Cowboys Buckle Down Late, Avoid Upset

The final score on Sunday at Texas Stadium read, Cowboys 31, Bengals 22.

Yes, the Cowboys ran their record to 4-1, but had few positives to show for it, in another up and down performance. Tony Romo completed 14 of 23 passes for 176 yards, but was also responsible for two turnovers. Terrell Owens, who spent the days leading up to the game clamoring for the ball to come his way more often, caught only two passes.

But, unlike the college game, the NFL doesn’t require you to be pretty, just so long as you bag a win. And, if nothing else, that’s what the Cowboys did.

Coming off a loss to the Washington Redskins, the Dallas offense looked focused as they staked their defense to an early 17-0 lead. Linebacker Greg Ellis intercepted Carson Palmer on the first play from scrimmage and returned it to the 17 yard line. The interception was the team’s first since Dec.22 of last year against Carolina, a span of 6 games. The good field position, led to a Nick Folk 30 yard field goal.

On their next possession, the Cowboys were faced with a 4th down & 4 from the Cincy 33, when rookie running back Felix Jones took a handoff and went around right end untouched for the first touchdown of the game. "It was a sweep play, I had some great blocks out there," Jones said. "(Marc) Colombo made a great block for me and opened it up." The carry was Jones' first since two weeks previous against Green Bay, having gone the whole game against Washington without a single touch. "I was very anxious, I'm a football player and I want to have the ball in my hands," said Jones, who could possibly win the Rookie Of The Week award for the third time this season. "But I'm also patient. I wait for my opportunities and once I get that opportunity I maximize it."The score was Jones’ fourth in five games. Jones would finish the game with 9 rushes for a whopping 96 yards. He also caught one pass for 7 yards. "(Jones) plays well and when he gets the ball in his hands, he makes good plays," tight end Jason Witten said.
After another Bengals punt, Romo guided the offense 80 yards in 10 plays, and found tight end Jason Witten in the back of the end zone from 4 yards out to end the drive, and up the lead to 17-0.

The game’s momentum changed in an instant, when Frostee Rucker stripped Romo of the ball and Cincinnati recovered with 1:42 left in the half. A 15 yard facemask penalty on Marion Barber put the ball on the Cowboys 29 yard line. A Shayne Graham field goal a few plays later cut the lead to 17-6, and left the Texas Stadium faithful grumbling as the half came to a close.

After Romo and Co. opened the third quarter with a three-and-out, Carson Palmer directed an 11 play 72 yard drive that ended when he found T.J. Houshmandzadeh for an 18 yard score.
Later in the quarter, Romo lofted a pass toward Witten across the middle, but it was intercepted by Keith Rivers and returned 39 yards. "You would love to never have a turnover, but I think that's unrealistic and there's stuff we will work on," said Romo, who's interception upped his streak of consecutive games with at least one interception to eight. "I will try not to do certain mistakes again." Four plays later, Graham shaved the deficit to one, 17-16. Graham’s ensuing onside-kick caught the Cowboys off guard, and the road team grabbed not only the ball, but, seemingly, complete control of the game.

But then...Maybe it was just another example of why the Bengals were owners of a winless record, or possibly Dallas’ “vaunted” defense flexed it’s muscle and decided to put a stop to it all. After the first two plays netted 15 yards, Chris Henry took a handoff and ran to the left side where he was hit by defensive tackle Tank Johnson and fumbled the ball. Anthony Spencer recovered for Dallas. "Every time you tackle somebody, you're trying to force a fumble," Johnson said. I just went for the ball and it came out."

Two plays later, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis could only watch, as Terrell Owens streaked into the end zone for a 57 yard score and a 24-16 Cowboys advantage. In less than a minute, the Cowboys had gone from appearing like they were about to officially blow a 17 point lead, to having an eight point cushion. "Great play by Tank to cause the fumble," linebacker Zach Thomas said. Though Johnson was pleased with that particular play, he wasn't pleased with his overall performance. "I'm just not all the way healthy and I pride myself on being physical, so anytime you can't be physical it's hard to do what you want to do," said Johnson, who has been battling an ankle sprain the past couple of weeks.

Owens' reception was his second and final one of the day, and ended a very tumultuous week for the often out-spoken wideout, who was under the radar for his comments about wanting the ball more often. Other than that long touchdown, Owens was a non-factor, his other catch netting a modest 10 yards. "I've just been dealing with a lot of stuff and this was a great team win," said an emotional Owens, who also became the eighth player in NFL history to record 900 career receptions. "We fought hard to get back in this ballgame and there has been a lot of criticism that I have taken all week and it's more about getting my faith and giving God all the glory he gave more today. "It was frustrating out there, but I just stuck with it. I am more about being No. 81. It's more about a star being on my helmet. God put me in a situation to let everybody know I am a man of God no matter what criticism I may take or people point at me."

And as is his norm, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended his star wideout, yet still managed to give a "woe is me" shot in there about himself. "I don't know that I've been around a guy who's gotten more negative criticism than me.

"He's a great player and made an exceptional play. Catching a ball on a slant and then taking it on a slant was an exceptional play. I saw him wanting more. He didn't have the attitude like he'd done his part. He had a competitive attitude and look in his face."

To his credit, Palmer, who was obviously less than 100% due to an elbow injury suffered two games previously against the Giants, found Houshmandzadeh for a 10 yard score, capping a 7 play 37 yard drive. His two-point-conversion pass intended for tight end Ben Utecht was broken up by safety Keith Davis to keep Dallas in front 24-22.

"Keith Davis made a big play for us," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said of Davis, who was starting in the place of injured safety Patrick Watkins. "He's our third safety. He's a smart player. He knew what was coming and made a really good play."

After the kickoff, the Cowboys moved 65 yards in 10 plays, when they were faced with a 3rd & 11 at the 15 yard line. On the play, which may turn out to be one of the most critical plays of the season, Romo’s pass went through the hands of wide receiver Miles Austin and deflected directly to receiver Patrick Crayton in the end zone for a touchdown, and a 31-22 Dallas lead. The catch was Crayton’s only of the game and, not only clinched the victory but also, allowed Dallas to keep pace with Washington (4-1) and the New York Giants (4-0) in the tough NFC East.

"I was really happy for our guys because in close games and games that come right down to the end you need playmakers and you need people to come through," Phillips said. "I thought we did that."

Briefs

Chad Johnson, who told members of the media that he would score a touchdown and then kiss the Cowboys star, had a quiet day, finishing with 4 receptions for 43 yards.......Marion Barber carried 23 times for 84 yards, a week removed from carrying only 8 times for 26 yards.......Cornerback Terence Newman was inactive for the game, and for some reason I haven't been able to find out why. Hum. Do I smell a rat?...........The Cowboys defense held the duo of Chris Perry and Cedric Benson to 61 yards rushing on 23 carries, less than 3 yards per carry.......Cowboys fullback Deon Anderson was active for the first time since injuring his knee during the team's win over Philadelphia in Week 2. He finished the game with 1 carry for 3 yards....... For the first time since returning from injury in Week 2, Miles Austin did not record a catch.

Cowboys Grab Important Win Over Bengals

The final score on Sunday at Texas Stadium read, Cowboys 31, Bengals 22.

Yes, the Cowboys ran their record to 4-1, but had few positives to show for it, in another up and down performance. Tony Romo completed 14 of 23 passes for 176 yards, but was also responsible for two turnovers. Terrell Owens, who spent the days leading up to the game clamoring for the ball to come his way more often, caught only two passes.

But, unlike the college game, the NFL doesn’t require you to be pretty, just so long as you bag a win. And, if nothing else, that’s what the Cowboys did.

Coming off a loss to the Washington Redskins, the Dallas offense looked focused as they staked their defense to an early 17-0 lead. Linebacker Greg Ellis intercepted Carson Palmer on the first play from scrimmage and returned it to the 17 yard line. The interception was the team’s first since Dec.22 of last year against Carolina, a span of 6 games. The good field position, led to a Nick Folk 30 yard field goal.

On their next possession, the Cowboys were faced with a 4th down & 4 from the Cincy 33, when rookie running back Felix Jones took a handoff and went around right end untouched for the first touchdown of the game. The score was Jones’ fourth in five games.

After another Bengals punt, Romo guided the offense 80 yards in 10 plays, and found tight end Jason Witten in the back of the end zone from 4 yards out to end the drive, and up the lead to 17-0.

The game’s momentum changed in an instant, when Frostee Rucker stripped Romo of the ball and Cincinnati recovered with 1:42 left in the half. A 15 yard facemask penalty on Marion Barber put the ball on the Cowboys 29 yard line. A Shayne Graham field goal a few plays later cut the lead to 17-6, and left the Texas Stadium faithful grumbling as the half came to a close.

After Romo and Co. opened the third quarter with a three-and-out, Carson Palmer directed an 11 play 72 yard drive that ended when he found T.J. Houshmandzadeh for an 18 yard score.
Later in the quarter, Romo lofted a pass toward Witten across the middle, but it was intercepted by Keith Rivers and returned 39 yards. Four plays later, Graham shaved the deficit to one, 17-16.

Graham’s ensuing onside-kick caught the Cowboys off guard, and the road team grabbed not only the ball, but, seemingly, complete control of the game.

But then...Maybe it was just another example of why the Bengals were owners of a winless record, or possibly Dallas’ “vaunted” defense flexed it’s muscle and decided to put a stop to it all. After the first two plays netted 15 yards, Chris Henry took a handoff and ran to the left side where he was hit by defensive tackle Tank Johnson and fumbled the ball. Anthony Spencer recovered for Dallas. Two plays later, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis could only watch, as Terrell Owens streaked into the end zone for a 57 yard score and a 24-16 Cowboys advantage.
To his credit, Palmer, who was obviously less than 100% due to an elbow injury suffered two games previously, found Houshmandzadeh for a 10 yard score, capping a 7 play 37 yard drive. His two-point-conversion pass intended for tight end Ben Utecht was broken up by safety Keith Davis.

After the kickoff, the Cowboys moved 65 yards in 10 plays, when they were faced with a 3rd & 11 at the 15 yard line. On the play, which may turn out to be one of the most critical plays of the season, Romo’s pass went through the hands of wide receiver Miles Austin and deflected directly to receiver Patrick Crayton in the end zone for a touchdown, and a 31-22 Dallas lead. The catch was Crayton’s only of the game and, not only clinched the victory but also, allowed Dallas to keep pace with Washington (4-1) and the New York Giants (4-0) in the tough NFC East.

Cowboys & Eagles Look To Be Class Of NFC

Let's give credit to where credit is due. Let's give a hand to the Dallas Cowboys for finally winning a big game. At last, the monkey is off their back. It's off. So take that monkey and throw him off into the wild blue yonder.

No question as to how critical this game was for the Cowboys psyche. The Eagles had come in to Texas Stadium and ripped the wheels off the Cowboys wagon in that 10-6 game last December. Not just ripped them off, but threw them off the cliff as well. A team that could post 24 points in a blink of an eye was held without a touchdown for the first time in over 3 seasons.

And last week the Green Birds dismantled the Rams 38-3 and sounded plenty cocky coming into Monday's game. The usual barbs were traded through the media by best friends Terrell Owens and Donovan Mcnabb. No surprise there. And really, it wasn't any surprise to hear Adam Jones talking again either. For a guy that's been out of the league for a year, it's like he never missed a beat. Oh there was plenty of jabbering going on in the days leading up to the first division game. What else did you expect?

But tell me, if I told you that Dallas would get 37 points hung on them, would you mark that down as a win for America's Team?

If I told you that Terrell Owens wouldn't catch a pass in the second half, would you think that Romo could consistently find anyone else to throw to?

If I told you that the Cowboys would turn the ball over twice in a matter of 20 seconds, what would you think about Dallas' chances then?

The Cowboys overcame themselves after a 20 second display of misplay turned a 14-6 Cowboys lead into a 20-14 lead for the Eagles. Tony Romo threw for his 12th 300 yard game as a Cowboy and Terrell Owens torched the Eagles in the first half for 89 yards on 3 receptions, including a 72 yard touchdown. And the defense that had been getting pushed around all night came up big in the fourth quarter, stopping the Eagles three times.

This wasn't one of those games like last year against Green Bay when the Cowboys roared out to a big lead then had to hang on for a win. This time the Cowboys kept the pedal to the metal the entire way. Of course, they really had to, but it still shows you what this offense is capable of doing. Beating up on the Eagles defense hasn't come easy this century.

Rookie running back Felix Jones set a club record for most kickoff return yards in a single game, with 247 yards on six returns. Jones returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Let me say what all of America has been saying, only they didn't have any facts to back it up. The Cowboys look good.
While that statement isn't turning any heads for originality, the fact that Dallas just beat the second best team in the NFC might.

This is a good Eagles team right now. Mcnabb is playing his best football since the days when he was throwing to a certain No. 81 while leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl. The offensive line is playing well and Westbrook is a threat out of the backfield (as if that wasn't already known). But the key is Desean Jackson. Jackson brings what the Eagles' offense badly needed: speed. Westbrook was the team's only major threat, so defenses would key on him and try to bottle the 5 year veteran up. It didn't always work out, Westbrook still broke some big gainers, but the Eagles offense was still too inconsistent to keep up with the big boys.

Notice that Dallas rarely came with more than four pass rushers last night. Wade Phillips and Brian Stewart felt like the secondary needed all the help it could get to slow down the speedster from California.

And with a big, talented offensive line, that's what the Eagles want to see. Against Dallas, four rushers is an equal playing field. We saw in last year's Sunday night game Dallas simply come after Mcnabb, and the result was a Philly offense that looked absolutely horrid. The return of Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown shortly will elevate this offense to even greater heights. Don't be fooled by last night. Jim Johnson's defense is very good. Johnson's unit might still be suffering from the whiplash effect of having had to play the worst offense in Week 1 (Rams) and then turn around and play the most prolific offense in the league only eight days later. So don't read into the defensive stats too much.

Sure, Philadelphia lost last night, but they shouldn't be hanging their heads over it. Some mistakes were made in the fourth quarter, that's for sure, but they are very easily corrected. Donovan Mcnabb should know better than to double pump a handoff. If the ball is going to BrianWestbrook, then give it to him. Apparently, all that happened there was that Mcnabb forgot the play call. Yeah, I'd say that's fixable.

Tell me of another team that can hang with the Cowboys.

Green Bay? The Pack have looked impressive so far. We'll see just how far Aaron Rodgers has progressed when he faces the Cowboys on Sunday Night. Through two games he still hasn't faced a pass defense that ranks midpack.

New York? We know Phillips likes to come after Eli Manning, and do you really think that Manning can keep his head screwed on tight the whole game again? Oh yeah, he beat them last season in that playoff game, but only had to put up 21 points to do it. Washington? You know, I find the Redskins a really entertaining team. It's early, but so far the team looks too mistake prone. But you never know. As many magic potions as Daniel Snyder has cooked up, it's possible that Jim Zorn is the perfect one. Arizona? Please, let's not even consider them unless they actually get into the postseason. Carolina? Before I say yes it would be nice to see them win a game by more than 4 points, but before I say no I'd like to see them get beat once. Playing close games historically comes back to haunt you in the end.

Notice I only listed five teams. The NFC is sporting little that's impressive right now, which leads me to conclude that the two best teams in the conference were on display last night.

And they did not disappoint.

Q & A With Tony Romo

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo broke his silence on Tuesday when he spoke to the media about a variety of topics, including Thursday's game against the Vikings, his relationship with wide receiver Terrell Owens, and his off the field personality.

Do you think it's better to skip this game or be out there playing?

I don't know; I'm not sure. I know that offensively last year, we kind of came out of the gate pretty good in that first game. I know I didn't play that last pre-season game, so I don't think there's any perfect way to do it. We're a pretty veteran-laden group, experienced, especially offensively, that I think we'll be OK.

So you're going to play on Thursday or not?

I don't think I'll play. I wouldn't envision it, but you never know.

You've missed two deep balls here lately. We're not used to that. Anything to that?

No...I think, I mean you're not going to connect. I think it's a good thing when the only thing that people have to talk about is missing on the deep ball or something. You're just trying to get timing down. I'm sure I've missed two deep balls at some point in my career at different times. There's just not many throws now at the beginning of the year. I've only thrown the ball 20 times, or whatever it's been so far, or 30 times, whatever. So it's like people are just going to look at certain things. You're always trying stuff in the pre-season, trying to get yourself to a certain point. I'll really condense everything that I want to do going into the season, know what I'm doing well and do those things.

Since you're a golfer, is not dwelling on it like missing a couple of 4-foot putts?

No, it's practice. At the end of the day, you're trying to improve on something, you know. One ball that I might not do a certain way tomorrow that I did yesterday. I feel like the best thing that happens to me are the mistakes that I make because very seldom do I make the same mistake twice. It's a learning experience, something you go through, something you do. Like I said, it's just something you throw out in the pre-season. That's part of the reason I didn't talk a lot the last week or two. There's not much to talk about. You just kinda get out there. During the pre-season, you're just trying to get better. But there will be plenty of stuff for everyone to talk about during the season, each week, about what we did wrong and everything. It's difficult when you're trying to get better and everyone is watching because you're practicing, so you're trying different techniques, doing different things to prove yourself as an individual and as a team. And so I think for us, you know, you're always judged when you step out there in front of the cameras. We're just trying to get better and get to that point where we feel like we're playing our best level in week one, and I think we've accomplished that.

Is the team where it needs to be to start the season?

Yeah, I thought we had a really good pre-season. We're excited about our execution. The thing is that you guys look more so at just games, but we look at practice as a big tool as well. We feel like, and I said this a little while back in training camp, but we came out and we got into training at the beginning. It was the best offense has started training camp. Usually the defense is far and away ahead, but having the guys that we had at certain positions we were able to kind of pick up where we left off and go from there. It was important to get that feeling of confidence.

Is Kosier going to be a bigger loss than maybe the media gives him credit for?

Yeah, he's appreciated in here, and I think sometimes I get way too much credit when we win, and probably too much blame or whatever when you lose because it's such a team-oriented game. Kyle helps out in so many different ways that the normal fan won't know. He's always with Flozell and Andre and making some of the line calls, doing things that take pressure off them and myself, so everyone's got to step up a little bit and do a little bit more. But we know how important he is.

You didn't really talk much to the media. You weren't mad were you?

No, I think I don't really get mad. I don't ever get mad or any of that stuff just because it is what it is. I've said it a lot of times, if you're expecting all you guys to talk good about me all the time, then you're in for a bad feeling, I guess. It's just part of playing quarterback, it's part of being part of a franchise like this, it's part of being in this position...is getting ridiculed. There's always going to be talk, some good, some is bad. I've learned that, that's part of it. For me, I'd rather not always talk about it, more than just...sometimes it's fun just to play the game, and go home at night and talk about what's fun at practice.

So you just like playing the game sometimes?

I'm just saying like instead of being right here, this is OK, but...like talking about the deep balls or talking about our team, what we need to get better. We're practicing. I mean that's what we're doing. For us, it's just we want to improve and get better, and it's fun not to have...it's almost like the business side of the game. The game is so much fun and you love playing the game, and sometimes you just like to just play the game because it's a game and we really enjoy that side of it. Sometimes when you're in a contract dispute, or when media wants to talk all the time or everything, it doesn't allow me to go sit in the locker room for 25 minutes and talk to the guys. I've always got something I've got to do. There's always something that you have to do over here, and you miss out on a lot of the fun stuff. But I'm lucky enough to be able to do this for a living. I try sometimes to say, I'm going to put some stuff on the backburner. I'm not doing this, I'm just going to do this and have fun and enjoy it. And for me, that's always something I try not to take for granted, those moments. You're not always going to have that, so use that.

Did you ever ask Roger Staubach or Troy Aikman how to handle it?

Troy said not to talk to you guys all the time.

What do you think about the perception that you are changing off the field?

I don't want to minimize what I'm about to say in anyway, but it doesn't affect me necessarily. It just doesn't mean that much to me. I appreciate how passionate people are about our game because if you guys aren't in here talking and everything the game's not as exciting as it is. This is a great game and we're all lucky enough to play and you guys are lucky enough to be around it as well. For me, I don't necessarily take that feeling home with me and get mad at people and frustrated because I know when I'm sitting watching the Olympics I say, 'Why'd that guy do that?' or 'Why didn't he do this?' We're all Monday morning quarterbacks. That's the way we all are. It's part of the fun-ness. Let's talk about this on the radio, let's have a little give and take here. And for me, I don't mind anymore when someone says something because it gets people debating and talking about it. I think sometimes people talking about it is good for the game, for what it is. You hope you're always on the good side of the call but that's not always the case. If you can understand that in your brain, then you're OK with whatever happens and how it goes. You can rest easy when you're playing, when you're done playing or when your career is over.

Do you fear that maybe you have changed?

I think that's always something you try and watch out for. The hardest part is not becoming...I try and read and talk to different athletes and people just because sometimes you become a little cynical about everything. Like I said, you can get upset with people, you can get mad at people, people want to use you. There's a lot of deceitfulness involved in a lot of different areas and lot of it is just individuals. Some are whatever and I don't want to go into detail on it, but when you see that, it just lessens people's credibility in your eyes. So in a sense, I don't ever want to become...A, I don't want to naive, but, B, at the same point, I don't ever want to become the guy that thinks that everyone is out for something. I don't want to be that guy that assumes that guy is a bad person. I think it's allowed me to treat everyone the same and be the same person. And my dad will always yell at me, so I'm sure that will always keep me grounded.

How much of the offense did you show in the pre-season?

Oh, we held quite a bit out, and saying that, you're always trying to move the ball. I think it's something where what's in the best interest of your team. Like honestly, if I throw for 12 touchdowns because we out-scheme them, that's great but you're not going to be able to out-scheme them the next few times. It's a fine line you draw there. We held out a lot of stuff and hopefully that will help us. It doesn't mean you're going to be successful, but it gives you a little higher percentage chance.

How do you know if it works in a game?

That's why practice is so important. You play against your defense, and I hate to say it, but we treat it as a game. I feel like I play at a tempo of the game-like speed. That's why when the games happen, you just try to do the same you've done in practice.

Can you still do that although it's not full speed?

That's the whole thing I didn't understand when I first got into the NFL. Most quarterbacks if a guy comes free, gets to the edge and breaks it down, they let the guy run by and still throw in rhythm. I've never had the ability. A guy comes free, the ball is coming out. I'm going somewhere because that's what you do in a game. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but my brain is telling me this guy, I feel him, he's going to hit me, it just feels the same. Now maybe that was a benefit for me to allow me to play better quicker when I was younger. I just felt that I was able to play at a tempo like you're playing games. When it happens in a game, it's not a brand new thing, not a random act. It felt the same.

Can you describe your relationship with T.O. and why the QB-WR relationship is better for him here than in the past?

Two people have to want to do it. If he wanted to have a bad relationship with his quarterback, he could. If I wanted to have a bad relationship with my receiver, I could make it that way. But you both know it's in your best interests to get along to do things well. The other thing is, our personalities are somewhat similar. Where we're opposite is that I'm funny and he's not.