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.
Seven Cowboys missed practice Wednesday, including safety Malik Hooker (toe) and tackle Tyler Guyton (concussion) along with guards Tyler Smith (knee) and Tyler Booker (ankle). Receiver/returner KaVontae Turpin (foot) and running back Miles Sanders (knee/ankle) also missed the session. Lamb might return to practice later in the week.
For the Jets, Allen (knee) has been ruled out with what Glenn described as a “pretty serious” injury. The others to miss Wednesday’s practice were cornerback Michael Carter II (concussion), 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
