By Jim Keller 

 

The Dallas Cowboys finally put together a solid effort by their offense, defense and special teams, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

All head coach Wade Phillips told his troops afterward was, “Just play with this kind of urgency every week.” 

Tony Romo played flawlessly and hooked up twice on TD passes to forgotten Roy Williams, the defense kept the Texans out of the end zone for nearly 59 minutes and embattled kicker David Buehler converted both of his field goal attempts as the Cowboys posted a 27-13 Sunday at Reliant Stadium to avoid putting themselves in a gargantuan hole heading into the bye week.

The win helped Dallas avoid starting 0-3 for the first time since 2001.  Only five teams have rebounded from that early hole to reach the playoffs.  So Dallas needed a big performance.

With 98 passes against 42 runs and just two offensive TDs despite the fourth most yards in the NFL through two weeks, the Cowboys’ owner, coaches and players were under siege all week.

The result?  Dallas showed more balance against Houston, running 27 times for 101 yards, but it was still Romo and the passing game that provided the bulk of the offense.  Romo was 23 of 30 for 284 yards, didn’t force anything and wasn’t sacked.

Dallas just did a better job of converting its opportunities into points.  Romo had just one pass dropped, did not thrown any picks and was afforded his best pass protection thus far in three games.  Left tackle Doug Free totally neutralized NFL sack leader Mario Williams.  The Boys were 2-of-2 with TDs in two red-zone after tallying just 17 points in five red-zone tries in the first two weeks.

Evidence of the Dallas efficient attack:

1. Like a third-quarter drive that went 90 yards in seven plays with Romo a perfect 5 of 5, hooking up with Roy Williams on a short slant for 15 yards to provide Dallas a 17-3 edge with 1:34 left in the third.  Romo converted a third-and-2 with an 11-yard pass to Sam Hurd, his first catch of the season, then laid out a perfect pass to Dez Bryant down the left sideline for 30 yards.  Williams beat rookie DB Kareem Jackson again on a quick slant for a 63-yard score in Dallas’ next possession. A no show most of his time in Big D, Williams had 5 catches and 117 yards

2. How about the 13-play, 80-yard drive in the second quarter that was capped by Marion Barber’s 1-yard plunge.  What made this drive so special?  Romo overcame a 1st-and-20 after a 32-yard swing pass to Felix Jones was called back on a block in the back call against Miles Austin.  Romo converted three third downs of nine, nine and 10 yards to different receivers: Bryant, Austin and Williams.

Defensively, Arian Foster ripped through the defense for at least a half-dozen runs of 10-or-more yards, but the front seven stuffed just as many runs at the line of scrimmage.  The secondary had a solid afternoon, keeping the receivers in front of them (only two 20-yards pass plays and contributing to three of Dallas’ four sacks because of excellent coverage downfield.  The Cowboys limited All-Pro Andre Johnson to four catches for 64 yards on seven targets.

Dallas, which entered with two sacks and no turnovers, doubled their sack total (3 by DeMarcus Ware) without over-committing to the blitz, intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble – all in the second half.  The NFL’s top-scoring and yardage team was limited to 13 points and 340 yards, although 100 of those yards and the one TD came after the game had been decided.

The Boys even had a goal-line stand, stuffing two runs and then sacking Schaub on an all-out blitz after Houston had reached the 1-yard line for 1st-and-goal..

Even David Buehler came through.  After Phillips decided against a 47-yard FG on the first possession despite playing in a dome, Buehler nailed a 49-yarder on the last play of the half and added a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Dallas wasn’t perfect.  It failed on a 4th-and-2 from the Texans 30 on its first possession when an attempted screen pass was blown up.

In the first half’s final drive, a 37-yard TD pass to Bryant was called back because Bryant ran out of bounds and came back in, Romo was called for intentional grounding and missed a wide-open Williams 25 yards downfield at the Texans 25.  But to his credit, he got Dallas in position for Buehler’s field goal with a nice sideline pass to Witten with one tick left.

The defense allowed a 30-yard draw by Foster on 3rd-and19 which led to a field goal, and Keith Brooking was called twice for pass interference on crucial plays and Jenkins was whistled for illegal contact on 2nd-and-18 in the third quarter.

In a game the Cowboys desperately needed, they came up with a solid three-way performance, playing error-free football, slowing down a versatile offense and winning the battle of special teams.

Fortunately for Dallas, after three weeks they are looking up only at the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC North. The Eagles rattled Jacksonville while Washington was beaten by St. Louis and the New York Giants fell to Tennessee.

Dallas will sit and watch Washington and Philadelphia next week and Chicago at New York.

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