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GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News
gfraley@dallasnews.com
ARLINGTON – In the fourth quarter Sunday, something totally unexpected took place at Cowboys Stadium.
A Cowboys back gained double-figure yards on not one, not two but three carries. To understand why this merits attention, consider the Cowboys had three runs of 10-plus yards on 78 carries for the previous 15 quarters.
The long runs enabled the Cowboys to rush for 86 yards in the fourth quarter and pull away from Detroit with two touchdowns.
The long runs turned what looked lack another lackluster performance by the ground game into a good showing. The Cowboys ran for 134 yards, second-highest total of the season and 56 yards more than their season average. The average (78.3) was second-lowest in the league.
"Sometimes, that's how the running game goes," said center Andre Gurode , who had a game-long battle with talented rookie tackle Ndamukong Suh. "You may run the ball and not really get too much of anything, and other times it's there."
The outburst started with a season-high 24-yard gain by Marion Barber, for a first down at the Lions' 5. Through three quarters, Barber epitomized the state of the Cowboys' ground game. He gained zero yards on three carries in that span.
Barber's unexpected dash set up a score. So did a 12-yard gain by Felix Jones , who bounced through the heart of the Lions' defense rather than take it to the outside. The score came on a 29-yard bootleg run by quarterback Jon Kitna.
"Late in the game, we stick with it and start to wear 'em down, wear 'em down," tight end Jason Witten said. "When we do that, big plays will open up for us."
For the Cowboys, big plays have been painfully absent from the running game.
They began play with only 14 runs of 10-plus yards for the season, tying them with Buffalo for the third-lowest total in the league. Denver and Indianapolis each had only 11 runs of 10-plus yards. Philadelphia began the day with a league-high 41 runs of 10-plus yards.
Big runs make the difference in rushing attacks. The majority of runs are mundane affairs for gains of only a few yards. Teams stick with the ground game in hopes of eventually breaking through and getting those two or three long gainers.
That makes Jones so important to the Cowboys.
He has the ability to explode and turn a simple run into a big gainer. A year ago, Jones had 19 runs of 10-plus yards in 116 carries overall. He slipped to only seven long runs in 73 carries for the first eight games this season.
A week ago, Jones had two runs of 10-plus yards in the win against the New York Giants. He added the one run in this game, under much more difficult circumstances.
Jones lost a fumble late in the first half, setting up a Detroit touchdown. He injured a hip on the play. If a player had reason to go into a shell for the second half, it was Jones.
Instead, he bounced back with a strong showing. Jones handled the football seven times in the second half and produced 52 yards.
"Felix showed his toughness," coach Jason Garrett said. "He got banged up a little bit and came back and was a big part of it at the end. That shows the kind of toughness he has."
In Jones' first two seasons, the Cowboys treated him as if he were as fragile. They took off the protective wrapping this season, and he has held up well.
Jones had had double-figure carries in four of the last seven games and needs only 20 more runs to set a career-high. If Jones goes for 10-plus yards on a few of those runs, the Cowboys will be a better running offense.
gfraley@dallasnews.com
ARLINGTON – In the fourth quarter Sunday, something totally unexpected took place at Cowboys Stadium.
A Cowboys back gained double-figure yards on not one, not two but three carries. To understand why this merits attention, consider the Cowboys had three runs of 10-plus yards on 78 carries for the previous 15 quarters.
The long runs enabled the Cowboys to rush for 86 yards in the fourth quarter and pull away from Detroit with two touchdowns.
The long runs turned what looked lack another lackluster performance by the ground game into a good showing. The Cowboys ran for 134 yards, second-highest total of the season and 56 yards more than their season average. The average (78.3) was second-lowest in the league.
"Sometimes, that's how the running game goes," said center Andre Gurode , who had a game-long battle with talented rookie tackle Ndamukong Suh. "You may run the ball and not really get too much of anything, and other times it's there."
The outburst started with a season-high 24-yard gain by Marion Barber, for a first down at the Lions' 5. Through three quarters, Barber epitomized the state of the Cowboys' ground game. He gained zero yards on three carries in that span.
Barber's unexpected dash set up a score. So did a 12-yard gain by Felix Jones , who bounced through the heart of the Lions' defense rather than take it to the outside. The score came on a 29-yard bootleg run by quarterback Jon Kitna.
"Late in the game, we stick with it and start to wear 'em down, wear 'em down," tight end Jason Witten said. "When we do that, big plays will open up for us."
For the Cowboys, big plays have been painfully absent from the running game.
They began play with only 14 runs of 10-plus yards for the season, tying them with Buffalo for the third-lowest total in the league. Denver and Indianapolis each had only 11 runs of 10-plus yards. Philadelphia began the day with a league-high 41 runs of 10-plus yards.
Big runs make the difference in rushing attacks. The majority of runs are mundane affairs for gains of only a few yards. Teams stick with the ground game in hopes of eventually breaking through and getting those two or three long gainers.
That makes Jones so important to the Cowboys.
He has the ability to explode and turn a simple run into a big gainer. A year ago, Jones had 19 runs of 10-plus yards in 116 carries overall. He slipped to only seven long runs in 73 carries for the first eight games this season.
A week ago, Jones had two runs of 10-plus yards in the win against the New York Giants. He added the one run in this game, under much more difficult circumstances.
Jones lost a fumble late in the first half, setting up a Detroit touchdown. He injured a hip on the play. If a player had reason to go into a shell for the second half, it was Jones.
Instead, he bounced back with a strong showing. Jones handled the football seven times in the second half and produced 52 yards.
"Felix showed his toughness," coach Jason Garrett said. "He got banged up a little bit and came back and was a big part of it at the end. That shows the kind of toughness he has."
In Jones' first two seasons, the Cowboys treated him as if he were as fragile. They took off the protective wrapping this season, and he has held up well.
Jones had had double-figure carries in four of the last seven games and needs only 20 more runs to set a career-high. If Jones goes for 10-plus yards on a few of those runs, the Cowboys will be a better running offense.
