Dallas Cowboys: 7 Reasons Cowboys Are a Lock to Beat the New York Jets

It's time to ride.

This Sunday night the Dallas Cowboys will face off against the New York Jets to officially kick off the 2011 NFL season for both teams.

For Dallas it’s about redemption. Last season the ‘Boys finished 6-10 and fired their head coach midseason. The secondary was awful, the defensive line was bad, and the team was just plain flat.

Now every single team gets to hit the reset button and start all over again.

The Cowboys have a tough task in front of them to start the season. They face the New York Jets, a team that has made the last two AFC Championship Games, and a team known for its defense and exotic schemes so sophisticated they can confuse the most eloquent of quarterback scientists. Yes, even Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

How in the world will Tony Romo navigate this pool of sharks? Does he have the tools needed to beat the Jets? Better yet, do the Cowboys have enough to beat a top-tier team in the NFL?

I say emphatically, yes.

Here are seven reasons why the Cowboys are a lock to beat the New York Jets.

Mark Sanchez

Sanchez is a young cat. He’s entering his third season and he’s still learning and growing into his position as starting quarterback for the New York Jets. He’s handled the pressure well and I think that he’s going to get better.

With that being said, I also think he’s the Jets' weakest link and will never lead them to a Super Bowl.

It’s the same argument being made about Tony Rome, but Sanchez isn’t that accurate and he can get mistake-prone. The Jets will not beat Dallas through the air and head coach Rex Ryan knows that. The Cowboys secondary is banged up and not that great, but even with a B-squad the Jets can’t do it.

Sanchez has thrown 33 interceptions in two years and has a career completion percentage of 54 percent. Dallas will be just fine against him.

Mark my words about Mr. Mark Sanchez: He will be the cause of the Jets downfall.

The Cowboys Running Game

Dallas has one of the best, emerging running backs in the league in Felix Jones. I understand that he still has to prove himself, but he’ll do just that this season.

The Jets only allowed 90 yards rushing per game last season, so Dallas will have tough sledding against this team. But Jones isn’t one-dimensional and neither are DeMarco Murray and Tashard Choice.

All three running backs will play a key role in Sunday’s game and should make a great difference in leading Dallas to victory.

Tony Romo

Romo is no slack, son. His 2010 injury non-withstanding, Tony is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. In one of my latest articles, I ranked Romo as the sixth-best quarterback in all of football, ahead of Big Ben and Michael Vick.

You can view the article here and spew as much hatred my way as you want.

But Tony will be key as long as he doesn’t make any key mistakes. He’s known to try and force a ball or two into tight spaces, but if he can keep that under control, Dallas should be okay.

The Cowboys can’t afford any turnovers against the Jets, and if they commit none they should win. Simple as that.

Cowboys Linebackers

The Rob Ryan show starts on Sunday night and it should be explosive. Dallas will blitz coming off the bus and Mark Sanchez should be ready for a plethora of varied defensive looks.

DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, Bradie James, Keith Brooking, Vick Butler and company should be ready to bring their A-game against the Jets.

Ryan will blitz his brother’s team and if Ware can’t bring it off the edge, then someone else will step up.

Rob Ryan

If the Cowboys have anything going for them on defense this season, it's Rob Ryan. He’s a fighter and he’s aggressive—something the Cowboys missed in 2010.

The Ryan brothers have a matching style, and while they’ll coach against each other on Sunday, best believe that they’ll try to take each other’s teams' heads off.

Rex will be out to prove that his team’s defense is better than his brothers and will try to keep Sanchez on his back most of the night.

I think he’ll be successful, as his aggressive nature will serve the ‘Boys well on Sunday night.

Dez Bryant

According to a recent article on ESPNDallas.com, Dez Bryant isn’t scared of Darrelle Revis. Revis is one of the best corners in the league, but if Bryant is to ascend to a top-notch receiver, he’ll have to do battle with the best.

He’ll pay a visit to “Revis Island” on Sunday and he’ll have to bring is triple-A-game to get one up on Revis.

I think that Bryant will be okay when he goes against Revis and Antonio Cromartie. But if Bryant is taken out of the game by either corner, then Dallas is in trouble.

If that happens, head coach Jason Garrett will have plenty of things in store and move Bryant around to keep the wideout involved.

Bryant will be key to the Cowboys' victory.

Shonn Greene

Dallas allowed over 105 rushing yards a game in 2010 and Greene averaged a little over 50 yards per game.

The Cowboys rush defense will be better and I’m not so sure about Shonn Greene. He’s a talented running back but he will not break out against Dallas. The Cowboys will control the running lanes and Greene won’t have many chances to break out.

Dallas' defensive line—Jay Ratliff, Marcus Spears and Kenyon Coleman—has enough to stop Greene and the Jets offense.

Final Prediction: Cowboys 23, Jets 20

Dallas will emerge victorious 23-20.