Cowboys dominate Jets in Thanksgiving yawner

Dallas tight end Jason Witten stiff-arms Jets safety Abram Elam in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' 34-3 win at Texas Stadium. (AP Photo / November 22, 2007)

BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com

November 23, 2007

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IRVING, Texas - The Jets said during their short week that they were relishing this chance to perform on a national stage. They said they are a "good team with a bad record," and they wanted to prove that their eight previous losses were due more to circumstance than incompetence. They wanted to continue to ride the momentum of their upset of the Steelers four days earlier.

Instead, they had their pluckiness plucked - exposed like a holiday bird - and provided little more than an indigestion-free Thanksgiving meal for the Cowboys. All that was left for the Jets was some humble pie.

"If a person hadn't seen us play this year and they watched the game today," the usually measured and soft-spoken receiver Jerricho Cotchery said, "they're probably saying, 'The Jets suck.' "

The 34-3 loss ensured that the Jets (2-9) will have a losing record in 2007, which has seemed inevitable since the end of September. The Jets may be used to losing, but usually they are at least competitive. This time they came to Big D and were D-stroyed.

The Jets kept themselves out of any highlight reels for most of the game, bottling up Tony Romo, Terrell Owens and the other high-flying Cowboys in a rather nondescript game. But they couldn't avoid it altogether - Romo hit Owens for a 22-yard score over the outstretched hands of Darrelle Revis late in the fourth quarter - and became the 10th notch on Dallas' playoff-bound bandolero.

The Jets' offense was awful, putting up one of its worst performances in recent memory, gaining only 180 yards (68 in the meaningless fourth quarter). They couldn't reach Cowboys territory until just over 26 minutes had elapsed, and the drive provided their only points, on a 40-yard field goal by Mike Nugent. Kellen Clemens hit Cotchery on a 12-yard slant on fourth-and-3, but the drive stalled. Most of them did.

The Jets had 13 possessions, all but two for four plays or fewer. They were 3-for-16 on third and fourth downs and nearly had more punts (eight) than first downs (nine). They would have tied in that regard had Leon Washington not run for 11 yards on the final play, which was their longest run of the game.

The closest they got to the end zone was a fourth-and-goal from the 5 with four minutes left. Clemens hit tight end Chris Baker on a pass, but he was tackled between the 1 and the goal line, just short and yet so far.

"There were certain things we had to achieve in all three phases," coach Eric Mangini said, "and we didn't come close to any phase."

Said Clemens, who completed 12 of 27 for 142 yards: "It's frustrating, very frustrating. You can't fall short as many times as we did today, especially on third downs, and not feel disappointed."

Thomas Jones, coming off a 117-yard game against the Steelers, managed only 40 yards on 17 carries. Cotchery, who had a streak of 15 games with at least four receptions snapped Sunday, was limited to two grabs. He struggled to find room with injured Laveranues Coles on the sideline and not drawing double coverage on the opposite side of the field.

The Cowboys (10-1), off to their best start ever, set the tone by driving 63 yards for a touchdown on the opening possession. Though clearly outplayed, the Jets managed to keep Dallas' head start to 7-0 through the first quarter (thanks to an end-zone interception by Kerry Rhodes of a pass intended for Owens). But early in the second Romo beat a blitz and a Jets miscommunication and hit tight end Jason Witten on a 25-yard TD over the coverage of Matt Chatham to make it 14-0. Terence Newman returned a Clemens interception 50 yards for a 21-0 lead with 6:18 left in the half. Nugent's field goal with 39 seconds to go put the Jets on the board.

Although the Jets' defense wasn't all terrible, it allowed the Cowboys to drive for two field goals to open the second half, including one that capped a 15-play, 8:23 drive and put a seal on the win as tight as the Tupperware that holds so many leftovers this morning.

"We pretty much laid an egg," Rhodes said. "We reverted back to the mistakes that we had before the bye week."

And, as a consequence, the disheartening results.

SECOND AND LONG

The Jets (2-9) just finished playing two games in a span of five days. Now what? Well, after a 10-day hiatus, their best shot at Win No. 3 will be at the Dolphins on Dec. 2. And two weeks after that, it's a rematch of Videogate with the Patriots.

JETS' FINAL FIVE GAMES

Dec. 2 at Miami (0-10)

Dec. 9 vs. Cleveland (6-4)

Dec. 16 at New England (10-0)

Dec. 23 at Tennessee (6-4)

Dec. 30 vs. Kansas City (4-6)

Dec. 2

Jets at Miami

1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

Radio: WEPN (1050), WABC (770), WRCN (103.9)