After what looked like a nice opening drive for the Dallas Cowboys against the New York Jets Saturday night, the Cowboys offense with veteran quarterback Matt Cassel at the helm choked in the red zone and were forced to settle for three points. “We’re developing a strength… a confidence”. “Teams are so good, so talented”. That impressed coach Todd Bowles. For all the numbers that tell you that the Jets shouldn’t be in the thick of the wildcard race with two weeks left, there’s an identity taking shape. Sure the Chiefs and Steelers could lose out, but if the Jets don’t take care of business none of that will matter.
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If the Cowboys can run the game plan the way they did against a very good Jets defense – run the ball a lot, use shorter passes – and give Moore a week of practice as a starter so he is more comfortable with Dez Bryant and Jason Witten, then they could steal a few games to finish the season.
The game came down to the teams trading field goals in the last two minutes of regulation.
Their upcoming games: New England at MetLife and at Buffalo on January 3. You win is how you win.
With Saturday’s loss they are out of the running in a division in which the other three teams all own losing records of 6-7 going into Sunday’s games. “Our focus is to win a ballgame, and the byproduct when you get to this time of the season with where we are, there’s an opportunity to evaluate every player”. So we’re building some character.
Dallas fans were certain their team was going to take the game to overtime and find a way to win, but it wasn’t to be.
“We’re on our way to becoming one of those types of teams if we can keep it up”. They are finally eliminated from the playoff chase.
The Cowboys turned to their fourth quarterback of the season Saturday night, but will Kellen Moore also play the next two games? “We have to get two more”. “We have great chemistry”. “He has a good feel for playing”.
“But I do think he did some good things”.
Special teams get special contributions from improbable sources, too.
Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick moved the offence 58 yards, most of it coming on a 43-yard pass to Kenbrell Thompkins.
Powell’s recent emergence – he’s scored in three consecutive games – has provided a valuable dimension. Jets kicker Randy Bullock missed his third PAT of the season in the second quarter. He didn’t stop the clock before the two-minute warning, letting the Cowboys run off 40 seconds before the game-tying field goal.
Moore made his much-anticipated National Football League debut and while he was far from flawless, with a 52.2 passer rating, the lights didn’t seem too big for him. You’ve got to live with that.
Although Bowles’ defense roughed up a pair of scrub signal callers to improve to 9-5, an entirely different beast awaits this week.
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Cassel completed three of eight passes for 37 yards and a comedic interception in which he was flagged for intentional grounding on a pass picked off by Darrelle Revis.
