Bledsoe gets job done
By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – It's tough being a Dallas Cowboys quarterback.
As Drew Bledsoe walked off the field following his team's victory over Washington on Sunday night, a few fans booed him as he disappeared into a tunnel.
Bledsoe completed 19 of 38 passes for 237 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The numbers could have been better if not for nine dropped passes, including three by receiver Terrell Owens.
It was a much better game for Bledsoe than the season opener in Jacksonville, when he threw three interceptions.
Following that loss, there were serious discussions among fans and NFL experts that Bledsoe should be benched in favor of backup Tony Romo, who has never thrown a pass in a regular-season NFL game.
Bledsoe's teammates and his coach, Bill Parcells, defended the quarterback. During the week, Bledsoe and Romo were seen in the locker room smiling and laughing.
While there might have been a quarterback controversy outside the organization, there wasn't one inside.
"It feels good to come out and play well and win," Bledsoe said. "We dealt with some adversity last week, and I've always said that what ultimately defines you is not what happens, it's how you react to it. We were able to react to it last week and come out this week and get a win."
But against the Redskins, there was pressure on Bledsoe to produce.
The Cowboys needed the strong-armed right-hander to make plays to quiet any discussions of using Romo.
Bledsoe came out firing to start the game.
Passes were called on the Cowboys' first four snaps, with Bledsoe completing his first pass to rookie tight end Anthony Fasano for 13 yards.
Bledsoe finished the Cowboys' opening drive going 5-for-9 for 43 yards.
Dallas drove 14 plays to the Washington 8-yard line before settling for a 26-yard Mike Vanderjagt field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Bledsoe led his team 56 yards to a touchdown on its next possession. He completed a 4-yard pass in the middle of the end zone to Patrick Crayton with 2:39 left in the first quarter for a 10-0 lead.
Bledsoe finished the first half completing 13 of 26 passes for 135 yards with the one touchdown.
His best throw of the night was a 40-yarder to a wide-open Terry Glenn, who got between the zone coverage and caught the pass in the end zone. The touchdown gave Dallas a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
After that, Dallas ran the ball with efficiency to close out the victory.
"He threw the ball a lot better than his stats are going to show because we dropped [nine] balls," Parcells said. "I thought he made some real good decisions."
IRVING – It's tough being a Dallas Cowboys quarterback.
As Drew Bledsoe walked off the field following his team's victory over Washington on Sunday night, a few fans booed him as he disappeared into a tunnel.
Bledsoe completed 19 of 38 passes for 237 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The numbers could have been better if not for nine dropped passes, including three by receiver Terrell Owens.
It was a much better game for Bledsoe than the season opener in Jacksonville, when he threw three interceptions.
Following that loss, there were serious discussions among fans and NFL experts that Bledsoe should be benched in favor of backup Tony Romo, who has never thrown a pass in a regular-season NFL game.
Bledsoe's teammates and his coach, Bill Parcells, defended the quarterback. During the week, Bledsoe and Romo were seen in the locker room smiling and laughing.
While there might have been a quarterback controversy outside the organization, there wasn't one inside.
"It feels good to come out and play well and win," Bledsoe said. "We dealt with some adversity last week, and I've always said that what ultimately defines you is not what happens, it's how you react to it. We were able to react to it last week and come out this week and get a win."
But against the Redskins, there was pressure on Bledsoe to produce.
The Cowboys needed the strong-armed right-hander to make plays to quiet any discussions of using Romo.
Bledsoe came out firing to start the game.
Passes were called on the Cowboys' first four snaps, with Bledsoe completing his first pass to rookie tight end Anthony Fasano for 13 yards.
Bledsoe finished the Cowboys' opening drive going 5-for-9 for 43 yards.
Dallas drove 14 plays to the Washington 8-yard line before settling for a 26-yard Mike Vanderjagt field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Bledsoe led his team 56 yards to a touchdown on its next possession. He completed a 4-yard pass in the middle of the end zone to Patrick Crayton with 2:39 left in the first quarter for a 10-0 lead.
Bledsoe finished the first half completing 13 of 26 passes for 135 yards with the one touchdown.
His best throw of the night was a 40-yarder to a wide-open Terry Glenn, who got between the zone coverage and caught the pass in the end zone. The touchdown gave Dallas a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
After that, Dallas ran the ball with efficiency to close out the victory.
"He threw the ball a lot better than his stats are going to show because we dropped [nine] balls," Parcells said. "I thought he made some real good decisions."
posted by The Gryphon at 9:06 AM
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