A 46-yard throw from Prescott to Ryan Flournoy put the ball at the Jets 16. Two plays later, Williams hit the front of the pylon for a 5-yard touchdown to put Dallas up 17-3.
The Jets went three-and-out and the Cowboys added to their lead when Williams broke free for a 66-yard run to get to the 1 and Prescott then found a wide-open Ferguson for a touchdown. About the only thing that went wrong for Dallas came when Aubrey hit the right upright on the extra point — after Cowboys left tackle Nate Thomas was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the TD.
Prescott connected with Pickens for a 43-yard touchdown pass to put Dallas up 30-3 late in the third quarter. Prescott added a 4-yard TD toss to Williams in the closing minutes.
Ferguson flourishing
With seven catches, Ferguson has 41 this season, becoming 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).
Injuries
Cowboys: LB Jack Sanborn left in the first half with a concussion. ... WR Jalen Brooks injured a knee early in the fourth quarter.
Up next
Cowboys: Play at Carolina next Sunday.
Jets: Head to London to face the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next Sunday.
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