PJ’s Reaction: Week 10 - Cowboys 44, Bills 7
I really don’t remember the last time a Cowboys game had coverage switched by the network to a more competitive game because Dallas was blowing someone out (I live in the San Antonio market which did this in addition to the Rio Grande Valley and Oklahoma City, that I know of).
(Photo credit: Ron Jenkins/ Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
This one is tough to assess. Buffalo appears to be on a skid after the Jets exposed some weaknesses in their offense which had a lot of success early in the season. Even so, the Cowboys took care of business in every facet of the game and the scoreboard reflected it.
DeMarco Murray continues to assert himself as a legitimate threat, bringing some much-needed balance to the offense. When Felix Jones returns, he should be used exclusively as a kick returner and third-down back in passing situations as a safety valve or screen receiver.
The offensive line had another strong performance, giving up no sacks and generally giving Tony Romo all day to find his receivers. Also, the team had no turnovers.
Much like Murray, Laurent Robinson has proven reliable and stepped up his role. It’s looking as though there will finally be a strong receiving corps of three when Miles Austin returns to the lineup.
We should also take this opportunity to recognize Dan Bailey’s consistent kicking. He has really been a miracle considering how nebulous the kicking game was coming into this season.
The rest of the NFC East lost today, and just like that, we’re a game behind the Giants with the easier schedule between now and the time we play each other.
Solid Tony Romo game alert
23/26, 270 yards, 3 TD 0 INT, 148.4 passer rating
Interesting Stat:
Tony Romo’s 88.5% completion percentage was the best ever for a Cowboys quarterback in a single game with a minimum 15 pass attempts. (Via @STATS_NFL)
Fun notes:
DeMarco Murray completely hurdled an upright Buffalo safety Jairus Byrd in the third quarter.
Buffalo wide receiver David Nelson gave his girlfriend the football after scoring the Bills’ sole touchdown. His girlfriend is Cowboys cheerleader Kelsi Reich.
Miles Austin OUT 3-5 Weeks
DallasCowboys.com is reporting that Miles Austin will be out at least 3 weeks with an injury to his right hamstring (last time it was his left). Austin could be out as long as 5 weeks.
Laurent Robinson will likely start at the number two WR next week against the Bills.
PJ’s Reaction: Week 9 - Cowboys 23, Seahawks 13
There’s not much to get excited about or dwell on in this one. You’d like to think we could’ve blown the Seahawks out of the water, but with the way this season has gone, a W is simply a W.
(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
The only thing you can really take away about this one is that Miles Austin is hurt and we don’t know how long his hamstring is going to be a problem. Luckily, it appears like we have a solid option emerging in Laurent Robinson if Austin misses time, and the running game is doing OK with DeMarco Murray.
Let’s look ahead instead of devoting any more time to this blah win. Pending tonight’s game for the Eagles, we could end up a half game ahead of them and two back of the Giants, with New York having a VERY tough schedule ahead of them for the next four weeks before we get a crack at them.
A win against Buffalo next week would really help ensure we can gain some ground and stay even or ahead of Philadelphia since we will be facing the likes of Washington, Miami and Arizona afterward.
Solid Tony Romo game alert:
19/31, 279 yards, 2 TD 0 INT, 112.2 rating
PJ’s Reaction: Week 8 - Eagles 34, Cowboys 7
What was THAT?!
Before we get into it, I’d just like to say I’ve absolutely seen enough from these players: Keith Brooking, Martellus Bennett, Montrae Holland and Bradie James. Addition by subtraction has worked very well so far under Jason Garrett.
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
I truly believe that Sean Lee being out of the game hurt us as far as what we expected to be able to do on defense. The secondary was preventing short routes, but the middle of the field was wide open because of Sean Lee’s absence. Bradie James and Keith Brooking looked lost out there. LeSean McCoy was breaking runs off the edge because Keith Brooking couldn’t get there and was so out of position on every play that he couldn’t even see where “in position” was. Brent Celek had a field day with James and Brooking manning the middle, as did Jeremy Maclin and McCoy. You just can’t expect to execute your gameplan when your leading tackler and only cover ILB gets knocked out of the game.
Offensively, we just fell into too big of a hole too quickly. Murray looked like he would’ve had a great game if we hadn’t had to abandon the running game with 74 yards on just 8 carries (9.3 average per carry). That Eagles secondary we tried to downplay after we didn’t sign Nnamdi Asomugha gave Romo nowhere to throw the ball except Laurent Robinson or 2-yard passes to Witten. Martellus Bennett gave up a turnover at probably the worst possible time and we never recovered.
There’s not much else to say, really. For how bad a loss this was, we’re tied with the team that just destroyed us in the division. We’ll see you again on Christmas Eve, Philly. It’ll probably be a football game then.
Just in case you didn’t act on this idea yourself, here’s video of a father and son gleefully burning a Tony Romo jersey.
PJ’s Reaction: Week 4 - Lions 34, Cowboys 30
When time expired, all I could think to myself was: “This one falls entirely on Romo.” If he doesn’t throw just one of those three interceptions, there’s no way the Lions claw their way back into the game.
The more I thought about it, the more I thought there was more to the loss than just Romo. Romo doesn’t feel the need to make those risky throws if the running game is consistent enough to guarantee they can take some time off the clock. Granted, a three and out is better than a pick six, but when you’re trying to keep drives alive to eat up clock, you’re usually only given one opportunity per three downs to make a play.
Two of the interceptions came on first down, but only one of them was arguably a bad decision. The other was a good read where Witten had his man beat down the seam, but the throw didn’t get there due to pressure. The interception on third down wouldn’t have happened with a more aggressive play on the ball from Laurent Robinson.
While I think it would be unfair to expect the defense to stop Detroit from putting up any points on a short field, they still could’ve done more to stop a Detroit comeback. Two touchdowns for Detroit in the fourth quarter were almost foregone conclusions because the defense had no answer for Calvin Johnson.
We would be good to not fall apart at the seams going into the bye week half a game back of the division lead. We should be 4-0 after blowing two late leads — one to the defending AFC champs and one to the only undefeated NFC team other than the defending Super Bowl champs. We could be worse; we could be Philadelphia.
