Cowboys Clinch NFC East With Stunner Over Lions
The division title is the first for the Cowboys since 1998.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Jason Witten went from goat to hero in matter of minutes, rebounding from fumbling inside the Detroit one-yard-line in the fourth quarter to catch a 16-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and the Dallas Cowboys clinched the NFC East title with a thrilling 28-27 win over the Lions.
The division title is the first for the Cowboys since 1998. Tampa Bay also lost Sunday, meaning that the Cowboys will clinch a first-round bye for the playoffs if the Seahawks lose to the Cardinals Sunday afternoon.
Witten had a career-high 15 catches for 138 yards, and Tony Romo threw for 302 yards on 35-of-44 passing with two scores for the Cowboys (12-1), who won their seventh straight. Marion Barber had two touchdowns rushing on seven carries with 43 yards on the ground, and had 61 yards on 10 receptions for another score.
Terrell Owens was a no-show for the Dallas offense, finishing with three grabs for 21 yards.
Jon Kitna completed 22-of-36 passes for 248 yards for Detroit (6-7), which dropped its fifth straight to fall further back in the NFC wild card chase. Kevin Jones gained 92 yards on 23 carries with two scores, and T.J. Duckett had a 32-yard scoring run among his 60 yards on nine carries. Shaun McDonald had eight grabs for 96 yards for the Lions.
Kitna gave the Cowboys some bulletin-board material after Detroit's 39-31 win over Dallas to close the 2006 regular season. The Lions signal-caller made derogatory comments about the Cowboys defense in an interview during the week after the win, drawing the ire of Cowboys defensive back Terence Newman. Kitna and the Lions looked like they were going to get the last word in after Witten's fumble, but Romo and Witten had other ideas.
Taking over with 10:45 to play at its own 25-yard-line, Dallas drove to the Detroit five-yard-line before a false start by Witten pushed them back to the 10. The Cowboys tight end appeared to redeem himself by making a catch over the middle on the next play, and stretching for the goal line and the go-ahead score. The ball popped out just short of the end zone, though, and the Lions took over inside their own one with 5:47 left in regulation.
The Lions couldn't run the clock off, though, giving Romo and the Cowboys 2:15 with no timeouts to move 83 yards. The Lions had a chance to effectively end the game when Romo fumbled at the Dallas 40 on the fourth play of the drive, but several Lions couldn't come up with the ball, and the Cowboys recovered.
Dallas was then faced with a 4th-and-6 at its 40, but Barber hauled in a 13- yard pass, and the Cowboys kept moving.
Romo executed the two-minute drill to perfection, finding Witten four times on the drive before the tight end broke wide open over the middle on a 2nd- and-6 at the Detroit 16 to put the Cowboys on top for the first time all day.
Two Kitna incompletions and a sack later, and the Cowboys were NFC East champs for the first time in nine years.
Dallas drove to the Lions 32 on the game's opening drive, but stalled there, and Nick Folk pulled his 50-yard field goal try wide left.
Duckett's 32-yard scoring run put the Lions on top 7-0 with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
Jason Hanson's 19-yard field goal gave the Lions a 10-point lead with eight seconds to play in the first.
A 60-yard return by Miles Austin set the Cowboys up at the Detroit 42, and the Cowboys parlayed that into their first score. On a 3rd-and-2 at the Detroit 20 Romo tossed right to Barber, who used a wall of blockers to sprint untouched into the end zone, making it a 10-7 game with 12:13 remaining in the first half.
Hanson's 36-yard field goal pushed the Lions lead to 13-7 with 8:22 left in the half.
The Lions pushed ahead by 13 thanks to an 11-play, 80-yard drive late in the half. Jones capped the march by pushing into the end zone from two yards out, and Detroit took a 20-7 lead with 1:41 to play.
Romo and the Cowboys attack woke up in their two-minute offense, though, driving 65 yards on seven plays. Romo went 6-for-6 for 50 yards on the drive, capped by a perfectly arched toss in the face of the Lions pass rush that dropped into Barber's hands for an eight-yard score with 29 seconds left in the half. With that the Cowboys cut the deficit to 20-14 heading into the intermission.
Jones dove straight up the middle for a three-yard score, and the Lions took a 27-14 lead with 4:19 left in the third.
The Cowboys answered, though, with Romo connecting with Witten for gains of 11, eight, and 11 on the next drive. Facing a 4th-and-goal from just outside the one, Dallas went for it, and Barber slipped right up the middle untouched and into the end zone to cut the Detroit lead to 27-21 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
The Lions continued to move the ball well against the Dallas defense, driving to the Cowboys 13 on their next drive, but after a delay-of-game penalty the Lions had to settle for a 35-yard attempt by Hanson. The normally reliable kicker pushed his attempt wide right, though, and the Cowboys took over with a chance to take the lead.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Jason Witten went from goat to hero in matter of minutes, rebounding from fumbling inside the Detroit one-yard-line in the fourth quarter to catch a 16-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and the Dallas Cowboys clinched the NFC East title with a thrilling 28-27 win over the Lions.
The division title is the first for the Cowboys since 1998. Tampa Bay also lost Sunday, meaning that the Cowboys will clinch a first-round bye for the playoffs if the Seahawks lose to the Cardinals Sunday afternoon.
Witten had a career-high 15 catches for 138 yards, and Tony Romo threw for 302 yards on 35-of-44 passing with two scores for the Cowboys (12-1), who won their seventh straight. Marion Barber had two touchdowns rushing on seven carries with 43 yards on the ground, and had 61 yards on 10 receptions for another score.
Terrell Owens was a no-show for the Dallas offense, finishing with three grabs for 21 yards.
Jon Kitna completed 22-of-36 passes for 248 yards for Detroit (6-7), which dropped its fifth straight to fall further back in the NFC wild card chase. Kevin Jones gained 92 yards on 23 carries with two scores, and T.J. Duckett had a 32-yard scoring run among his 60 yards on nine carries. Shaun McDonald had eight grabs for 96 yards for the Lions.
Kitna gave the Cowboys some bulletin-board material after Detroit's 39-31 win over Dallas to close the 2006 regular season. The Lions signal-caller made derogatory comments about the Cowboys defense in an interview during the week after the win, drawing the ire of Cowboys defensive back Terence Newman. Kitna and the Lions looked like they were going to get the last word in after Witten's fumble, but Romo and Witten had other ideas.
Taking over with 10:45 to play at its own 25-yard-line, Dallas drove to the Detroit five-yard-line before a false start by Witten pushed them back to the 10. The Cowboys tight end appeared to redeem himself by making a catch over the middle on the next play, and stretching for the goal line and the go-ahead score. The ball popped out just short of the end zone, though, and the Lions took over inside their own one with 5:47 left in regulation.
The Lions couldn't run the clock off, though, giving Romo and the Cowboys 2:15 with no timeouts to move 83 yards. The Lions had a chance to effectively end the game when Romo fumbled at the Dallas 40 on the fourth play of the drive, but several Lions couldn't come up with the ball, and the Cowboys recovered.
Dallas was then faced with a 4th-and-6 at its 40, but Barber hauled in a 13- yard pass, and the Cowboys kept moving.
Romo executed the two-minute drill to perfection, finding Witten four times on the drive before the tight end broke wide open over the middle on a 2nd- and-6 at the Detroit 16 to put the Cowboys on top for the first time all day.
Two Kitna incompletions and a sack later, and the Cowboys were NFC East champs for the first time in nine years.
Dallas drove to the Lions 32 on the game's opening drive, but stalled there, and Nick Folk pulled his 50-yard field goal try wide left.
Duckett's 32-yard scoring run put the Lions on top 7-0 with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
Jason Hanson's 19-yard field goal gave the Lions a 10-point lead with eight seconds to play in the first.
A 60-yard return by Miles Austin set the Cowboys up at the Detroit 42, and the Cowboys parlayed that into their first score. On a 3rd-and-2 at the Detroit 20 Romo tossed right to Barber, who used a wall of blockers to sprint untouched into the end zone, making it a 10-7 game with 12:13 remaining in the first half.
Hanson's 36-yard field goal pushed the Lions lead to 13-7 with 8:22 left in the half.
The Lions pushed ahead by 13 thanks to an 11-play, 80-yard drive late in the half. Jones capped the march by pushing into the end zone from two yards out, and Detroit took a 20-7 lead with 1:41 to play.
Romo and the Cowboys attack woke up in their two-minute offense, though, driving 65 yards on seven plays. Romo went 6-for-6 for 50 yards on the drive, capped by a perfectly arched toss in the face of the Lions pass rush that dropped into Barber's hands for an eight-yard score with 29 seconds left in the half. With that the Cowboys cut the deficit to 20-14 heading into the intermission.
Jones dove straight up the middle for a three-yard score, and the Lions took a 27-14 lead with 4:19 left in the third.
The Cowboys answered, though, with Romo connecting with Witten for gains of 11, eight, and 11 on the next drive. Facing a 4th-and-goal from just outside the one, Dallas went for it, and Barber slipped right up the middle untouched and into the end zone to cut the Detroit lead to 27-21 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
The Lions continued to move the ball well against the Dallas defense, driving to the Cowboys 13 on their next drive, but after a delay-of-game penalty the Lions had to settle for a 35-yard attempt by Hanson. The normally reliable kicker pushed his attempt wide right, though, and the Cowboys took over with a chance to take the lead.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:52 PM
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