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DC.COM: State-ment Game Cowboys Avoid 0-3 With Dominant In-State Win
HOUSTON - Wade Phillips knew the stakes Sunday: only three teams had started 0-3 and made the playoffs since the NFL instituted a 12-team format in 1990, and his 1998 Buffalo Bills were one.
He had no doubt his 2010 Dallas Cowboys would avoid that exclusively anxious group against the red-hot Houston Texans.
"It wasn't a possibility, in my mind," he said. "I've been around (the league) for 34 years and I've been around teams that have a lot of heart."
He was right. The Cowboys shirked that postseason-less omen with one of their most complete performances in the Phillips era, corralling the league's top-ranked scoring offense (32.0) in a 27-13 rout that takes a 2-1 edge in only the third regular-season meeting between the in-state rivals.
It was New Orleans 2.0. Like last December, when the Cowboys needed a road win over the previously unbeaten, offensively-rich Saints to stay in the NFC playoff race, Phillips' team pulled together and hushed a rowdy Reliant Stadium hungry to keep Dallas winless and claim Houston (2-1) as Texas' top team.
"Our team came out and showed the way they can play," Phillips said.
The week began with a players-only meeting amid outside questions about the team's focus, discipline and execution. Marred by turnovers, penalties and missed field goals, the Cowboys (1-2) had lost to the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears by a combined 13 points.
Internally, there seemed to be more anger than dejection, a general feeling they'd dug themselves an early 0-2 ditch by giving away two games.
"We looked back at that and said, 'We're not playing bad football. We're not playing fundamental football," outside linebacker and defensive captain DeMarcus Ware said, "'so let's get back to that.'"
Phillips oversaw a crisper week of practice. He asked his players to dedicate Sunday to someone special. Before the game, he said several players stood up and delivered positive messages to each other.
The results were telling. For the third straight game, the Cowboys won total yardage (385 to 340) and time of possession (32:20 to 27:40). This time, though, they didn't beat themselves with turnovers and missed field goals.
David Buehler, maligned all week for missing a kick in each of the two losses, went 2-for-2 Sunday, including a season-long 49-yarder as time expired for a 10-3 halftime lead. The defense allowed only one offensive touchdown with the game essentially decided and added a twist: its first three takeaways of the season, two of which led to 10 Cowboys points.
Playing vanilla in the teams' Aug. 28 preseason game, the defense harassed Texans quarterback Matt Schaub this time. Schaub (23-of-32, 241 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) was sacked four times, three by DeMarcus Ware. And linebacker Keith Brooking's fourth-quarter sack helped seal the game: trailing 17-3, the Texans were stuffed three times inside the Dallas 3, and Brooking's sack on third down forced them to settle for a field goal with 12:06 remaining. On the next series, Romo hit Roy Williams for one of Williams' two touchdowns and a commanding 24-6 lead.
For the first time all season, the offense matched its defense's production. Romo (23-of-30, 284 yards, two touchdowns) completed passes to seven different receivers. Williams had a game-high five catches for 117 yards, and the Cowboys rushed 27 times for 101 yards - a 65-yard improvement from Week 2 against Chicago.
"I think our whole group, we played our best game on offense today," offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Jason Garrett said. "And a lot of it was eliminating the negative (yardage) stuff."
Scoring only one touchdown in each of the two losses, the offense showed urgency from the opening drive, staying on the field for two fourth downs inside the Texans' 40-yard line, converting one and failing on another at the 29.
In the second quarter, the offense began exposing the Texans' last-ranked pass defense. Romo directed an 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard Marion Barber touchdown run. Twice Romo converted third-and-9 on the 13-play series.
"It's a tough environment. It's a loud stadium," Romo said. "You don't want to be in a lot of third-and-longs but when you are, the percentages go down. But there's also a time and place when you need to step up and have to make a play, can't get off the field.
"The first third down was a long one. It was a big play, a big catch by Roy on the sideline and kind of got us going a little bit."
The unit also did not commit a turnover. Dating back to last season, the Cowboys are 6-1 with a plus-turnover ratio.
That's part of the "little things" mantra, the fundamentals, the team emphasized all week. And they caught a break, too: the Giants and Redskins both lost Sunday, creating a three-way tie for second place at 1-2 behind the Eagles (2-1).
The Cowboys are off next week and won't play again until Oct. 10 against Tennessee. They know it's a time to improve, not relax.
"We still need to play better," tight end Jason Witten said. "I think you take a little bit of an exhale just because we didn't want to be 0-3. But we still have to climb ourselves out of this.
"Just keep digging, one day at a time, go into the bye week and find areas that we can do better. But this is a big win for our team."
HOUSTON - Wade Phillips knew the stakes Sunday: only three teams had started 0-3 and made the playoffs since the NFL instituted a 12-team format in 1990, and his 1998 Buffalo Bills were one.
He had no doubt his 2010 Dallas Cowboys would avoid that exclusively anxious group against the red-hot Houston Texans.
"It wasn't a possibility, in my mind," he said. "I've been around (the league) for 34 years and I've been around teams that have a lot of heart."
He was right. The Cowboys shirked that postseason-less omen with one of their most complete performances in the Phillips era, corralling the league's top-ranked scoring offense (32.0) in a 27-13 rout that takes a 2-1 edge in only the third regular-season meeting between the in-state rivals.
It was New Orleans 2.0. Like last December, when the Cowboys needed a road win over the previously unbeaten, offensively-rich Saints to stay in the NFC playoff race, Phillips' team pulled together and hushed a rowdy Reliant Stadium hungry to keep Dallas winless and claim Houston (2-1) as Texas' top team.
"Our team came out and showed the way they can play," Phillips said.
The week began with a players-only meeting amid outside questions about the team's focus, discipline and execution. Marred by turnovers, penalties and missed field goals, the Cowboys (1-2) had lost to the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears by a combined 13 points.
Internally, there seemed to be more anger than dejection, a general feeling they'd dug themselves an early 0-2 ditch by giving away two games.
"We looked back at that and said, 'We're not playing bad football. We're not playing fundamental football," outside linebacker and defensive captain DeMarcus Ware said, "'so let's get back to that.'"
Phillips oversaw a crisper week of practice. He asked his players to dedicate Sunday to someone special. Before the game, he said several players stood up and delivered positive messages to each other.
The results were telling. For the third straight game, the Cowboys won total yardage (385 to 340) and time of possession (32:20 to 27:40). This time, though, they didn't beat themselves with turnovers and missed field goals.
David Buehler, maligned all week for missing a kick in each of the two losses, went 2-for-2 Sunday, including a season-long 49-yarder as time expired for a 10-3 halftime lead. The defense allowed only one offensive touchdown with the game essentially decided and added a twist: its first three takeaways of the season, two of which led to 10 Cowboys points.
Playing vanilla in the teams' Aug. 28 preseason game, the defense harassed Texans quarterback Matt Schaub this time. Schaub (23-of-32, 241 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) was sacked four times, three by DeMarcus Ware. And linebacker Keith Brooking's fourth-quarter sack helped seal the game: trailing 17-3, the Texans were stuffed three times inside the Dallas 3, and Brooking's sack on third down forced them to settle for a field goal with 12:06 remaining. On the next series, Romo hit Roy Williams for one of Williams' two touchdowns and a commanding 24-6 lead.
For the first time all season, the offense matched its defense's production. Romo (23-of-30, 284 yards, two touchdowns) completed passes to seven different receivers. Williams had a game-high five catches for 117 yards, and the Cowboys rushed 27 times for 101 yards - a 65-yard improvement from Week 2 against Chicago.
"I think our whole group, we played our best game on offense today," offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Jason Garrett said. "And a lot of it was eliminating the negative (yardage) stuff."
Scoring only one touchdown in each of the two losses, the offense showed urgency from the opening drive, staying on the field for two fourth downs inside the Texans' 40-yard line, converting one and failing on another at the 29.
In the second quarter, the offense began exposing the Texans' last-ranked pass defense. Romo directed an 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard Marion Barber touchdown run. Twice Romo converted third-and-9 on the 13-play series.
"It's a tough environment. It's a loud stadium," Romo said. "You don't want to be in a lot of third-and-longs but when you are, the percentages go down. But there's also a time and place when you need to step up and have to make a play, can't get off the field.
"The first third down was a long one. It was a big play, a big catch by Roy on the sideline and kind of got us going a little bit."
The unit also did not commit a turnover. Dating back to last season, the Cowboys are 6-1 with a plus-turnover ratio.
That's part of the "little things" mantra, the fundamentals, the team emphasized all week. And they caught a break, too: the Giants and Redskins both lost Sunday, creating a three-way tie for second place at 1-2 behind the Eagles (2-1).
The Cowboys are off next week and won't play again until Oct. 10 against Tennessee. They know it's a time to improve, not relax.
"We still need to play better," tight end Jason Witten said. "I think you take a little bit of an exhale just because we didn't want to be 0-3. But we still have to climb ourselves out of this.
"Just keep digging, one day at a time, go into the bye week and find areas that we can do better. But this is a big win for our team."