EAST RUTHERFORD, N.Y. As the New York Jets turned the ball over on downs halfway through the third quarter, Dak Prescott and Brian Schottenheimer considered their next attack.
The Cowboys were leading by 20 points as the third quarter waned. Theyd powered a dominant first half to a lead before momentum stalled with two punts to open the third quarter.
The head coach told his quarterback he had not best positioned his players to succeed on some of those plays.
So, noticing that star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams wasnt on the field and Jets safety Tony Adams seemed to jump the Cowboys over routes, Schottenheimer dialed up the opportunity for a deep post to receiver George Pickens.
Prescott hit Pickens for a 43-yard touchdown with 4:40 to play in the third, Dallas extending a lead the Jets would never pace in a 37-22 Cowboys win.
We went three-and-out a couple of times and it wasn’t like he even bitched at us; he actually kind of bitched at himself, Prescott told Yahoo Sports in the postgame locker room. There was a moment in the second half, Oh, lemme get my s*** together. Lemme call a play. And then boom, it was a touchdown to GP and then he’s like, Im baaack.
The accountability and just being open with it and truly working with him.
Prescott and Schottenheimer worked together to dial up another scoring payday as the Cowboys improved to .500 (2-2-1) with their third straight 30-point game.
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Dallas record is still far from its aspirations in Schottenheimers first year as head coach. And Dallas understands its opponent will not always (or again at all, this season) be the last remaining winless team in the league.
Even so, the Cowboys looked at the roster they brought to MetLife Stadium and considered that they scored 37 playing without four of five starting offensive linemen and two of their top three receivers due to injuries.
They considered their third straight game scoring more than 30 points.
The diagnosis?
Maybe trusting a first-time head coach who hadnt called plays in five seasons wont prove to be that wild after all.
This is the most Band-Aided-up team I can remember playing with in all of my years, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones told Yahoo Sports. Coaching is the reason that weve had the wins and the tie that we have. Coaching.
Because weve had to really patch it up.
Perhaps Aaron Glenn didnt mean his comment the way it sounded.
But the Jets head coach praised the four punts his defense forced in the second half in the same postgame response in which he said we cannot let a team like this score on their first couple of drives.
He paused after describing the Cowboys as a team like this as if perhaps one refrains from saying publicly that their team allowed such offensive efficiency from a team that arrived with two wins and still fewer starting offensive linemen.
But Dallas did that, Prescott finding far-down-the-depth-chart Ryan Flournoy for 114 receiving yards in the absence of CeeDee Lamb (ankle) and KaVontae Turpin (foot).
Flournoy and running back Javonte Williams had each surpassed 100 yards by halftime, the first time Dallas has posted a 100-yard receiver and 100-yard rusher in the same half since 1978, per team data.
Theres not many teams in the league that can put four guys who dont start into the game [at offensive line] and feel confident about going and winning a game, especially on the road against one of the most premier interior defensive linemen and some good rushers as well, Prescott said. Credit the front office of getting these guys, but just as important: These guys dont see themselves as backups, as they shouldnt.
Prescott told his rotating cast to remember how he received his starting opportunity a decade ago, when Tony Romo and Kellen Moore were hurt and Prescott entered preseason play and then the 2016 Week 1 start game in relief.
He has yet to cede his starting rights, instead passing for 237 yards and four touchdowns in addition to 28 rushing yards as Prescotts 41st three-touchdown game passed Romo for the franchise record.
Dallas offense wasnt perfect with multiple Pro Bowlers sidelined, contributing three penalties to the teams 11 total on the day. But it outgained New York 416 yards to 378 despite the Jets holding the ball nine minute and 11 seconds longer than the Cowboys. An increased emphasis on presnap motion helped them thrive, the Cowboys using motion to help guide Prescotts decision making on 67% of throws, up from last years 58%, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
And in a key series before halftime, the Cowboys forced a fumble of Breece Hall with 2:27 to play in the second quarter, scored a touchdown with 1:02 to play and and then forced a Jets three-and-out.
Dallas figured Williams could get a first down and they could call a timeout to regroup in the final minute. Instead, Williams burst out for 66 yards and the Cowboys produced a 14-second scoring drive entering halftime.
Im chasing down the field because I’m trying to clock it and [Williams[ is still just running, Prescott told Yahoo Sports. [Schottenheimer] knew that from his studies and all that, that it was going to get us a good run and it did more than that.
He’s just like, Hey, we know from what they’re going to do. It’s going to hit.
For neither the first nor last time Sunday, the Cowboys offense did.
While Prescott and Jones heaped praise on their 51-year-old head coach who once coordinated the Jets offense from 2006-11, Schottenheimer sent the praise right back their way.
Its not a testament to the coaches its a testament to the players, Schottenheimer said.
He told his locker room to celebrate their season-high five sacks and the turnovers they forced and the touchdowns they scored.
And he celebrated one player in particular.
The quarterback executing his plays, and seizing the moment on free plays and penalties, and using his arms and legs to the tune of 11 touchdowns and 1,406 total offensive yards through five weeks?
Only the Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford has more touchdowns, per TruMedia Sports. And only Stafford and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Baker Mayfield have accounted for more total yards.
Look, I think were spoiled, Schottenheimer said. I think hes one of the best players in the league.
At least some from the MetLife stands agreed. The same rowdy chorus of fans who jeered at Jones to sell the team before kickoff chanted at Prescott from the stands before and after the game.
MVP. MVP. MVP.
Did Prescott hear it?
I mean my ears works, he said. So I heard it, but I didnt hear it. Its Week 5. I dont care. I dont care if it was Week 17 To me, I didnt play near as well of a game that I wanted to.
I told yall what I want to win.
Its a ring teammates and coaches long to help Prescott deliver.
The Cowboys offense is performing at a pace that helps the team dream if its defense can turn Sundays performances into rule rather than exception.
Keep moving, keep working, keep getting these wins cause this team is special, defensive tackle Solomon Thomas said. This offense is elite.
And if we [as a defense] can back them up, we can go all the way.
A Carolina Panthers game next week could be one more opportunity to compete even without a full cast.
Dallas will hope Schottenheimers debut year settles in before a November-December schedule stretch that features the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings in four consecutive weeks.
Beating the Jets wont be enough. But Prescott hopes he can do much more for his coaches, for the front office, for the teammates with whom hes building a culture around which theyre proud.
Last week when we tied, I go, Bro, that s*** pisses me off, Prescott told Yahoo Sports. That s*** pisses me off, bro. I want to win, bro.
I want to win.