Dallas started this game as shakey and slow as they did their previous 3 games. It was nerve-rackingly hard to watch, and made you think that maybe the last few games the Cowboys won were a fluke. They seemed unable to connect at all, having no touchdowns or field goals and being forced to punt 3 times in the first quarter. Add on a Romo interception and things seemed increasingly bleak.
The second quarter started to look just as frightening as the Rams drove the ball close enough for a field goal. However, the Stars must have been aligned just right, and Jeff Wilkins missed the easy 28 yard Field Goal attempt.
Things were starting to look good for the 'Boys as Tony Romo drove from their 20 yard line to St. Louis' 2 yard line, with Julius Jones punching home the Touchdown to finally put some points on the board. Ah, a little breathing room.
Nothing lasts forever though, as the pendulum of momentum swung the other way. Nearing the end of the half, a Mat McBriar punt ended in catastrophe when Dante Hall ran the ball the whole way back for an 85 yard Touchdown. Tied at 7-7, It was beginning to look as though the Rams had a fighting chance. St. Louis' Issac Bruce did guarantee a victory, after all.
The next drive started with some potential for the 'Boys. They managed to get the ball from their 24 yard line to the 50 in just 4 plays, and the end of the half was less than a minute away.
It was 3rd down with 3 to go, and only :56 seconds left in the half when, Andre Gurode, snaps the ball well over Romo's head and it flips and flops about 33 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Romo was chasing after the ball like a farmer trying to russle up a greased pig. At this point, it was the worst possible thing to happen... well, it might have been for most teams, but luckily the Dallas Cowboys have a true playmaker in Tony Romo.
Impossible as it seems, Romo was able to snatch up the ball at about the 17 yard line, follow a few lead blockers, juke out St. Louis' Raonall Smith, get back to the 50 yard line and sure enough, add on 4 more yards for the first down to really make a statement. This will undoubtely be the 'Play of the Week' on many sports shows tomorrow morning. And the magic wasn't over yet. 5 plays later, when Dallas was 15 yards from the goal line, Romo couldn't find an open receiver so he ran it the Touchdown himself. Dallas would take the lead 14-7 going into the half. This should pretty much be the proof to sceptics that Romo has what it takes to contend with any defense out there (Rams defense was rated #7 overall going into this week.)
That drive seemed to be all the momentum that Dallas needed. On their first possession after the half, Romo lauched a short pass to Patrick Crayton, who managed to avoid a tackle and run the ball in for a 56 yard Touchdown. Now leading 21-7, it started to become a little easier to breathe at this point.
The next Dallas possession ended with a deep pass and another catch for Crayton who ran it in for a 37 yard Touchdown. 28-7.
The Rams had a nice drive after the second Crayton Touchdown, and drove all the way to the Dallas 10. Unfortunately for the Rams, the Stars were once again lined up perfectly as Ken Hamlin intercepted a horribly thrown ball in the End Zone. This led to another successful Cowboys drive that ended with a 17 yard pass to Jason Witten for the Touchdown. Now 35-7 and 2 minutes until the 4th quarter, it would be near impossible for these Rams to rally a victory.
And sure enough, the Rams were just too battered to do anything more. They were forced to punt 2 more times, and Dallas slowly ran out the clock, even bringing in Brad Johnson as Quarterback and Tyson Thompson as Halfback to run the clock down to 00:00. The Cowboys go 4-0, the Rams go 0-4. I say, Bring on the Bills!
P.S.
Just because I forgot to mention a few things.
-Greg Ellis was back in the game for the first time since tearing his ACL last November, and had 2 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
-Terence Newman was in and getting more playing time ending with 4 tackles. Newman had to pick up the slack due to the fact that Anthony Henry sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and was out for the game.
-Dallas is currently leading the league in total points for the season with 151 and is 4th all-time for total points scored in 4 consecutive games.
-Although Dallas was leading the league in penalties coming into this game (30 total), they only commited 2 penalties for 10 yards this time around.
-Neither Terrell Owens or Marion Barber had a Touchdown in this game, while Patrick Crayton had the best game of his career with 7 Receptions for 184 yards and 2 Touchdowns.
-And, I gotta point out, for the 4th straight week in a row, the Cowboys are absoultely dominating in the second half of these games. It almost seems as though the first half is more about studying the oppononents' weaknesses and trying to get them in a comfort zone, while the second half is all about exploiting them. I smell a genius strategy from Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett, and I love it.
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