Week 8 Recap - vs Tampa Bay

It happened, it finally happened. Dallas fell out of their slump and won a very tough match-up against The Bucs. 13-9 was the final score and that pretty much sums up how the game went.

It was a tough defensive struggle for both teams, but ultimately it was the Dallas 'D' that made the plays when it mattered. It also didn't hurt that Tampa Bay made four very critical errors that led to the only touchdown of the game, which, by the way, was made by newly acquired wideout, Roy Williams on a two yard fade.

Not only was it a good day for Williams, but a lot of newly acquired and newly starting players made a big impact in this game.

Sam Paulescu, who is replacing injured Mat McBriar, set the mood for the game with a devastating tackle to the kick returner which riled up the crowd and The 'Boys.

Rookies Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick, who eventually had to start when Anthony Henry got injured in the 3rd quarter, showed significant improvement this week and allowed only 3 field goals instead of touchdowns. Scandrick, in particular, made such a statement that he's already been given a starting spot, even when Anthony Henry and Terence Newman return from injury.

Which brings me to my next topic, the injury bug that continues to infest this team. Anthony Henry and Jason Witten were knocked out of the game. Witten was out because of a cracked rib. He left in the 2nd quarter and tried to return early in the 3rd but couldn't tolerate the pain and had to stay on the bench. Henry was sidelined because of a bruised quad that he injured in the 3rd quarter. Both players are highly questionable for next week.

And of course, speaking of next week, Dallas will travel to New Yor... oops, I mean, Jersey, and do their best against the 6-1 Giants. It's definitely not going to be an easy task with an offense led by Brad Johnson, but if they play error free football, if the defense can step up like they did against Tampa Bay, and if they can manage a few more plays than The Giants, they might have a chance.

Of course, being 8 1/2 point underdogs, the chances of victory might be more slim than we can hope for. The Giants are Super Bowl Champs and resting at a comfortable 6-1 record for a reason. They are good, damn good.

The one thing we can certainly look at positively is the fact that The Cowboys will go into the bye with at least a winning record of 5-4. If they can miraculously claim victory, they will advance to 6-3.

After the bye week, a large majority of injured players are expected to return, including Tony Romo, Felix Jones and Terence Newman. The full details of their rehabbing isn't known, so time will tell if everyone will be completely ready for week 11 in Washington. Until then, The Giants are the main objective, and you can bet they aren't going to play soft.