One of the Achilles Heels of Dallas in the last few years, even last year has been Rushing D.
Mazi Smith was a first round pick and Hankins was a FA priority entirely because of that. Heck, you can even say that when the Cowboys drafted Parsons as an off ball LB that was in their thought process, he just turned into something else when they experimented with him at pass rush.
The Jets were generally considered to be a strong rushing team. Hall and Cook are productive backs and did well against the Bills. Many Jets fans on their forums were confident they’d be in the game this afternoon because of their rushing attack and Dallas’ perceived weakness against the run.
The result? The Jets had 64 yards total rushing, 36 of that coming on one drive gained by their QB against a semi-prevent.
Hall? Nine whole yards. Cook, a guy people wanted in Dallas for a big trade? Seven.
I think some serious props are deserved for the rushing D against the one real strength the Jets had after losing Rodgers. And it seems like they might have answered one of the defenses only clear liabilities from last year.
