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| BAL at SD | BUF at JAX | DEN at CHI | GB at DET | HOU at CLE | IND at ATL | MIA at PIT | MIN at NYG |
| NO at CAR | NYJ at DAL | OAK at KC | PHI at NE | SEA at STL | SF at ARI | TEN at CIN | WAS at TB |
Week 12 Game Recap: New York Jets 3, Dallas Cowboys 34
What you need to know
| New York Jets |
The Jets were completely overmatched by the Cowboys' defense and could not muster much offense. They attempted to establish the run by calling several running plays for Thomas Jones, but he was not given much room to run and as a result averaged 2.35 yards on his 17 rushing attempts. Jones ran decisively and hard, but his lack of yards was a result of what little running room he had closing quickly, usually at or just past the line of scrimmage.
New York's quarterback Kellen Clemens was under duress from a spirited and aggressive Dallas pass rush, and was forced to attempt passes before his receivers had a chance to get open. Clemens' troubles were magnified by not having Laveranues Coles available, as he missed the game due to an ankle injury. He threw half of his passes toward wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery and tight end Chris Baker, but was unable to connect with them consistently. Clemens relied mostly on short and some intermediate passes, but never looked comfortable and never got into a rhythm. The offensive ineptitude was magnified on the three passes that were directed towards receivers in the end zone. One pass to Brad Smith was deflected, Cotchery slipped as he made a move to get open and Clemens threw the ball out of his reach as a result, and Baker caught a pass inches outside the end zone on the Jets' last play of the game.
New York had one series inside the red zone, which came in the final couple of minutes in the game. They attempted two running plays by Jones, and Clemens threw one pass to Smith and two to Baker. They did not score on this series, turning the ball over on downs.
| Dallas Cowboys |
The Cowboys took advantage of some early scores to take a more conservative approach in the game to preserve the lead. Their offensive attack consisted mostly of running by Julius Jones and Marion Barber, and short passes by Tony Romo. They were very efficient using this approach, and managed to dominate the time of possession, 37:52 to 22:08 and control the game. Both Jones and Barber ran well, combining for 167 yards rushing on 32 carries, with Barber adding a touchdown. They were both involved in the short passing game, garnering four receptions apiece. Although Jones ran well between the tackles, he was more effective on plays where he could use his speed, while Barber ran with very good leverage and power. Barber scored a touchdown after he replaced Jones inside the ten yard line on a series where Jones had played every snap.
The Dallas passing game was operated very efficiently by Romo. He was accurate except for a deep pass to Terrell Owens in the end zone that was intercepted. Apart from that play, all of Romo's incompletions were as a result of a deflection by a Jets' defender. Romo focused the majority of his passes on Owens and Jason Witten, and both players scored touchdowns and posted respectable yardage numbers. He used them effectively in a short to intermediate passing attack to control the time of possession. Although the focus of the passing game was relatively conservative due to having a sizable lead early, Romo did take a couple of chances deep to both Owens and Witten in or just outside the end zone that came up short in addition to their touchdown plays.
The Cowboys had two possessions in the red zone, and came away with one touchdown and one field goal. They ran six plays, and split the plays at three passing plays and three running plays. Although Barber scored a goal to go touchdown, Jones was the running back on the field for the other five red zone possessions, and had two carries and a reception, but did not get into the end zone. The other two red zone passes were one apiece to Witten and Owens.
What you ought to know
| QB Kellen Clemens, Pass: 12 - 27 - 142 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 |
Clemens was unable to get into a rhythm in large part due to a fierce Dallas pass rush and an ineffective running game. He had to hurry a lot of his throws, and forced others, including one that was returned by a Cowboys defender for a touchdown. He missed open receivers at other times and could not make any plays to keep his offense on the field for extended periods. There were a few brief moments when he had time to throw and showcased good touch on passes, but those moments were very infrequent.
| RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 17 - 40 - 0, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jones suffered from not getting much assistance from his offensive line, and as a result posted mediocre rushing numbers. He would attack the line of scrimmage, but very rarely got through for positive yards. Thanks to his cutting ability and speed, he was able to turn a few plays that would have resulted in loss of yards into minimal gains.
| RB Leon Washington, Rush: 2 - 14 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Washington lost a fumble on the first kickoff he returned, and had a minimal impact as a running back.
| WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 2 - 43 - 0 (7 targets) |
Cotchery was largely ineffective as he found it difficult to get open. A couple of his targets were thrown away from him, as he did not separate from his defender. He displayed excellent hands on the two receptions he had, including one when he was double-covered.
| WR Justin McCareins, Rec: 2 - 29 - 0 (5 targets) |
McCareins' modest numbers could have been enhanced somewhat had not dropped an accurate pass that arrived at a point where his defender could not have made a play on the ball.
| WR Brad Smith, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (3 targets) |
Smith posted very low numbers, but two of his targets came in the red zone, with one of those targets in the end zone.
| TE Chris Baker, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (7 targets) |
Baker was used primarily as the outlet receiver and showed an ability to get open on shorter routes. Three of his targets were thrown out of his reach, including one in the end zone. He caught the last pass of the day and was tackled inches outside the end zone.
| PK Mike Nugent 1 - 1 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points |
Nugent only had one scoring opportunity and he converted it, a 40 yard field goal.
| NYJ Rush Defense |
New York's run defense wore down over the course of the game. They were unable to contain either of the Cowboys' running backs and gave up a combined 5.2 yards per rushing attempt to them. The defensive line did not make many plays and as a result the linebackers had to make tackles several yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
| NYJ Pass Defense |
The Jets' pass defense was aggressive and managed to sack Romo three times and intercept him once despite him relying mostly on shorter passes and taking less chances. They blitzed judiciously and effectively, but were kept off balance due to not being able to contain Dallas' running game. They also missed an opportunity when a defensive back dropped a pass that was thrown directly at him.
| QB Tony Romo, Pass: 21 - 28 - 195 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 |
Romo was not spectacular, but still efficient. He was proficient at executing a game plan that called for him to focus more on shorter and intermediate passes, and still managed to show his improvisational skills at times when he had to evade a pass rusher and make a play to keep the drive going. He threw 15 of his 28 passes to Owens and Witten and continued to have a very good rapport with both players. Romo gave way to Brad Johnson with just under four minutes remaining in the game.
| QB Brad Johnson |
Johnson played the last series with his participation consisting of handing the ball to Barber.
| RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 18 - 103 - 1, Rec: 4 - 12 - 0 (4 targets) |
Barber scored the first touchdown of the game, and got stronger as the game progressed, gaining most of his yards in the second half. He showed very good power and moves, breaking through tackles and at times eluding them with his ability to use his feet to escape from a defender before he could get his hands on him. By the fourth quarter, Barber was running straight ahead and breaking tackles on his way to posting very good numbers.
| RB Julius Jones, Rush: 14 - 64 - 0, Rec: 4 - 26 - 0 (4 targets) |
Jones ran very well also, and showed good ability to run in the open field at times. He also proved adept at turning short passes into good yardage plays. Jones also had the ball in his hands on 50 percent of the plays Dallas ran in the red zone, although he didn't manage to score.
| WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 6 - 65 - 1 (7 targets) |
Owens was targeted early in the game on a deep pass play in the end zone that was intercepted, and was used mostly on possession routes that he ran well. His touchdown catch was a beautiful reception on a perfect pass, which helped him end the day with good numbers.
| WR Miles Austin, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (2 targets) |
Austin caught his first passes of the season and showed good speed and ability to run after the catch.
| WR Sam Hurd, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Hurd was not much of a factor in this game.
| TE Jason Witten, Rec: 4 - 54 - 1 (8 targets) |
Witten was used on a variety of routes that included him running along the sideline as well as short and deep up the middle. He ran his routes very well and displayed very good hands. All of his targets that were incompletions were as a result of defenders deflecting the ball as it arrived, including one thrown to him a couple of yards outside of the end zone.
| PK Nick Folk 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points |
Folk was perfect on a busy day, connecting on all four point after attempts, and both field goal attempts, from 46 and 27 yards.
| DAL Rush Defense |
The Cowboys' defense was stifling. They did not allow the Jets' running backs to get past the line of scrimmage on several occasions, and on the few times they managed to, stopped them for minimal gain. Dallas' defensive linemen and linebackers closed gaps quickly and met the Jets' early attempt to establish the run with controlled aggression.
| DAL Pass Defense |
Dallas' pass defense played very aggressively and prevented Clemens from getting into a rhythm at any point in the game. In addition to sacking Clemens three times and returning an interception for a touchdown, the Cowboys constant pressure resulted in affecting many of his passes, by either knocking them down at the line of scrimmage or forcing him to get rid of the ball before a receiver could break free from the defensive backs' coverage, which was also outstanding throughout the game.
