Jets vs. Cowboys 2015 preview: New York looks to solidify playoff position

Saturday night football is back. One of the NFL’s more popular December traditions begins its 2015 slate in Week 15, with the Dallas Cowboys hosting the New York Jets at AT&T Stadium.

The Jets have won three games in a row to recover from a midseason slump and now sit at 8-5, currently in the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture. If they win this game, they will have reached nine wins in a season for the first time since 2011, which is also the last time the Jets made the playoffs. New York can’t afford to get complacent with the red-hot Pittsburgh Steelers right behind them with an identical record. The 4-9 Cowboys will be their final reprieve before a tough stretch against the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills to close out the regular season.

One of the Jets’ biggest reasons for their success has been, improbably, the offense. Long one of the team’s biggest weaknesses during the Rex Ryan era, new head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey have built an offense that’s not only watchable, but actually fun. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Chris Ivory, Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker form one of the league’s more diverse attacks.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Jets football without a strong defense, and this year’s unit doesn’t disappoint, ranking first against the run and 10th in points allowed. Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams are one of the most feared defensive lines in football, while shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis is finally back after a concussion kept him out two games. Should the Jets make the playoffs, they’ll be a tough out for any opponent in January.

Believe it or not, the Cowboys are still mathematically alive in the NFC East, but they may as well be done at 4-9. Tony Romo’s season never got off the ground as he fractured his collarbone twice, while Matt Cassel has been one of the worst quarterbacks in football. Dez Bryant is having a career-worst season and the defense has been decimated by injuries, to say nothing of Greg Hardy’s constant distractions. It’s been a season to forget for Jerry Jones and his team.

Ftizpatrick is the textbook definition of a journeyman quarterback, but he’s always had his best years with Gailey running the offense, going back to their days with the Buffalo Bills. Now 33, Fitzpatrick is playing the best football of his career. Over the past three games, he’s thrown for 930 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions while completing 64.2 percent of his passes. Not surprisingly, the Jets won all three games.

Three of the Cowboy’s four wins have come with Romo under center. They are 1-8 without him. That stat pretty much says it all, but when the best replacements they could find are Cassel and Brandon Weeden, they kind of dug their own grave. Cassel hit rock bottom against the Green Bay Packers last week, completing less than 50 percent of his passes for 114 yards and a miserable 3.9 yards per attempt. Once the Cowboys finally get eliminated from playoff contention, it would not be a surprise if they see what they have in practice squad player Kellen Moore.

Brandon Marshall, Jets wide receiver -- The secret ingredient to the Jets’ revived offense is one of the league’s best wideouts playing like an elite wideout. Marshall is on an absolute tear this season, hauling in 89 catches for 1,187 yards and 11 touchdowns. It’s the fourth time in his career he’s reached double-digit touchdowns, and he still has three games left to go. He’s a matchup nightmare for almost any team in the league.

Dez Bryant, Cowboys wide receiver -- What happened to Dez? That question will have Cowboys fans scratching their heads for most of the offseason. It’s possible he came back too soon from a broken foot that cost him five games earlier in the season, but a bad foot doesn’t explain all the mind-numbing drops. Maybe he misses Romo as much as Cowboys fans do. Either way, if Bryant is going to have a bounce-back game, it’s unlikely to come against Revis this week.

When: 8:25 p.m. ET Saturday

Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

TV: NFL Network

Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson

Online: NFL Game Pass

The Jets are heavy favorites, with five of seven writers at CBS Sports and seven of eight experts at SB Nation picking New York.

The Jets are favored by 3 points with an over/under of 42, according to OddsShark.

For more on the Jets, check out Gang Green Nation. For everything Cowboys, head over to Blogging The Boys.

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