ARLINGTON, Texas — New York quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw his first interception in a month but was on target when he needed to be as the Jets beat Dallas 19-16 Saturday to keep up the pressure in the race for the wild-card spots in the AFC.
Randy Bullock kicked the winning 40-yard field goal with 36 seconds left and the Jets moved half a game ahead of Pittsburgh and Kansas City.
Fitzpatrick had a few passes come close to being intercepted, and was below his best, but a 43-yard pass to Kenbrell Thompkins helped the Jets (9-5) notch their first four-game winning streak since 2010.
“Kind of had tough sledding for a while,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s going to be adversity throughout the game and that was a great sign for us to show that the belief is always there.”
Dallas’ Kellen Moore replaced an ineffective Matt Cassel at quarterback and gave the Cowboys (4-10) a spark, but it wasn’t enough to keep last year’s NFC East champions from being eliminated from playoff contention with two games remaining.
Fitzpatrick’s interception led to a Cowboys field goal which put the hosts up 13-9 in the third quarter.
But he came back to direct a 70-yard drive which led to Eric Decker catching a scoring pass which set a franchise record with Brandon Marshall with 21 combined receiving touchdowns this season. Fitzpatrick finished 26 of 39 for 299 yards.
“He made some timely throws,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “He took a bunch of hits during the game. They weren’t clicking like they have been the last couple of weeks, but he was calm and he was good and the guys believed in him.”
After a Jets touchdown put the visitors ahead, Dallas kicker Dan Bailey tied it 16-16 on a 50-yard field goal that went in off a post with 1:55 remaining.
The last chance for the Cowboys ended on Moore’s third interception when his desperation heave for Dez Bryant went over the outstretched arm of the receiver and was caught by Marcus Williams. The Cowboys had four interceptions overall.
“We all start with aspirations,” said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. “For some teams it works out and you get to play in the playoffs. For us this year that is not going to happen. But that doesn’t diminish the work everyone has put in.” — AP
