The Jets draw a tough matchup for their defense in Week 6, facing the ninth-highest-scoring offense in the Dallas Cowboys. Between Dak Prescott at quarterback, Ezekiel Elliott at running back and Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup at wide receiver, Dallas is stacked. The Jets, meanwhile, have allowed more points in each game than their previous one this season.
All is not lost, though. The Jets have a top-five run defense, and the Cowboys could be missing both of their starting tackles. It’s the silver linings that matter in this one, and it will take a perfect game plan by Gregg Williams and execution of the Jets defenders to keep New York in the game.
Here are the keys for the Jets defense in Week 6.
Contain Michael Gallup
Cooper is going to get his regardless of how the Jets cover him, but stopping Dallas’ second receiver should limit their offense greatly.
Gallup, though he missed two games with a knee injury, leads the NFL in yards per game with 113, is first in air yards and has an average depth of target of 9.9 yards (fifth in the league). Gallup can blow up a game with his speed and quickly put points on the board for the Cowboys. The Jets must find a way to stop that with a combination of coverages and defensive schemes.
Attack the tackles
Dallas has one of the best offensive lines in the NFL but could be without both of its starting tackles against the Jets. Left tackle Tyron Smith missed this past week with an ankle injury, and right tackle La’el Collins left Week 5 with a knee injury. Both are highly questionable for Sunday, meaning the Jets need to target their backups when rushing Dak Prescott.
In their two losses, the Cowboys gave up a total of 15 quarterback hits and four sacks. When you pressure Prescott, he folds quickly. The Jets must exploit the Cowboys’ weak tackles to thwart Dallas’ offense. This is the perfect spot for defensive end Leonard Williams to finally show up and remind the NFL why he was a top-10 pick five years ago.
Keep Elliott under 100 yards
This is easier said than done, but if the Jets can stave off Elliott it will have a ripple effect on the rest of the Cowboys offense. Dallas is 1-2 in games in which Elliott hasn’t eclipsed 100 total yards, and the one win was against the Giants in Week 1, when Prescott threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns.
Fortunately, defending the run is something the Jets are actually good at. New York allows the fourth-fewest rushing yards (350) and third-fewest yards per attempt (3.4) in the league, but the Jets haven’t played a caliber of running back like Elliott yet this season.
Force turnovers
While the Cowboys’ offense is high-scoring, they’ve been incredibly turnover-prone recently. Dallas only turned the ball over twice in its first three games of the season – all wins – but have six in the past two games – both losses.
The Jets defense actually tied for seventh with eight total takeaways, but four of those came in Week 1 against the Bills. However, three of those turnovers led directly to four of the Jets’ five touchdowns in 2019: two interception-return touchdowns, one fumble recovery touchdown and another fumble recovery that put the Jets in prime scoring position.
