Showing that Sunday’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers was more fluke than harbinger, the Jets yesterday played one of their worst games of the season in Dallas, falling behind early and not even looking competitive in a 34–3 loss to the Cowboys.

From the beginning, just about everything went wrong. On the first play from scrimmage the Jets pressured Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, but he still ran for six yards. Two plays later Jets cornerback Andre Dyson was burned by Cowboys receiver Miles Austin for 17 yards on third-and-9. After that Dallas methodically marched down the field, and Cowboys running back Marion Barber finished the opening possession with a 7-yard touchdown run.

It would soon be 14–0 when, in the second quarter, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten ran past Jets linebacker Matt Chatham and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Romo. Six minutes later, quarterback Kellen Clemens telegraphed a pass that Cowboys cornerback Terrence Newman intercepted and took 50 yards for a score, and the Cowboys led 21–0. The Jets had one efficient offensive series just before halftime, a 13-play, 56-yard drive that took 5:39 off the clock and ended with a 40-yard Mike Nugent field goal. That drive was the first time the Jets crossed the 50-yard line, and it was also the only time that Clemens looked comfortable running the offense. In his three games since becoming the Jets’ starter, Clemens has at times shown off the strong arm and mobility that the Jets’ coaching staff likes, but more often he has looked inexperienced and overwhelmed. He finished yesterday completing 12 of 27 passes for 142 yards.

Clemens didn’t get much help from his offensive teammates. The receivers dropped passes, the offensive line (especially guard Brandon Moore) missed blocks, and a week after turning in a very impressive game against the Steelers, running back Thomas Jones did next to nothing against the Cowboys, finishing with 17 carries for 40 yards. (Jones’s younger brother, Cowboys running back Julius Jones, had 14 carries for 64 yards.)

Those looking for a silver lining for the Jets can point out that their best player was rookie linebacker David Harris, who is emerging as one of the best defensive rookies in the league. Harris had six tackles, including two first-half plays on which he slammed the Cowboys’ Barber to the turf behind the line of scrimmage after Barber caught screen passes.

But a good day from Harris wasn’t nearly enough to offset what was a mostly incompetent game from the Jets, epitomized by a second-quarter Ben Graham punt that Brad Smith downed at the 1-yard line, only to have the next Jet downfield, Wallace Wright, come charging in and knock the ball into the end zone for a touchback, handing the Cowboys a free 19 yards. It was that kind of day for the Jets, a Thanksgiving feast of blunders, and a national TV embarrassment that shows why they’ll be playing out the string in December.

Mr. Smith is writer for FootballOutsiders.com.