Jacksonville @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 9, 2014 ) Dallas 31, Jacksonville 17

The Jacksonville Jaguars came up well short in a battle for AFC supremacy last weekend, getting wiped out by the high-powered and undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. Jacksonville will look to shake off the lopsided defeat when it plays its second inter-conference game of the season with a visit to the struggling Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon.

Although the Jaguars were unable to slow down the Chiefs, they figure to have an easier time against a Dallas offense that centers around running back Ezekiel Elliott. "We know the offense flows through the running back," Jacksonville linebacker Telvin Smith said. "They're going to try to get him going. We've just got to go out and execute and play." The Cowboys dropped a 19-16 decision in overtime at Houston last week to fall to 0-3 on the road and frustration has been building in the locker room. "We just got to play better on offense, we have to coach better, play better on the offensive line, better at all spots," Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. "Everyone has a piece of it, it’s not just one area."

TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Jaguars -3. O/U: 40.5

ABOUT THE JAGUARS (3-2): Jacksonville owns the league's top-ranked defense, permitting an average of 292.2 yards per game, but the unit was sliced up for 424 yards by Kansas City. Quarterback Blake Bortles was forced to go to the air 61 times and wound up throwing for a career-high 430 yards, but he also committed five turnovers and was sacked five times. "It's a trend that I talked about with the team today," Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said of the team's minus-7 turnover differential. "If we don't change that, we're going to be in trouble. We have to change that." T.J. Yeldon will again have to carry the ground game with running back Leonard Fournette set to miss his fourth game of the season.

ABOUT THE COWBOYS (2-3): Dallas ranks fifth in the league in rushing (135.8 yards) thanks to Elliott, but its offense is No. 28 overall and the passing game is a lowly 30th with 172.0 yards per game. Elliott was limited to a season-low 54 yards on 20 carries by Houston last week, but he still leads the NFL in rushing with 480 yards and had a team-high 22 receptions. Dak Prescott lost his two favorite targets in the offseason with the departures of Dez Bryant and Jason Witten and his No. 1 wideout is Cole Beasley, who is averaging 38.6 yards per game on 17 receptions. The Cowboys are tied for sixth in the league with 15.0 sacks, paced by defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, who has posted a team-leading 5.5.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Yeldon is one of four players in the AFC with at least 450 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns.

2. Prescott has a 104.7 passer rating and has accounted for six TDs in his last four at home versus AFC foes.

3. The Jaguars signed RB Jamaal Charles this week.

PREDICTION: Jaguars 20, Cowboys 16