Dallas Cowboys likely to be judged how they finish
Tim Cowlishaw
The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – The Cowboys were in a mood to celebrate after their 34-3 Thanksgiving Day whipping of the New York Jets. And you know what?
Rightfully so.
On the surface, turning a 2-8 team into a 2-9 team doesn't look like much. The thing is, though, that the Cowboys were a 14-point favorite against a team that had not lost a game by 14 points since the season opener against New England.
The Jets played into overtime the last two weeks, losing to Washington and beating the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is no great Jets team, but they have fought harder of late than you expect from a club with two wins.
Beyond that, the Cowboys went where no Cowboys team has ever gone. Don Meredith, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman – they never got a team to 10-1. Tony Romo just did.
"It's interesting because there have been so many great teams here," Romo said. "If we're able to accomplish our goals, it will add to it. Ten-and-one is a great start. Now it's just about finishing."
The "finishing" starts in six days when the Cowboys play a much bigger Thursday night game. Dallas hosts Green Bay in the battle of 10-1 NFC superpowers. It could be the biggest NFL regular-season game ever played that's unavailable to most of America (it's on the NFL Network).
"It's going to be a great game, all the hype, all the things Green Bay has been able to accomplish this year," said wide receiver Terrell Owens, who caught his 13th touchdown pass Thursday. "We're playing well, too, and our record's the same as theirs. It's a great challenge, and I'm looking forward to it."
The Cowboys' offense appeared for much of the game as if it already was looking forward to Green Bay. If the Jets could have mounted any offense early, they might have hung around for a while.
But the Cowboys ran the ball really well, and even if Tony Romo looked to be off at times, he still completed 75 percent of his passes and found the end zone twice to tie Danny White's single-season club record for touchdown passes (29).
And he did it with five games to go.
"I recognized pretty early on that our defense was going to do a great job," Romo said. "From that point on, you're pretty much just managing the game."
For those who love to panic, yes, the Cowboys' offense will have to be more in sync to beat Green Bay next week. But the Packers' defense will have to do a better job against Dallas than it did in letting Detroit, a team with no offensive balance, ring up 26 points.
You're not always going to look great when you're playing a mediocre team as the Cowboys were Thursday. But their defense did look like something special as it continues to create pressure and turnovers, two things that recent defensive units never mastered.
The chemistry between Romo and his receivers, especially Owens, and the defense's ability to stifle the run and make plays are the things that suggest this team could become as special as its 10-1 record.
Next week's game with Green Bay will go a long way in determining which team gets the opportunity to stay home for the NFC playoffs. But there's still a month to go beyond that. The game is big, but as Romo suggested, it's not the end of the story.
"Now if we win, does it help us reach our goals? Yes," Romo said. "If we lose, does it completely derail us? No. I think it's going to be fun. The fact that it's the Packers, and I grew up in Wisconsin watching them up there adds to it. [But] it doesn't put you in the Super Bowl."
For the first time in years, the Cowboys left Texas Stadium on Thanksgiving night with visions of Super Bowls dancing in their heads. Their 10-1 record tells us it's an attainable goal, not an impossible dream.
"I thought it was important that we get to 10-1 and make a little history on our part," coach Wade Phillips said. "I think our team has a chance to make history again next week and beat the 2007 team's record of 10-1 and go 11-1.
"That's our goal next week."
Let the big week begin ... even if it's Friday.
The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – The Cowboys were in a mood to celebrate after their 34-3 Thanksgiving Day whipping of the New York Jets. And you know what?
Rightfully so.
On the surface, turning a 2-8 team into a 2-9 team doesn't look like much. The thing is, though, that the Cowboys were a 14-point favorite against a team that had not lost a game by 14 points since the season opener against New England.
The Jets played into overtime the last two weeks, losing to Washington and beating the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is no great Jets team, but they have fought harder of late than you expect from a club with two wins.
Beyond that, the Cowboys went where no Cowboys team has ever gone. Don Meredith, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman – they never got a team to 10-1. Tony Romo just did.
"It's interesting because there have been so many great teams here," Romo said. "If we're able to accomplish our goals, it will add to it. Ten-and-one is a great start. Now it's just about finishing."
The "finishing" starts in six days when the Cowboys play a much bigger Thursday night game. Dallas hosts Green Bay in the battle of 10-1 NFC superpowers. It could be the biggest NFL regular-season game ever played that's unavailable to most of America (it's on the NFL Network).
"It's going to be a great game, all the hype, all the things Green Bay has been able to accomplish this year," said wide receiver Terrell Owens, who caught his 13th touchdown pass Thursday. "We're playing well, too, and our record's the same as theirs. It's a great challenge, and I'm looking forward to it."
The Cowboys' offense appeared for much of the game as if it already was looking forward to Green Bay. If the Jets could have mounted any offense early, they might have hung around for a while.
But the Cowboys ran the ball really well, and even if Tony Romo looked to be off at times, he still completed 75 percent of his passes and found the end zone twice to tie Danny White's single-season club record for touchdown passes (29).
And he did it with five games to go.
"I recognized pretty early on that our defense was going to do a great job," Romo said. "From that point on, you're pretty much just managing the game."
For those who love to panic, yes, the Cowboys' offense will have to be more in sync to beat Green Bay next week. But the Packers' defense will have to do a better job against Dallas than it did in letting Detroit, a team with no offensive balance, ring up 26 points.
You're not always going to look great when you're playing a mediocre team as the Cowboys were Thursday. But their defense did look like something special as it continues to create pressure and turnovers, two things that recent defensive units never mastered.
The chemistry between Romo and his receivers, especially Owens, and the defense's ability to stifle the run and make plays are the things that suggest this team could become as special as its 10-1 record.
Next week's game with Green Bay will go a long way in determining which team gets the opportunity to stay home for the NFC playoffs. But there's still a month to go beyond that. The game is big, but as Romo suggested, it's not the end of the story.
"Now if we win, does it help us reach our goals? Yes," Romo said. "If we lose, does it completely derail us? No. I think it's going to be fun. The fact that it's the Packers, and I grew up in Wisconsin watching them up there adds to it. [But] it doesn't put you in the Super Bowl."
For the first time in years, the Cowboys left Texas Stadium on Thanksgiving night with visions of Super Bowls dancing in their heads. Their 10-1 record tells us it's an attainable goal, not an impossible dream.
"I thought it was important that we get to 10-1 and make a little history on our part," coach Wade Phillips said. "I think our team has a chance to make history again next week and beat the 2007 team's record of 10-1 and go 11-1.
"That's our goal next week."
Let the big week begin ... even if it's Friday.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:55 PM
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