Cowboys, winless Jets feel urgency to win in Week 5

The New York Jets are one of three teams buried under a 0-4 start and are the only squad in the league not to force a turnover. New York takes another shot at its first win in the Aaron Glenn era when it battles the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon at East Rutherford, N.J. Dallas (1-2-1) has trouble stopping teams as it ranks last in total defense (420.5 yards per game) and 31st in scoring defense (33.0 points per game). As for the Jets, they are having issues everywhere. And the situation is already bleak as the 1992 San Diego Chargers are the lone team in NFL history to recover from an 0-4 start and make the playoffs. "Sometimes you've got to stop asking why and start talking about how," Glenn told reporters. "Start having solutions for some of those things. I don't want to put those solutions out because I want to keep those solutions in-house between our guys, and I know exactly what we're going to do to try to help on some of those things. "I think it's going to be very beneficial for us moving forward when it comes to that, so every day we've got to continue to work on those things." The Jets are tied for 28th scoring defense (30.0) and rank last with a minus-7 turnover ratio. In Monday night's 27-21 road loss to the Dolphins, running back Braelon Allen lost a fumble at the Miami 1-yard line and New York was penalized 13 times for 101 yards. Star wideout Garrett Wilson is having trouble accepting what's going on. "This past week was a 'got to have it' and the fact that we just played how we did, now this becomes an 'absolutely got to have it,' " Wilson said of the contest against Dallas. "Got to have it. Got to get on the board. It's a home game. Protect our home field. … There's no time, you know? We've got to have it this week." Dallas watched the Green Bay Packers kick field goals as time expired in both regulation and overtime while playing to a 40-40 home tie Sunday night. "The effort was great, and the positive was that everyone fought," Cowboys defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, a former Jet, said. "It wasn't the result we wanted, it wasn't exactly how we wanted to play, it wasn't our standard, but we fought to the end. A tie is frustrating. It feels like a loss, but it's not a loss." The Cowboys are feeling urgency as three of their next four games are on the road. Quarterback Dak Prescott leads the NFL with 1,119 passing yards while throwing six touchdowns against three interceptions. Receiver George Pickens has 21 catches for 300 yards and four touchdowns and was a top target for Prescott with CeeDee Lamb (ankle) sidelined. The offseason trade acquisition had eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers. "He made big impact plays," Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer said of Pickens. "You see the confidence that Dak has in him." Running back Javonte Williams also has been solid. The free-agent addition ranks sixth in the NFL with 312 yards and has found the end zone four times. He's expected to have a new backup on Sunday in rookie Jaydon Blue. Receiver/returner KaVontae Turpin (foot) and running back Miles Sanders (knee/ankle) are banged up. It was still up in the air on Friday whether the Cowboys would have a fully fortified offensive line. Those chances took a big hit with left tackle Tyler Guyton (concussion) still in concussion protocol and unable to practice. Left guard Tyler Smith (knee) was also not available Friday and Tyler Booker (ankle) will be out along with Lamb. Center Cooper Beebe (ankle) is on short- term IR. They're both moving around good," Schottenheimer said two days before kickoff of Booker and Lamb. "I think the window is getting smaller." Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas will start in place of Malik Hooker (toe) and played 49 snaps last week in relief. Thomas' younger brother, rookie cornerback Azareye'h Thomas, plays for the Jets. Juanyeh Thomas said it will be the first time the brothers have played one another in a game. "The day after he got drafted, we were just sitting there talking like, 'Man, we used to dream, we used to talk about this, we used to train for this.' Now, it's just crazy." Juanyeh Thomas said. For the Jets, Allen (knee) was placed on IR. Cornerback Michael Carter II (concussion) was ruled out but Glenn said he'll make a game-time decision on outside linebacker Jermaine Johnson II (ankle) and running back Kene Nwangwu (hamstring). Dallas won the last meeting 30-10 at home in 2023 after the Jets won the previous three matchups. –Field Level Media

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