Time to Saddle Up

Cowboys miss yet another opportunity to capitalize on NFC East lead after losing to the Lions

By Max Berger

The most talented team in the division, albeit in one of the weakest years for the division in recent memory, the Dallas Cowboys finally sit alone atop of the NFC East standings following Sunday’s surprisingly low-scoring 17-3 win against the bitter rival Philadelphia Eagles. Sure, Nick Foles and Matt Barkley were both extremely ineffective against a Dallas defense that two weeks ago surrendered 51 points to Peyton and the Broncos, but any win is a crucial one the way the division is playing out this season.

The Eagles have looked like possible playoff contenders in some games, but in others have been porous defensively and inept and inconsistent in all three facets of the game; the Redskins have won two of their last three games but still sit at 2-4 and need to win back to back games for the first time all year if they want to contend; and lastly, the Giants got their first win of the season in one of the most pathetic Monday Night Football games of all time – it went down as a 23-7 in the win column, but this game was handed to them by the embarrassing Vikings offense led by the enigmatic free agent signee Josh Freeman.

Regardless, someone has to be in first place and right now it's the Cowboys. The fact that many analysts are convinced that both the Redskins and Giants still have a shot at winning the division despite their 2-4 and 1-6 respective records should be an insult and a wakeup call to Dallas.

Seemingly every season expectations are high for celebrity owner Jerry Jones and his team that has failed to make the playoffs in four of the last five years. There is no denying the talent on both sides of the ball for the ‘Boys and here’s why this year, the offense and defense have what it takes to put Big D’s foot on the accelerator and win this division.

           

Offense

I mean, you can’t start talking about the Cowboys offense without mentioning franchise quarterback Tony Romo. First off, let’s give this guy some credit – as the Dallas public relations staff revealed after Sunday’s game, which happened to be his 100^th NFL start, Romo now ranks first in completions and yards, third in touchdowns and fourth in attempts by any quarterback in history through his first 100 starts. He’s in company with greats like Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre.  Wow. But, Romo will never be mentioned with these aforementioned legends if he doesn’t make that one little mistake in all of the biggest moments, like his interception with under two minutes to go in the Broncos game, setting up their game winning field goal in week five. If Dallas wants to win the division Romo cannot turn over the ball and must utilize his weapons: running back Demarco Murray, wide receivers Dez Bryant, Miles Austi and rookie phenom Terrance Williams, and the rock tight end Jason Witten. The emergence of Williams has given the team another deep threat on the outside along with Dez. The ‘Boys play opponents currently under .500 in three of the next five games, and Tony and co. need to continue to put up points, like they did scoring 30 plus points in the four games leading up to Sunday against Philly. Good news is, the defense has begun to figure itself out lately as well.

Defense

Getting drubbed by Denver was a heck of a wakeup call for head Coach Jason Garrett and his defensive unit led by 73-year-old Monte Kiffin. The unit held Washington to 16 points in week 6 and allowed 3 points against Philly this past Sunday. In fact, the past two weeks the D has six sacks and has forced 5 turnovers, a recipe for success. Although Pro Bowl linebacker Demarcus Ware is currently banged up, strong leadership and MVP play from Penn State alum and fellow linebacker Sean Lee who currently ranks second the in league with 71 tackles. The secondary, too, has come into its own with cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne controlling the edge and fourth year free safety Barry Church overseeing the field from the back and deflecting three passes in the Eagles game. Once Ware comes back healthy and the defense can create a pass rush without blitzing to create pressure, this opportunistic unit has a real chance to make plays and put its offense in positions to score.

An explosive offense, an emerging defense, the only thing needed now is consistency. You’re in the saddle, Dallas. Prove everyone wrong and ride away with the division like you should.