Intriguing Game- Week Two

New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys

Jets: Monday night was a whirlwind of emotions if I ever saw them. First, it was the 22nd anniversary of the September 11th attacks, secondly, they entered the season with all the hype in the world after the acquisition they make in April this year and lastly, A future Hall of Fame Quarterback was making his debut after 18 season with the Green Bay Packers. I’m talking about Aaron Rodgers, of course. Four plays in, he’s hurt which later would be announced as a torn Achilles. That’s a lot, right? I called this game on Monday night and the one thing I saw from the Jets was heart and grit. Zach Wilson came in for Aaron and minus the interception, he didn’t look bad at all. They didn’t ask him to come in and play similarly to Aaron. All they needed him to do was hand the ball off, make a throw when the opportunity presented itself and the defense would handle the rest. Speaking of the defense, let me tip my cap to them. They were outstanding on Monday night against the Bills and forced four Buffalo turnovers. If I may, let me retract back to Zach. Everyone is saying the Jets should go after a free agent Quarterback and I think that’s the worst thing they could do because Zach has been there and knows the ins and outs of the offense. Let’s say they did sign a free agent Quarterback, it would take him about a month and a half to learn everything. Robert Saleh said it best. We will rally behind Wilson moving forward. They had high hopes coming into this season because of Aaron. We’ll now be stuck with the “what if” question this year. They make their first road trip of the season in 2023 on Sunday afternoon.

Cowboys: I expected them to win that game on Sunday night against the New York Giants, but I didn’t expect them to dominate in the fashion in which they did. This is my favorite defense in the league and in week one, you saw why. I saw a performance where they dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football and anytime the Giants thought they had a chance to move the football up the field, it was shut down immediately. Dan Quinn might be the best defensive mind in our league right now and he will throw so many different looks, reads and stunts up front to throw you off. What makes it crazier is you never know who will be applying pressure. I’ve said this on the air, I’ve spoken these words to Cole Johnson and I will repeat them here. The Dallas Cowboys have a Super Bowl caliber defense and the one thing they have over the San Francisco 49ers is they’re uber athletic. A perfect example of that is Micah Parsons dropping back in certain instances to cover a Running Back in the flat. What will keep Dallas from getting to the NFC Championship and the Super Bowl is their offense. You just never know which version of them will show up and to piggyback on that, which Dak shows up? We all know there’s no in between with this football team. Either they are really good and dominant or they’re really bad and they play down to certain teams. They return home Sunday for their home opener.

Jets X-Factor: C.J. Mosley– He’s the man in the middle of this New York defense. C.J. is an intelligent and active Linebacker who plays with a lot of range. I remember a game last season later in the year against the Buffalo Bills. The Guard pulled and C.J. was able to shifty away from him and bring down Josh Allen. I was impressed. He flies to that football and will go through the traffic to get to the ball.

Cowboys X-Factor: Jake Ferguson– Travis Kelce himself said that this is a special Tight End and the future is bright for him. In space with the ball in his hands, he’s as shifty as your next Wide Receiver. Whenever the Cowboys run the play action, Jake is getting the ball. He’s a strong blocker and has good hands to catch the ball. His upside is pretty high and I think he will be featured more in the offense this year.

Three Things I’m Watching

1. Energy: I’m anxious to see how the Jets come out in this one. As I said up top, Monday night was a lot for them to experience and I know it hasn’t changed for them after the unfortunate news about Aaron. All they can do is rally behind Zach Wilson and try their best to play good football. What happened has happened and they still have football games to play. The dynamic of their season changed after this injury.

2. Defense! (Clap Clap): These are two of the best defensive units in our league right now. They each dominated in week one, but in different ways. The Jets didn’t sack Josh Allen as much as I’m sure they wanted too, but they forced those three interceptions and a fumble late in the game. The Cowboys were all over the field on Sunday night against the Giants. I expect this to be a hard hitting and physical football game.

3. Dak and Attack: Because of how strong and dominant the defense was and the running attack also did their part, Dak Prescott didn’t have to do too much but control things in a 40-point blow out. I always say Dak is at his best when he has the running game going for him and when he attempts 30 pass attempts or a little less. Anything over 30 will result in an L because he’s not that type of Quarterback. He’ll have to make a throw or two here in this game.

Final Analysis: Everyone was looking forward to this game. It was Aaron Rodgers facing his former Head Coach in Mike McCarthy in the stadium that they won a Super Bowl in all those years ago. Aaron has a strong history against these Cowboys and some memorable battles over the years. All the Jets need from Zach is to manage the football game. I will say I did see a more mature Quarterback on Monday night. Can this Jets Offensive Line win up front against a Dallas front seven with all the confidence in the world right now? That’s the key matchup in this game. What does Dallas do for an encore in week two? Can they keep their foot on the gas? Without Rodgers, the Jets won’t be able to generate those drives. I like the Cowboys to start 2-0 this year with a win on Sunday.

Prediction: Cowboys 27, Jets 14