The winless New York Jets host the 3-2 Dallas Cowboys — who are coming off back-to-back losses — on Sunday. Though underdogs in the competition, the Jets are surging for the sole reason of having their quarterback, Sam Darnold, back. However, they will need to do more than have their rightful shot-caller to in. They will need to execute these three keys to pull off an upset, among other things.
Let Le'Veon Bell run free
Le'Veon Bell hasn't been the Le'Veon Bell expected out of him in 2019. That's not entirely all his fault; the line isn't opening up lanes, Luke Falk wasn't a sufficient sidekick and when Sam Darnold played, the Jets faced off against one of the NFL's best rush defenses.
Bell has Darnold back and should see the ball fed his way plenty on Sunday. Why? The Jets must win the time possession battle. They can do that with piling on easy rushing and receiving yards on Sunday. It only helps that the Cowboys have allowed the second-most rushing touchdowns in the NFL (six) and have totaled 48 missed tackles.
Take advantage of an injured offensive line
The Jets are struggled to get to the quarterback. In four weeks of play, they have six sacks, which is 29th in the NFL. Normally, the Dallas offensive line, dubbed “the Great Wall of Dallas,” would not help New York bump up those stats. However, in Week 6, the Jets may get an opportunity to face a susceptible unit.
The Cowboys offensive line is injured. Both left tackle Tyron Smith (ankle) and right tackle La'el Collins (knee) didn't practice heading into the weekend, each are questionable. Smith is likely to be out, Collins, more 50/50. If both are out, the Jets pass-rush may have the opportunity of a field-day, which would help disrupt Dak Prescott's rhythm, who has been turnover heavy as of late.
Get Darnold out of harm's way
The Jets need to get to the quarterback. Surprise, they also need to protect theirs.
Sam Darnold is making his return from mono on Sunday. They can't afford for him to lose any more time, considering they are winless at 0-4 and looked hapless without him. Last week, the Jets gave up 10 sacks to a so-so Philadelphia Eagles pass-rush; that has got to change.
Unfortunately, the Cowboys pass-rush — despite their league-median score of 12 sacks — can get to the quarterback. According to ESPN, they are third in the NFL in Pass Rush Win Rate, doing so 57% of the time. Luckily, they won't send much in terms of blitzes, as they blitz 17.6% of the time in passing situations. Nonetheless, protecting Darnold is vital to winning.
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