New York Jets vs. Dallas Cowboys: Full Dallas Game Preview

The Dallas Cowboys will play at least one more game while “in contention” for the NFC East division title, as they take the field for a special Saturday night edition of the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football, against the New York Jets.

The Jets are 8-5 and have been playing well on both sides of the ball recently. Wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker provide an explosive element for the New York offense. And a defense headlined by defensive ends Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson and cornerback Darrelle Revis consistently make life difficult for opposing offenses.

Every game for the Cowboys is a must-win contest if they want to make the playoffs. If it is ever going to start, it has to happen this week.

Location: AT&T Stadium

Day and Time: Saturday, December 19, 8:25 ET

TV: NFL Network

Week 14 Results and Recap

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The Cowboys offense continued its struggles on the verge of ineptitude in Week 13 against Green Bay. They failed to move the ball with any consistency and only completed one pass in Green Bay territory the entire game. They were able to break runs of 50, 45 and 22 yards at various times and put two of those back-to-back, which enabled them to get the seven points they scored.

The Cowboys defense spent most of the game competing hard to keep the team in the game, but eventually their resilience faded, as they were on the field for nearly 40 minutes and faced over 80 plays. Green Bay scored two touchdowns in the last five minutes, extending its 14-7 lead to 28-7, where the game finished up.  

NFC East Standings

Washington Redskins (6-7)

Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)

New York Giants (6-7)

Dallas Cowboys (4-9)

News and Notes

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Tyler Patmon Released

In a bit of a surprising move, the Cowboys released their primary nickel cornerback, Tyler Patmon, on Tuesday. Patmon’s release was “performance-related,” according to head coach Jason Garrett, but as CowboysHQ’s Mike Fisher has reported, there was more to the move than pure performance.

According to Fisher’s sources, it was driven partially by his failure to execute, physically and mentally, as well as an apparent lack of effort and finally, by an attempt to “send a message” to his team, that in spite of the record and the situation, they were going to keep fighting.

Young cornerbacks Deji Olatoye and Terrance Mitchell are likely to get the call for more reps with Patmon out of the mix.

Latest Injury News

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The Cowboys' injury report features more important names this week than in the last few weeks, but a few are more noteworthy than others.

Rolando McClain

Rolando McClain sustained a concussion in Sunday’s game. and is in the return-to-play protocol. This might be the situation that is hurt the most by playing a Saturday game in Week 14. One less day between games could be all it takes to make the difference between McClain clearing the protocol and playing or sitting out another week.

DeMarcus Lawrence

Lawrence has been playing at a high level recently, registering five sacks in the team’s last five games, including one against Green Bay. He is listed on the injury report with a “chest” injury but was able to participate in some work on Tuesday in practice, and Garrett believes Lawrence is “going to be OK,” per the Dallas Morning News' Brandon George.

Morris Claiborne

Claiborne suffered another hamstring injury in Green Bay, but this one is not believed to be as serious as the injury he dealt with earlier in the year, and they are taking it “day by day,” per the Star-Telegram's Drew Davison. Claiborne’s injury could prove significant in terms of cornerback depth considering the release of Patmon this week.

X-Factors and Matchups to Watch

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Matchup To Watch: Cowboys Offensive Line vs. Jets Defensive Line

The Cowboys have three first-round picks playing on their offensive line, (along with La’el Collins and his unique draft weekend situation), and the Jets have three first-round picks on their defensive line. Rarely do two units with this much combined pedigree line up across from one another and go at it. This should be a good matchup and will likely make a great difference in the outcome of the game.

X-Factor of the Week: Dez Bryant

Bryant might hold this slot for the remainder of the season. The bottom line is that if the Dallas offense is going to be effective for a full game, it is going to need major output from its best player. Over the last few weeks, it has appeared that he has been struggling to judge the ball out of Matt Cassel’s hand and track it to the catch, which has left him fairly unproductive. 

He will have a tough matchup this week facing off with Revis, but if Bryant can play backup to the level he expects of himself, he could help the Cowboys' cause greatly.

Prediction

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The Jets will make life difficult for the Cowboys offense. Cassel will struggle to deal with the pressure the Todd Bowles team will generate, and Marshall and Decker will take advantage of the depleted Cowboys secondary.

The game will be closer on the scoreboard than it should be until late in the fourth quarter, when the Jets pull away.

Prediction: Cowboys 10, Jets 24