Overreactions from Cowboys' Week 5 win at Jets: Dak Prescott for MVP? New contract for WR George Pickens ASAP?

There were plenty of pitfalls in front of the Dallas Cowboys (2-2-1) in Week 5 at the New York Jets.

A mobile, scrambling quarterback in Justin Fields, missing four offensive line starters and All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and a defense that struggled mightily in pass coverage the last few weeks. None of that mattered in a 37-22 Dallas domination. The final score masks how handily the Cowboys owned this football game in nearly every facet of football. Dallas raced out to a 30-3 edge late in the third quarter after quarterback Dak Prescott hit on a deep, 43-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver George Pickens. 

There were an abundance of positive points in Dallas' victorious effort. What elements are overreactions and what could be a reality? Let's zoom in on the top storylines from the Cowboys' Week 5 win. 

QB Dak Prescott is a legitimate NFL MVP contender in 2025 

Overreaction or Reality: Reality  

Prescott earned NFL MVP runner-up and second-team All-Pro honors the last season he was fully healthy in 2023. A healthy Prescott in 2025 looks to be on a similar trajectory this season. Yes, the 2025 Jets are the first team in NFL history to be 0-5 and not have a takeaway, but Prescott still had to overcome quite a bit to produce his four touchdown passes and 237 yards on 18 of 29 passing. 

Dallas was down four offensive line starters -- left tackle Tyler Guyton (concussion), left guard Tyler Smith (knee), center Cooper Beebe (ankle) and right guard Tyler Booker (ankle) -- as well as Lamb (ankle) in Week 5. Prescott was at complete control at the line of scrimmage all day long, completely at ease despite down so many key contributors. Entering the afternoon slate of games on Sunday, Prescott is certainly producing like one of the top five quarterbacks across the entire league. Should Prescott keep up this caliber of production and Dallas continue to rack up wins, the MVP chatter will commence. The pro-Cowboys crowd in New Jersey on Sunday serenaded him with MVP chants. 

"I think we're spoiled. I think he's one of the best players in the league," Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said postgame, via The Athletic. "He's playing with a ton of confidence."  

Healthy Javonte Williams is a top five RB in the entire NFL

Overreaction or Reality: Reality

Running back Javonte Williams' football career got derailed by a knee injury in 2022 that involved him tearing his ACL and LCL. It appeared as though the burst that led the Denver Broncos to select him in the second round abandoned him in 2023 and 2024 when he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. 

However, being another year removed from the injury, it appears as though Williams is all the way back and more. He toasted the New York Jets defense on Sunday, finishing with 135 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 carries (8.4 yards per carry) as well as a four-yard receiving touchdown. Williams did most of his damage in the first with 108 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries in the first half. His performance on Sunday marked the first time a Cowboy had over 100 yards rushing in the first half since  2014 when DeMarco Murray racked up 115 first-half yards at the Tennessee Titans.  

Much of that production came on a career-long 66-yard rush from Williams to get Dallas down to the 1 at the end of the first half. Prescott's second touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the very next play essentially iced the game for the Cowboys as they went up 23-3. 

Entering the afternoon slate of games in Week 5, Williams ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards (447), fourth in yards per carry (5.7) and tied for second in rushing touchdowns (5). The Cowboys signing Williams to a one-year, $3 million appears to be one of the steals of the 2025 offseason, and Dallas now has one of the best running backs in football in the 25-year-old Williams. 

Cowboys need to extend WR George Pickens right now 

Overreaction or Reality: Reality

The Dallas Cowboys' passing offense died without Lamb on the field in 2024. That isn't the case in 2025, and a big reason for that is the presence of the 24-year-old, explosive Pickens. His five receiving touchdowns through his first five games as a Cowboy are the most all time in team history. 

He had a relatively quiet day with Jets All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner shadowing him for most of the day, but that opened up the field for second-year wide receiver Ryan Flournoy (114 yards on six catches) and Ferguson (49 yards and two receiving touchdowns on seven catches). However, Pickens was still able to break free from Gardner for an electrifying 43-yard touchdown catch that sealed Dallas' victory and put them up 30-3 in the third quarter. He now has a touchdown in four consecutive games, the longest touchdown streak of his career. 

Yes, Jerry Jones typically likes to have all the information, a.k.a wait until the last second, to re-sign his top talent. In the case of Pickens, Jones could likely save Dallas plenty of future cap space by getting ahead of Pickens' pending free agency right now. Having two high-caliber receiving talents will allow the Cowboys to continue making the most of Prescott's prime years while also forcing defenses to play with lighter boxes in the run game. That's also a big boost on the ground as well. Re-signing Pickens with an in-season extension now makes all the sense in the world. 

Worries about Micah Parsons-less pass rush are no longer necessary

Overreaction or Reality: Overreaction

Let's be clear, the Cowboys' pass rush had a great day on Sunday against Fields. They sacked him five times, a figure that now stands as a season high and the team's most in a game since a six-sack effort in the 2024 regular-season finale against the Commanders when backup Marcus Mariota played most of the afternoon. 

Dallas even racked up sacks of Fields on consecutive plays in the first half. Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa threw him down on second down and then edge rusher James Houston snaked into the pocket for another sack. That marked two sacks for the Cowboys on consecutive plays after the team totaled just five in the first four weeks of the season.

Yes, the Cowboys' 10 team sacks (tied for 15th in the NFL entering afternoon games in Week 5) and 35.9% quarterback press rate (17th in the NFL entering afternoon games in Week 5) are both around league average. Padding those metrics with a dominant day against Fields doesn't mean the pass rush is fixed. If Dallas can come close to recreating this effort in the weeks to come, the wins could continue to occur. 

Second-year WR Ryan Flournoy has overtaken WR Jalen Tolbert on Dallas' depth chart

Overreaction or Reality: Reality

The third wide receiver spot behind Lamb and Pickens was thought to be occupied by fourth-year wide receiver Jalen Tolbert. Tolbert did lead the Cowboys with seven receiving touchdowns last season. However, it's clear he's been surpassed by 2024 sixth-rounder Flournoy in the competition for that role. Tolbert didn't catch a pass on Sunday, and he was only targeted once. 

Flournoy, on the other hand, had the best game of his young NFL career on Sunday with six catches for 114 yards. He also added 10 yards rushing on two carries. Most of his damage came in the first half with five catches for 104 yards on six targets in the first two quarters. His career-long 46-yard catch helped set up Williams' 5-yard rushing touchdown with 1:02 left in the second quarter that put Dallas up 17-3. 

With Dallas' cap space likely to be eaten up by future extensions for Pickens and All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey, the Cowboys will need some inexpensive help in their support cast. Flournoy is exactly what the doctor ordered.