NFL Game of the Week: Cowboys vs. Jets

Week one of the NFL season has passed and these two teams played in some crazy games, each for their own reasons.

First, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to East Rutherford, N.J., to play the New York Giants at Metlife Stadium. The game ended up being an absolute blowout victory for Dallas as they won by a score of 40-0.

This game was full of mishaps for the Giants both on offense and defense. The offensive line could not hold linebacker Micah Parsons and the rest of the Cowboys' defensive line which resulted in New York quarterback Daniel Jones being sacked seven times.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants could not stop anything the Cowboys tried.

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 143 yards but the main weapon was the run game as running back Tony Pollard had two touchdowns to his name.

Now let’s transition and talk about the other game that happened in Metlife Stadium, the New York Jets against the Buffalo Bills. This game ended in a 22-16 overtime victory for the Jets but the way it got there could not have been scripted even if you tried.

Everyone was so excited to see the veteran starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers who recently signed with New York, play in this game. But while getting sacked he suffered a torn Achilles in the first quarter of the game which ended his season.

This meant that all the weight of the game was now on the shoulders of backup quarterback Zach Wilson. Wilson threw for 140 yards and one touchdown while kicker Greg Zuerlein kept the Jets in the game with three made field goals.

Another humongous help in keeping New York afloat was their defense. Safety Jordan Whitehead picked off Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen three times on Sunday which saved a lot of possible scoring drives from Buffalo.

The game went to overtime after a game-tying field goal by Bills kicker Tyler Bass. After an unsuccessful first drive, Buffalo had to punt and what happened next, no one expected.

Jets rookie wide receiver Xavier Gipson was back to return the punt. He had gone undrafted and made their roster just before the season started.

Gipson returned the punt for a touchdown to win the game and Metlife Stadium erupted in cheers as the Jets had just pulled off a huge upset after the events that transpired in the first quarter.

With both the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets coming off of huge wins against division rivals, the stage is set for an exciting game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

What will be the deciding factor and which team’s defense will come through stronger after both sides embarrassed their previous competition?

Chris Machado is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cvm6238@psu.edu