Offense once again bails out Cowboys in emotional win
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(Sportsbooks) - It turned out to be tougher than expected, but the Dallas Cowboys were able to get a long-awaited measure of revenge against the Detroit Lions this past weekend.
The war of words that preceded Sunday's skirmish between the Cowboys and Lions led to quite a battle on the field as well, as a desperate Detroit club built a 13-point lead on heavily-favored Dallas after three quarters before the NFC front-runners rallied behind the unflappable Tony Romo to pull out a dramatic 28-27 victory at Ford Field.
On a day when the Dallas defense came in with something to prove, it was Romo and the offense that once again stole the show for the 12-1 Cowboys, who recorded their seventh consecutive win and secured the franchise's first NFC East championship since 1998. Dallas' lone blemish on its 2007 slate came at the hands of still-unbeaten New England back in Week 6.
As has been the case throughout this storybook season for the Cowboys, Romo was again at his best when his team needed him most. The confident quarterback amassed 204 of his 302 passing yards on Dallas' final three drives of the game and completed a stellar 22-of-26 throws over that stretch. The Cowboys would have scored touchdowns on all three of those possessions if not for a lost fumble by tight end Jason Witten at the Detroit one-yard line that temporarily maintained a six-point Lions' lead with under six minutes to go.
"I thought he was as close to flawless as he could be," said Witten on Romo's late-game marksmanship.
Witten's fumble was his only mistake of an otherwise dominating afternoon, as the three-time Pro Bowl selection racked up a club-record 15 receptions for a career-high 138 yards. His final catch was the most important, as Witten once again found a seam in the middle of the Detroit defense and hauled in Romo's 16-yard delivery for a go-ahead touchdown with just 18 seconds left to play.
Detroit's defensive game plan was to slow down red-hot receiver Terrell Owens, and the Lions were able to accomplish that goal with a lot of double coverage and over-the-top safety help. That tactic often left the middle of the field open, however, and Witten and Romo skillfully exploited the gaps of their opponent's Cover-2 zone scheme.
"It was nothing that I did special," said Witten, who shattered the Cowboys' single-game record of 13 catches set by Lance Rentzel in 1967. "That was just the coverage they were playing. For Tony not to get too greedy and just stay focused and march down the field the way he is doing it, that's good when your quarterback is playing that way."
Owens was limited to a season-low 21 yards on just three catches after producing five 100-yard efforts over Dallas' previous six contests. Despite those meager numbers on Sunday, the wideout with the selfish reputation insisted he wasn't frustrated with his lack of involvement in the offense.
"The only thing that matters is this hat on my head," said Owens while pointing to the Cowboys' star logo on the cap he was wearing. "We won and nothing else matters."
DEFENSE DOESN'T DELIVER
The major storyline leading up to Sunday's showdown centered around some rather unflattering comments that Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna made regarding the Dallas defense following the Lions' 39-31 victory over the Cowboys in the 2006 regular-season finale. Linebacker Bradie James and cornerback Terence Newman were specific targets of Kitna's remarks, and both players repeatedly mentioned their desire for revenge during interview sessions in the days leading up to the game. Newman even drew a warning from the NFL after stating that he wouldn't mind drawing a fine if he had a clean shot at Kitna during the contest.
Perhaps the Cowboys were too fired up on defense, as the unit put forth one of their most shaky outings of the season against the Lions. Detroit, which entered the week ranked last in the league in rushing offense, piled up 152 yards on the ground and finished the day with 390 total yards.
Dallas had yielded an average of just 85.6 rushing yards per game coming in, the fourth-best mark in the NFL.
Newman and Kitna quickly put their differences behind them, as the two shook hands and embraced following the pregame coin toss. James would not shake hands with Kitna prior to kickoff, but he did speak with him and said there were no hard feelings afterward.
"We just talked about what happened and (Kitna's) talking about how things were blown out of proportion," said James. "My thing is that we're good character guys and you just don't call out other guys and he apologized. He broke the code, but that's neither here nor there. We're past that."
BARBER'S BIG DAY
The Lions' focus on Owens also provided an increased role in the passing game for Cowboys running back Marion Barber. The third-year standout compiled career bests of 10 catches and 61 receiving yards, including an eight-yard touchdown grab in the final minute of the first half that pulled Dallas within 20-14.
Barber also scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground and added 43 rushing yards on just seven attempts. It was the first three-TD game of his young career.
GLENN GETTING CLOSER
According to the Dallas Morning News, injured wide receiver Terry Glenn is expected to return to practice on Wednesday, although the 12-year veteran will not play in Sunday's matchup with division-rival Philadelphia. Glenn has yet to be active for a game this season due to a pair of arthroscopic surgeries on his troublesome right knee.
Team owner Jerry Jones told the paper that Glenn was able to run some routes on Friday and caught a number of passes from practice-squad quarterback Richard Bartel. If all goes well this week, he could be back in uniform when the Cowboys visit Carolina on December 22.
Glenn, who put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Cowboys in 2005 and 2006, will serve as the club's No. 3 receiver behind Owens and Patrick Crayton.
Crayton, incidentally, left Sunday's game with an injured left foot in the fourth quarter and was seen wearing a walking boot afterward. It's unclear whether he will miss any practice time this week or the Philadelphia game.
EAGLES TO FLY IN
The Cowboys will play their final regular-season home game when the slumping Eagles come into Texas Stadium this Sunday. Philadelphia has lost three consecutive games, all by four points or less, and the slide has practically killed the team's playoff fortunes. The latest defeat was a 16-13 setback to the New York Giants this past Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Dallas cruised to a 38-17 triumph over the Eagles, now 5-8 on the season, in Philadelphia on November 4. The season series between the NFC East foes has ended in a sweep in each of the last three years, with Philly taking both games in both 2004 and last season and the Cowboys knocking off the Eagles twice in 2005.
(Sportsbooks) - It turned out to be tougher than expected, but the Dallas Cowboys were able to get a long-awaited measure of revenge against the Detroit Lions this past weekend.
The war of words that preceded Sunday's skirmish between the Cowboys and Lions led to quite a battle on the field as well, as a desperate Detroit club built a 13-point lead on heavily-favored Dallas after three quarters before the NFC front-runners rallied behind the unflappable Tony Romo to pull out a dramatic 28-27 victory at Ford Field.
On a day when the Dallas defense came in with something to prove, it was Romo and the offense that once again stole the show for the 12-1 Cowboys, who recorded their seventh consecutive win and secured the franchise's first NFC East championship since 1998. Dallas' lone blemish on its 2007 slate came at the hands of still-unbeaten New England back in Week 6.
As has been the case throughout this storybook season for the Cowboys, Romo was again at his best when his team needed him most. The confident quarterback amassed 204 of his 302 passing yards on Dallas' final three drives of the game and completed a stellar 22-of-26 throws over that stretch. The Cowboys would have scored touchdowns on all three of those possessions if not for a lost fumble by tight end Jason Witten at the Detroit one-yard line that temporarily maintained a six-point Lions' lead with under six minutes to go.
"I thought he was as close to flawless as he could be," said Witten on Romo's late-game marksmanship.
Witten's fumble was his only mistake of an otherwise dominating afternoon, as the three-time Pro Bowl selection racked up a club-record 15 receptions for a career-high 138 yards. His final catch was the most important, as Witten once again found a seam in the middle of the Detroit defense and hauled in Romo's 16-yard delivery for a go-ahead touchdown with just 18 seconds left to play.
Detroit's defensive game plan was to slow down red-hot receiver Terrell Owens, and the Lions were able to accomplish that goal with a lot of double coverage and over-the-top safety help. That tactic often left the middle of the field open, however, and Witten and Romo skillfully exploited the gaps of their opponent's Cover-2 zone scheme.
"It was nothing that I did special," said Witten, who shattered the Cowboys' single-game record of 13 catches set by Lance Rentzel in 1967. "That was just the coverage they were playing. For Tony not to get too greedy and just stay focused and march down the field the way he is doing it, that's good when your quarterback is playing that way."
Owens was limited to a season-low 21 yards on just three catches after producing five 100-yard efforts over Dallas' previous six contests. Despite those meager numbers on Sunday, the wideout with the selfish reputation insisted he wasn't frustrated with his lack of involvement in the offense.
"The only thing that matters is this hat on my head," said Owens while pointing to the Cowboys' star logo on the cap he was wearing. "We won and nothing else matters."
DEFENSE DOESN'T DELIVER
The major storyline leading up to Sunday's showdown centered around some rather unflattering comments that Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna made regarding the Dallas defense following the Lions' 39-31 victory over the Cowboys in the 2006 regular-season finale. Linebacker Bradie James and cornerback Terence Newman were specific targets of Kitna's remarks, and both players repeatedly mentioned their desire for revenge during interview sessions in the days leading up to the game. Newman even drew a warning from the NFL after stating that he wouldn't mind drawing a fine if he had a clean shot at Kitna during the contest.
Perhaps the Cowboys were too fired up on defense, as the unit put forth one of their most shaky outings of the season against the Lions. Detroit, which entered the week ranked last in the league in rushing offense, piled up 152 yards on the ground and finished the day with 390 total yards.
Dallas had yielded an average of just 85.6 rushing yards per game coming in, the fourth-best mark in the NFL.
Newman and Kitna quickly put their differences behind them, as the two shook hands and embraced following the pregame coin toss. James would not shake hands with Kitna prior to kickoff, but he did speak with him and said there were no hard feelings afterward.
"We just talked about what happened and (Kitna's) talking about how things were blown out of proportion," said James. "My thing is that we're good character guys and you just don't call out other guys and he apologized. He broke the code, but that's neither here nor there. We're past that."
BARBER'S BIG DAY
The Lions' focus on Owens also provided an increased role in the passing game for Cowboys running back Marion Barber. The third-year standout compiled career bests of 10 catches and 61 receiving yards, including an eight-yard touchdown grab in the final minute of the first half that pulled Dallas within 20-14.
Barber also scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground and added 43 rushing yards on just seven attempts. It was the first three-TD game of his young career.
GLENN GETTING CLOSER
According to the Dallas Morning News, injured wide receiver Terry Glenn is expected to return to practice on Wednesday, although the 12-year veteran will not play in Sunday's matchup with division-rival Philadelphia. Glenn has yet to be active for a game this season due to a pair of arthroscopic surgeries on his troublesome right knee.
Team owner Jerry Jones told the paper that Glenn was able to run some routes on Friday and caught a number of passes from practice-squad quarterback Richard Bartel. If all goes well this week, he could be back in uniform when the Cowboys visit Carolina on December 22.
Glenn, who put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Cowboys in 2005 and 2006, will serve as the club's No. 3 receiver behind Owens and Patrick Crayton.
Crayton, incidentally, left Sunday's game with an injured left foot in the fourth quarter and was seen wearing a walking boot afterward. It's unclear whether he will miss any practice time this week or the Philadelphia game.
EAGLES TO FLY IN
The Cowboys will play their final regular-season home game when the slumping Eagles come into Texas Stadium this Sunday. Philadelphia has lost three consecutive games, all by four points or less, and the slide has practically killed the team's playoff fortunes. The latest defeat was a 16-13 setback to the New York Giants this past Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Dallas cruised to a 38-17 triumph over the Eagles, now 5-8 on the season, in Philadelphia on November 4. The season series between the NFC East foes has ended in a sweep in each of the last three years, with Philly taking both games in both 2004 and last season and the Cowboys knocking off the Eagles twice in 2005.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:44 PM
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