Nick Shook’s takeaways:
Cowboys’ offense keeps rolling. Brian Schottenheimer’s play-calling artistry was not a first-month fluke and he proved as much Sunday, continuing to dial up creative designs and empowering Dak Prescott to push this offense forward (see: Prescott’s 43-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens over former All-Pro corner Sauce Gardner). Arguably even better was Javonte Williams’ day, a 16-carry, 135-yard outing that included a 66-yard run to set up a touchdown pass to Jake Ferguson as part of a scoring barrage in the final minute of the second quarter that also saw Williams run for a touchdown from 5 yards out. Williams’ hard running balanced out Dallas’ offense and allowed Schottenheimer to mix things up, maintaining unpredictability and helping Dallas rack up over 400 yards of offense despite losing the time of possession battle significantly. We’ve known the Cowboys would likely need to be an offensive machine in order to contend this season, and on a rare day in which their defense stifled an opposing offense, Dallas’ scoring unit didn’t relent.Jets repeat familiar mistakes. Fresh off a frustrating loss in Miami filled with self-inflicted wounds, the Jets returned home only to make similar mistakes again. New York continued to struggle with pass protection (both in execution and pre-snap adjustment, with some responsibility falling on Justin Fields), fourth-down decisions produced a strange (and doomed) call in one instance and an even more mystifying execution on another, penalties piled up again and Breece Hall’s ball security issues (two fumbles, one lost) cost a chance to stay in a game that eventually became a blowout. The Jets had opportunities in this game; their opening drive saw them move all the way down to Dallas’ 7 before settling for a field goal. But as has been the case too often in the last two weeks, the Jets cannot get out of their own way.Houston is earning his keep. With Micah Parsons now employed in Wisconsin, the Cowboys have needed somebody else to step up in the pass-rushing department. Enter James Houston, Dallas’ sack leader (albeit with only 2.0) entering Sunday. Houston tacked another 1.5 sacks onto his season total as part of a Dallas front that recorded a QB pressure rate of 50% and had five players notch at least half a sack against the typically elusive Fields. This isn’t the new standard for Dallas’ defense but players like Houston and Dante Fowler are going to play crucial roles in keeping this defense from getting shredded by better offenses. On Sunday, they starred.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Cowboys-Jets (via NFL Pro): Javonte Williams forced seven missed tackles and gained 76 yards after missed tackles, both season highs. He also generated 92 yards after contact in the game, contributing to his 357 yards after contact on rushing attempts this season, the second-most in the NFL entering Sunday afternoon.
NFL Research: Javonte Williams became the fifth Cowboys player with five-plus rushing touchdowns in the team’s first five games of a season, joining Ezekiel Elliott, DeMarco Murray, Emmitt Smith and Calvin Hill.