What I’ve been told is that defense wins championships.
If that’s the case, NFL fans will get a front-row seat of two of the best championship-level defenses in football.
The Dallas Cowboys will host the New York Jets at 3:45 pm CST on CBS. Former Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo and Jim Nantz will call the game.
Normally, it’s just another non-conference game that will give Dallas a good test before playing San Francisco and Philadelphia.
However, I’m getting a sneaking suspicion that there is more to this matchup than what is on paper.
The similarities between this showdown and the 2019 contest are uncanny and will create some must-see TV.
Dallas’ defense prepares to play another top-3 draft selection at quarterback
In 2019, the New York Jets had talent sprinkled across their team.
Truthfully, and Jets fans would agree, they were a poorly coached team that season. We’ll get to that part later.
Nevertheless, they had a former USC Quarterback named Sam Darnold, who was still trying to find his way in the league. He may have finally found a home as a backup, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
On that faithful Sunday afternoon against Dallas, he was no backup.
In week 6, he arguably had his best game as a professional football player. He threw for 338 yards, a 72% completion rate, two touchdowns, and a 113 QBR. Everything was working for the young quarterback.
Unfortunately, that did not set the stage for the remainder of his season.
Enter his heir apparent, Zach Wilson, who carries a top 3 draft selection of his own. Like Darnold, he has underachieved and underdelivered leaving Jets’ fans wanting more.
Similar to Darnold, Wilson has all the arm talent in the world, and you can’t completely overlook him.
Earning the win against Buffalo on the big stage on Monday night has his confidence at an all-time high and that is what Dallas will have to break early. In the last matchup, Darnold confidence caught fire and it was hard to stop.
Both Jets quarterbacks may have comparable talent and draft status, but they played two different types of defenses and that may end up being the biggest difference in the game.
Once again, two top-10 defenses enter the field with elite individual players
Speaking of the devil.
During the 2019 season, the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys were top 10 overall defenses. No surprise there, right?
Well, once again, the Cowboys and Jets come stacked on the defensive side of the ball to an even higher degree.
Quinnen Williams was a wet behind-the-ears rookie who had loads of potential lined up next to Leonard Williams. Jamal Adams, who is now playing an excellent game of hide and seek, was one of the top safeties in the league.
Dallas comes in bolstering their own headliners in Micah Parson, Demarcus Lawrence and Trevon Diggs.
As with the game four years ago, the marquee players should dictate the game with pivotal plays. Dallas fans should expect Parsons to get multiple sacks when you consider the Jets’ offensive line.
Darnold threw a momentum-draining interception in their game. It’s not outside the realm of possibility for that to happen again.
The ball tends to inexplicably find its way to DaRon Bland’s hands.
What else is unexplainable was the fact that Dak threw the ball 40 times in their previous engagement. The Jets’ defensive front is possibly better than four years ago, stapled to a ball-hawking backend.
If he does that again (Dak throwing 40 times), it’ll most certainly be the same outcome.
The defenses will come to play just like they did then. There’ll be some new faces, but the score will be modest, similar to 2019, solely because these defenses are so good.
Two NFL coaches in the same position their predecessors were in
Head Coach Mike McCarthy may argue that he is a 2-time twelve-win coach with his team on an upward rise. That’s a very true statement, and impossible to refute.
New York Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh may fight tooth and nail that he and Adam Gase are nowhere in the same stratosphere.
My rebuttal would be that both coaches are closer to their predecessors than they know.
I agree – it was time for Jason Garrett to exit stage right. However, he was a former coach of the year recipient (2016) who owned a 12-4 and 13-3 regular season record.
Not to mention that he was Jerry Jones’ golden goose for some reason or another. Go figure.
Conversely, Gase was the belle of the ball, similar to Saleh, because of his connection with Peyton Manning in Denver. The shine quickly faded because of impatience and a 9-23 regular season record.
What is Robert Saleh’s record heading into this showdown? He is currently sitting at 12-23.
A lot is at stake in this game alone for both coaches even at Week 2.
Both individuals are still vying for ownership’s approval as long-term voices, with the shared goal of steering the ship in the right direction.
While it seems like just another regular season game, sometimes we must look past the surface.
Call its coincidence or maybe it just dumb luck but on Sunday, Dallas will play another highly drafted quarterback, share the field with two top rated defenses and have another set of opposing coaches in win-now modes.
Gotta love the NFL.
