The Dallas Cowboys enter Week 5 at a critical juncture in their season.
Sitting at 1-2-1 after a dramatic overtime tie with Green Bay in Week 4, Dallas has shown flashes of offensive brilliance but also defensive inconsistency.
Meanwhile, the New York Jets, led by new HC Aaron Glenn, are off to a slow 0-4 start.
New QB Justin Fields has brought an added element to the Jets offense, but it has not translated into wins.
As the Cowboys head to MetLife Stadium this Sunday, they’ll be looking to make a statement against this AFC East opponent.
In this article, I’ll outline three bold predictions; outcomes that may seem far-fetched but remain firmly in the realm of possibility.
Pickens Eclipses 100 Yards
WR George Pickens is coming off a breakout performance in Week 4, where he torched the Packers for over 100 receiving yards.
Doing it again in back-to-back weeks would already be impressive, but doing it against Sauce Gardner, one of the NFL’s premier shutdown corners, would make it a bold prediction.
Gardner thrives in man coverage and has the length and speed to neutralize even the best route runners.
However, Pickens’ physical style of play and ability to win contested catches gives him a fighting chance to make noise.
If Dak Prescott continues to trust Pickens in one-on-one matchups, especially on deep shots and back-shoulder throws, the young wideout could crack the century mark again.
Against a Jets defense designed to erase top receivers, Pickens hitting 100+ yards would not only be bold, it would be a statement.
Fields is Held Under 30 Yards Rushing
Justin Fields has been a nightmare for defenses since taking over the Jets’ offense, rushing for at least 48 yards in each of his three starts.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, appear to struggle against mobile quarterbacks, as evidenced by Jalen Hurts. On paper, this looks like a tough matchup for Dallas.
But here’s where the bold prediction comes in: the Cowboys will hold Fields to under 30 rushing yards.
How? Speed and discipline at the second level.
With veteran linebacker Kenneth Murray banged up, Dallas could turn to quicker, more agile defenders like Marist Liufau and Shemar James.
Both have the range to shadow Fields and keep him from breaking off long scrambles.
If the defensive ends can also collapse the pocket consistently, Fields may have no choice but to stay contained and win with his arm; a much more favorable scenario for Dallas.
Dallas Finally Wins in Jersey
The Cowboys have not beaten the Jets on the road in over two decades, their last win coming in 2003 under Bill Parcells in a 17-6 defensive battle.
Since then, MetLife has not been kind to Dallas when facing the green and white, with painful losses etched into franchise history.
Streaks are made to be broken, and this feels like the week.
The Jets’ defense has given up points, and their offense remains inconsistent.
If Dallas’ defense can keep Fields contained and force mistakes, and if Dak Prescott and Pickens can connect for a handful of big plays, the Cowboys can escape East Rutherford with a much-needed win.
It won’t be easy, but ending a 21-year drought in bold fashion would be the perfect exclamation point to a pivotal Week 5.
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What’s evident by Jalen hurts?? He didn’t run all over us either!! He just ran for a little over 60 yards which isn’t bad considering how much he likes to run!! And he really only got that many yards on us because we were more worried about stopping the better runner in Barkley!! And we kept him to 60 rushing yards too!! And we don’t have to worry about that this weekend!! Breece Hall is a pretty good RB, but he’s not Barkley, so we’ll be able to focus more on fields in this game!!
But as far as the other 2 predictions, I can agree with those!! I think Pickens is good enough to get another hundred yards in this game!! I think Gardner will travel with him a lot, but I don’t think he’ll travel with him the whole game!! I think Schotty will scheme something up to get Pickens open more often than not!!
And as far as winning the game, I don’t see why we couldn’t win!! We have the better all around team!! Our defense don’t show it, but I still think ours is better than the Jets!! And even with the injuries, we have the better offense, so I don’t think we’ll lose this game!! The only problem is that we don’t play as good on the road as we do at home, so I expect this game to be closer than expected, but I still think we win!! And I have to point out that we don’t play the jets often, that’s why we haven’t beaten them in so long!! I think if we played them once every 2 or 3 seasons, we would’ve beaten them a lot sooner!! But we don’t, we rarely play them, and that’s why it’s been so long since the last time we beat them!!