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Rested Cowboys deck Falcons in impressive fashion
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Miles Austin was a major force once again.
The Dallas Cowboys played like a team that had just come off a bye week. In what was easily its best game of the season, Dallas delivered the Falcons a 37-21 defeat at Cowboys Stadium. The offense was good; the defense was good; the special teams was good. It was a complete performance all the way around and it resulted in the Cowboys’ first win streak since last November.
Last Sunday, while the Falcons were busy playing and beating the Bears, the Cowboys were watching from home. The extra week to get ready was evident and the Cowboys were prepared, although maybe not from the very beginning. Oddly enough, the opening coin toss marked the first one the Cowboys had lost this season and resulted in the defense coming out on the field before the offense for the first time. Maybe the defense had been so used to watching the offense get the ball to start that it wasn’t ready. Whatever the case, quarterback Matt Ryan led the Falcons on a methodical march down the field. The result was a 16 play, 80 yard drive that concluded with a four yard touchdown pass to leading receiver Roddy White. Atlanta ate up over eight minutes of clock and converted all four of its third downs. The Falcons passed the ball eight times, and ran eight times on the scoring drive and made plays when it needed. Really, the Cowboys defense wasn’t horrible, but it couldn’t get a stop when it really mattered.
When Dallas finally got the ball, it had possession for a whopping minute, losing a yard and going three-and-out. It wasn’t a good opening showing for the defense or offense, but after that point, the Cowboys dominated. Despite getting very little rest, the defense shut down Matt Ryan on the next possession. Marcus Spears and DeMarcus Ware recorded back-to-back sacks and forced the Falcons into a three-and-out of their own. Before Sunday, the Falcons had not allowed a single sack in their previous four games. The Dolphins sacked Ryan twice in the season opener and that had been it. Only the Colts had allowed as few sacks as Atlanta. On one possession, the Cowboys doubled that total.
It wasn’t until the Cowboys’ third possession, in the second quarter, when they scored on a Nick Folk field goal. The next three drives for both teams ended with turnovers. Matt Ryan was rushed and was intercepted by Mike Jenkins near midfield. Two plays later, Felix Jones fumbled, giving the ball back to the Falcons. After Atlanta had advanced into field goal range, DeMarcus Ware caused a Ryan fumble that Anthony Spencer recovered to give the ball back to Dallas. On the very next play, Tony Romo connected with Miles Austin on a deep pass for a 59 yard touchdown. Just like he did against the Chiefs in the team’s last game, Austin was elusive after the catch and avoided the defender en route to the end zone. It put the Cowboys ahead to stay, and they never looked back.
On its next possession, and final one of the half, Dallas once again scored a touchdown. This time, Romo pulled a Houdini and became an escape artist and found Patrick Crayton for a short score with only six seconds remaining. Before he threw the ball, Romo had to elude a wave of pass rushers. Had he been tackled, the half would have ended with the Cowboys stuck on the five yard line, as Dallas had used its final timeout following the previous play.
The second half started a lot like the first one. After the Cowboys were forced to punt, the Falcons went 87 yards in 12 plays to score a touchdown to get back to within 17-14. More than six minutes elapsed and it looked very similar to the drive that had begun the game. It was another methodical drive in which the Cowboys couldn’t make the big stop. But the Falcons’ score was matched by Miles Austin’s second touchdown a few minutes later. A 73 yard punt return by Crayton for a touchdown later, and the Cowboys were celebrating a big victory over a good Atlanta team. It was the first win over a team that had previously won a game. It also made Dallas 3-for-3 against NFC South teams, with only the first place Saints yet to play.
For the game, Romo passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception for the second consecutive game, a feat he has accomplished only one other time in his career since he became the full-time starter in 2006. Romo failed to make it three straight on that other occasion. Once again, Miles Austin was Romo’s favorite target. He had six receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns in his encore performance following his 250 yard-two touchdown output in the overtime win over the Chiefs. That is 421 yards and four touchdowns in just two games, an outrageous number. In two games, Austin has gone from fourth option on offense to the person the defense has to game plan for. All of a sudden, he is in the top 10 in the league in receiving yards, tied for second in receiving touchdowns, first in yards per catch, and tied for first with 10 plays of over 20 yards.
On defense, the Cowboys sacked Matt Ryan four times, two from DeMarcus Ware, and one each from Marcus Spears and Jay Ratliff. In the secondary, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick each recorded an interception. But the best player may have been Gerald Sensabaugh. His play showed what the Dallas defense was severely lacking in previous seasons with safety Roy Williams in pass coverage. Sensabaugh was where he needed to be and when he needed to be, tying for the team lead in tackles and passes defended. Against a talented young quarterback like Ryan, his performance cannot be overlooked. He helped provide the foundation of what was a strong day for the pass defense.
It was the best performance of the season for the Cowboys. Dallas will need more games like this one, and now that we have seen what the team can do on a good day, more could be coming. Bye weeks really do a body good.
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