It was a rough game to watch for Dallas Cowboys fans. Their loss to the New York Jets was something that has to make the team gain a better perspective of how to be better this season. Especially when looking at this particular statistic as well:
NFL teams are 90-1 since 1991 when they win time of possession, total yards, turnovers, pick up 25 first downs, and convert at least 10 or more 3rd down attempts.
Dallas' loss to the Jets on Sunday is the one loss.
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) October 14, 2019
Dallas has been going downhill ever since their 3-0 start. And now they might be in peril of hitting the panic button. But before that can happen, let's look at their week six loss to the Jets and what we learned.
1. The Dallas Cowboys Offense CANNOT survive without Amari Cooper
To give people an understanding, let's look at Dak Prescott's statistics last season before the Cooper trade. Before Cooper’s arrival, he was completing 59.2 percent of his passes for 1,417 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions while going 3-4. After the Cooper trade, Prescott completed 71.3 percent of his passes for 2,468 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions and going 7-2.
Prescott was noticeably struggling after Cooper being out of the game. The fourth-year QB had a difficult time getting into a rhythm and finding a consistent number one target once Cooper was hurt. Especially with the five dropped passes during the game.
2. The big second half by Ezekiel Elliott kept the Cowboys in it
Something that usually contributes to wins for Dallas is giving Elliott the ball. And after halftime, that's something that brought Dallas back into the game.
Zeke carried the ball 18 times for 69 yards and a touchdown and added two catches for 16 yards as well. It's another strong performance from the Ohio State product as he remains a major catalyst for the success of the Dallas Cowboys.
3. The Defense played how they should in the second half
The Cowboys defense was struggling in the first half to say the least. They gave up 252 total yards to the Jets and 21 points to put themselves in a 15-point hole before halftime.
However, the defense stepped it up after halftime by allowing only 130 yards and three points. They were getting after Sam Darnold in the pocket and containing Le'Veon Bell as well. The big turning points were the interception by Jourdan Lewis when they were inside of their own red zone and the sack by Robert Quinn that led to a difficult third-down conversion for the Jets and later a Cowboys offensive touchdown.
It's unfortunate enough that the defense wasn't rewarded with more scoring with what they did for the offense. But the defense needs to play better than that in all four quarters.
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