Cowboys must avoid Bills' mistake versus Aaron Rodgers-less Jets
Monday Night Football shook up the entire NFL the moment that quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a now-confirmed ruptured Achilles. Watching closely were the Dallas Cowboys, who are set to host them for a Week 2 showdown at AT&T Stadium next Sunday after a whopping Week 1 win. Obviously, not facing Rodgers isn't what […]
Monday Night Football shook up the entire NFL the moment that quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a now-confirmed ruptured Achilles. Watching closely were the Dallas Cowboys, who are set to host them for a Week 2 showdown at AT&T Stadium next Sunday after a whopping Week 1 win.
Obviously, not facing Rodgers isn't what any of the competitors within the players want. But objectively speaking, it makes the upcoming game versus the Jets much easier to win.
And yet, Cowboys players probably learned a lesson as they continued to watch while the outside world freaked out about Rodgers' injury. They witnessed the Jets rally from a 10-point halftime deficit. They saw them hold off Josh Allen & Co. to 16 points on primetime. Let's dive into the two lessons the Cowboys learned from Monday's game.
Week 2 vs. Jets is far from a guarantee
Ok, Rodgers isn't playing. That's no guarantee of anything. The Jets' defense is no joke and it showed during the game. The Bills went 5-of-13 on third down and only two trips into the red zone. They turned the ball over four times.
Three Jets players recorded at least five QB pressures, with John Franklin-Myers leading the team with eight. Sauce Gardner allowed three catches in three targets versus Stefon Diggs but he beat many elite wide receivers as a rookie last year. Overall, the secondary is one of the best in the league and they're well-coached.
The Cowboys better bring their A-game against the Jets even if Rodgers isn't the man quarterbacking them.
Gotta be aggressive
The Bills led the game at the half 13-3. Against Zach Wilson! And they gave it away. A big part of that was Bills head coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey going into conservative mode with the early lead. Consider what McDermott said after the game.
“With all due respect to Zach (Wilson), they’re two different quarterbacks, just from experience alone," McDermott told reporters after the game. "And that’s when you’re saying, ‘Hey, we’re up 13-3 (…) take care of the football, be smart,’ and we weren’t smart. And again, that's when you shoot yourself in the foot, it’s hard to win games.”
Against this defense, playing conservatively just because the Jets are playing a backup quarterback would be a dumb mistake to make. The Cowboys were able to hold back their own offense against the Giants because of a huge lead and weather last week. This time they've got to come out swinging.
Featured image via USA-Today Sports
