What we learned about the Dallas Cowboys in dominant 30-10 victory vs. New York Jets

The Dallas Cowboys are officially the Kings of New York.

It’s not the crown they are seeking in 2023.

But it’s certainly a step in the right direction as the Cowboys have the look of something special, following Sunday’s 30-10 victory against the New York Jets at AT&T Stadium one week after a 40-0 blanking of the New York Giants.

No team in the NFL has looked better and been more dominant to open the season.

Owner Jerry Jones couldn’t recall a Cowboys team opening the season two more impressive victories in beating the Giants and Jets by a combined score of 70-10.

“I don’t...just off hand I do not,” said Jones, who gave the most to to coach Mike McCarthy. “I liked I liked the way Mike coached. I think it was very visible . I can’t say enough about Mike McCarthy here. I’ll give him his due. He’s got a lot to do with how these two games have gone.”

“I’m proud of this whole group. Our fans should, I am really excited about whats ahead of us.”

And while everyone knew about star linebacker Micah Parsons and the Cowboys defense, it was quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb — and the team’s new Texas Coast offense — that opened some eyes against the Jets.

Parsons had two sacks and a forced fumble. The Cowboys added three interceptions as the defense forced at least three turnovers in each of the first two games.

Prescott and the offense, led by coach Mike McCarthy as the play caller, showed glimpses of something special against a strong Jets defense.

Prescott completed 31 of 38 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cowboys are now 10-1 at home dating back to last season and started 2-0 on the season for the first time since 2019.

“We’re off to an outstanding start,” McCarthy said. “The pressure and the takeaways are at an incredible level after two games.”

The Cowboys play at the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday.

What we learned in the Cowboys win vs. the Jets:

Dak Prescott and the Texas Coast offense

You had to know something was up when the Cowboys won the opening coin toss and elected to take the ball.

Coach Mike McCarthy normally likes to defer to the second half and put his dominant defense on the field first.

But after a muted performance by the offense in the 40-0 season opening win against the Giants due to the rain and an early blowout, McCarthy and Prescott couldn’t wait to show off their new toys.

The Cowboys had a point to make and they made it quickly as Prescott took the opening kickoff and drove it right through the heart of a Jets defense that is good as any in the league with Pro Bowl level playmakers on every level.

The Cowboys went 75 yards on 12 plays on a first drive that featured runs and passes to running back Tony Pollard, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson.

“A coin toss is a decision that is part of the game management and how you feel the offense lines up against their defense,” McCarthy said. “We just really wanted to get going with that. That first drive, we put a lot of work into the start of the game. We just wanted to try and get out of front.”

Prescott completed his first 13 passes en route to a mistake-free day in which hefinished with 31 completions on 38 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns.

“Obviously, he’s getting that ball out quick,” Jones said of Prescott. “ I like what we’re asking him to do and not do. All of the things that we had hoped to kind of chip away, if you will, at a total picture offensively, of how to improve his ability to just be Dak, and go out there and do what he does well and plus lead and i think we’re seeing that.

To me, I don’t know about you, but he looks very comfortable out there, it doesn’t look like we’re having to labor to get to certain plays, they look set up. Hats off today to the offensive side of the ball.”

The only hiccup offense was the inability to consistently score touchdowns in the red zone, as they settled for five field goals from Brandon Aubrey, four of them from close.

But there were no interceptions and no turnovers against a strong Jets defense.

The game plan featured every running back on the roster, including rookies Duece Vaughn and Hunter Leupke as well as backup Rico Dowdle.

But Pollard was the go to guy with 25 carries for 72 yards and 7 receptions for 37 yards. It was the first game of his career with 25 catches and 32 touches.

“Tony was going to touch the ball, that was the plan coming in,” McCarthy said. “Definitely wanted to get Rico (Dowdle) some. Tried to spread it around, we had the package in there with Deuce (Vaughn), we got him some touches. This was going to be a heavy lifting day for Tony and he carried it.”

Prescott completed passes to nine different receivers.

And most importantly, Prescott, who led the league with a career-high 15 interceptions in 12 games, completed his second straight game to start the season without a turnover.

Prescott got saucy when it was pointed out that he didn’t have two straight games without an interception last season.

“What about the year before that? Or the year before that?,” Prescott retorted. “It’s something I’ve left. The interceptions (15), I guess when you lead the league it will never go away “To be candid, I really don’t care about the questions about them at this point.”

Micah Parsons and the dominant defense

The primary focus of the Cowboys defense heading into the Jets and will remain so for the rest of the season stopping run and forcing opponents to beat them through the air against their ferocious pass rush.

The Jets two-headed rushing attack of Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook ran to nowhere against the Cowboys defense.

Hall rushed for 9 yards and Cooks rushed for 7.

The Jets best runner for quarterback Zach Wilson on scrambles. He accounted for 36 yards on the ground in the first half, leading to a field goal.

But outside of a 68-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson on a slant against Stephon Gilmore, the Jets did nothing on offense against the Cowboys defense.

Wilson, under constant pressure, completed 12 of 27 passes for 170 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He was sacked twice by Parsons in the first quarter and once by defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.

And it was Parsons who put the game away and nearly blew the lid off at AT&T Stadium with a tackle for loss on Cook in the third quarter. He ripped ball out of Cook’s hands before he was down and then returned it to the end zone for a touchdown.

However, he was ruled down on replay as a Jets offensive lineman’s leg touched Parson’s leg before he could get up.

The Cowboys turned the turnover into a field goal and a 24-10 lead.

“He was a wrecking crew today,” McCarthy said.

moving him around. He had some opportunities here over center today. He’s an elite player, just feed off his energy and

his production.

And safety Jayron Kearse gave the Cowboys its second turnover of the day with an interception on Wilson in the fourth quarter, setting up a 30-yard field goal and a 30-10 lead.

Safety Malik Hooker and cornerback Trevon Diggs recorded fourth quarter interceptions

Rebound game from the tight ends

The Cowboys tight ends accounted for three drops in the season opening victory against the New York Giants.

But Prescott never lost faith in them and was rewarded against the Jets with his first two touchdown passes of the season going to Ferguson and rookie second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker.

Ferguson’s 4-yard touchdown reception capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive to open the game.

And Schoonmaker made it 18-7 late in the second quarter with a 1-yard catch and the subsequent 2-point conversion after a late hit on Prescott.

CeeDee Lamb’s big day

With Brandon Cooks out of the lineup with a sprained knee, the Cowboys turned to Jalen Tolber, KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Brooks to fill his role on offense.

But the focal point of the receiver corps was No. 1 wide outDee Lamb, who was targeted nine times by Prescott in the first half and caught seven for 106 yards, including a 31-yard reception.

Lamb finished the game with 11 catches for 143 yards and seems on track for his second-straight 100-catch season.

Tolbert, who has just two catches during a disappointing rookie season in 2022, had his best day as a pro with three catches for 18 yards. He had a catch for a crucial third down and drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone to set up a touchdown.

No more questions about the kicker

Rookie kicker Aubrey missed his first extra point in the season opener.

But he has been perfect since. He made four extra points and two field goals in the 40-0 victory against the Giants last Sunday and followed it up with it up with a perfect outing against the Jets.

He had field goals of 21, 35, 55 and 26 yards and he was good on his lone extra point.

The 55-yarder might have been good from 65 as Aubrey showed off the leg talent that the Cowboys have been drooling about.

Aubrey continued to boom all of his kickoffs for touchbacks.

“Well, I think we’ve got us a kicker,” owner Jerry Jones said. “That’s a far cry from missing that first extra point that we started the season off with, but I’m the kind of guy that will hang in there with them. [laughs] But seriously, I’m pleased for him, pleased for our team. That’s everything you want for a kicker to experience and still let us have, as a young kicker, a lot of to look forward to.”