The Cure: Cowboys have no antidote for what ails them in loss at Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - New York Jets QB Sam Darnold returned to action on Sunday after a bout with mononucleosis and while wearing special organ-guarding pads. ... to QB a team that hadn't won a game. So why is it that the Dallas Cowboys are the ones who looked sick?

"We beat ourselves,'' DeMarcus Lawrence said after the Cowboys' humiliating 24-22 loss, and it's true. The Cowboys beat themselves.

But in the the last three weeks, that's been one of those, "Stand in line and take a number at the deli'' things ... because everybody is beating the Cowboys.

That includes Darnold, 22, who was originally selected by the Jets with the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He made 13 starts during his rookie campaign and possesses undeniable star power, even as he’d missed the Jets' previous three games, all losses. But despite having Darnold back, the Jets are burdened with major issues - and ones that should've aligned perfectly with some Cowboys minor issues that should've been cured here.

But Darnold and the Jets pushed the Cowboys around all day, truly in complete control from start to finish. Any fat numbers by Dallas are mirages. The real numbers: Dallas' 3-0 record has been followed up by an 0-3 record. The Cowboys are a .500 team ... again ... and jobs are as much "on the line'' as they can be.

Owner Jerry Jones after the game was asked about job security for head coach Jason Garrett, and he finally managed a smile.

"I was a lot happier with what he did the first three games,'' Jerry said, "than what’s happened the last three games. But ... it’s not just him. It’s across the board.''

Indeed, here's how sick the Jets were coming in:

*New York’s offensive line came in surrendering a league-worst 23 sacks this season. Here? Not an issue.

*The Jets came in ranking 30th in the NFL in rushing offense - that despite the still-electric presence of Le’Veon Bell. Here? Not an issue.

*New York’s defense came in allowing 25.8 points per game, a seemingly handy match for a Cowboys offense that, despite a two-game losing streak, entered averaging 26.2 points per.

A 26-point total here would've won the game. But ... not an issue.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott was asked about the injuries plaguing Dallas, including the absence of two starting O-lineman and the early exit of Amari Cooper. Zeke offered no excuses, and that was a running theme in the postgame locker room. But the Cowboys get no brownie points for admitting their problems; it would be a lie to ignore them.

The Jets should've been convenient cure for what’s been ailing the Dallas Cowboys. Instead, the Cowboys are left with ... valiant speech-making.

"We know the players and the men we have on this team. .. We're going to gain a sense of focus and a sense of accountability to lock-in, to lean on one another,'' said Dak Prescott, who led a late charge for which the Cowboys really don't deserve any credit. "And this brotherhood has to grow, right now, more than it ever has.''

Sure. But it needed to grow after the embarrassing loss to the Saints. And it needed to grow after the embarrassing loss to the Packers. This sick patient isn't growing; it's dying.

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