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T.O. got back on track, the defense rebounded with a strong day, and Tony Romo came close to one of Troy Aikman’s passing records as Dallas rebounded from the New England loss with a 24-14 win over Minnesota Sunday.

In the first half, it looked like there might have been some hangover from the previous Sunday, as Dallas dominated the first half but shot themselves in the foot with two fumbles in Minnesota territory, the latter of which was returned for a touchdown to give the Vikings a 14-7 halftime lead.

But, great defense, a huge special teams play, and finally getting back to the basics led Dallas to a second-half shutout and their sixth victory of the season.

The game turned in the third quarter, after a Mat McBriar punt pinned Minnesota at the 7. The Vikings were pushed back to the 2, and after a three and out, Dallas wound up with the ball at the Minnesota 36 after the punt return and a personal four penalty.

Five plays later, Marion Barber scored from the 1, and it was 14-all. Minnesota promptly drove into Dallas territory, but the defense rose to the challenge again and forced the Vikings into a 49-yard field goal attempt, which was blocked by Chris Canty, picked up by Pat Watkins, and returned by the second-year safety for a 68-yard touchdown that put the Cowboys ahead for good late in the third.

Romo was 31 of 39 for 277 yards and a touchdown, and came within three completions of tying Troy Aikman’s record for completions in a game. At the half, it looked like he would obliterate that record, as he was 28 of 32 in the first half. But, he only threw eight passes in the second half, so the record will have to wait another day. And, T.O., after disappearing in the last few games, broke out of his mini-slump with seven catches for 103 yards and a first-quarter touchdown.

And, along with the offense having another productive day, the defense had one of its best performances of the season in shutting down the Vikings and making sure the offense had ample opportunity to sew up a victory.

Anyway, on to the analysis, because that’s what I’m here for, right?

Offensive MVP: Barber. My fiancee isn’t a huge football fan, but she commented last night that Barber was her favorite player, because, in her words, ‘it’s all him.’ And, she’s really not far from the truth, because when he gets touches, he always makes the best of them.

In the last three games, he had only 25 carries as the Cowboys went away from him against St. Louis, Buffalo, and New England, but gained 127 yards on those carries (more than five yards per carry). And, on Sunday, he got 19 carries and ran for 96 yards and made four receptions, while scoring his first touchdown since Week 3. On the game-tying touchdown drive, he had four carries on the five-play drive, and when Dallas needed to ice the game late, he carried the ball for all nine plays of the drive and gained 64 yards, including a 21-yard on a 3rd and 2 with four minutes to go and a 24-yard run two plays later to put a stamp on the win.

Point blank, get him the ball (and not just because my fiancee says so).

Defensive MVP: Bradie James had his best game of the season, racking up nine tackles (six solo, three assists), a sack, and a fumble recovery.

But, he wasn’t the only one stood out. Greg Ellis continues to make up for lost time, as he had two sacks of Tavaris Jackson on Sunday. He already has 4.5 sacks in four games, which equals his nine-game total from last season.

And, DeMarcus Ware, though he saw his four-game sack streak come to an end, also made Jackson’s day miserable as well, pressuring him several times, including nearly forcing a safety in the third.

Offensive Analysis: Romo got the ball to the two guys he needs to get it to in T.O. and Jason Witten (10 catches for 86 yards), though he did miss on a potentially big gainer to Witten early in the fourth, a play after Witten juggled a first-down catch.

But, while we know Romo can sling it, it’s no secret that the run game needs to be a presence, no matter if Romo throws it 83 times in a game. Sunday was an improvement over the previous two weeks (when the opposition took the run out of it, due to the Cowboys having to play from behind), because when you’ve got two backs who run hard and run well, they need to be a part of the game, may it be carrying the ball or making catches.

Defensive Analysis: Tom Brady and Tarvaris Jackson are on two different ends of the spectrum. Brady had five touchdown passes in one half against the Dolphins on Sunday, while Jackson has four in six NFL starts.

But, one wonders if a defensive effort like the one on Sunday may have slowed the Patriots down. The D did what they did for part of the time against New England and applied it to the entire game against the Vikings, limiting Minnesota to very few big plays, harassing the young QB, and slowing down the NFL’s leading rusher.

Jackson was held to 6 of 19 passing for 72 yards, was sacked three times, and pressured countless more times. And, Adrian Peterson, while he had a 20-yard touchdown run on the opening drive, was held to 63 yards on 12 carries when he came in averaging 121.4 on 19 carries per game. He and Chester Taylor did have some nice runs in the second half, and there were a couple of times when Minnesota moved the ball well, but after that first-drive touchdown, the defense stepped up every time it needed to.

Overall Analysis: Frankly, it should have been over at halftime, as the Cowboys could have been up 21-7 or more, if not for the two fumbles and a missed field goal.

But, it was good to see how they parlayed that first-half dominance into points and a lead in the second half. The victory was a lot more resounding than the score indicates, because there were some missed opportunities on offense, but there’s no question about the all-around dominance (381-196 advantage in total yards, 36:35 to 23:25 advantage in time of possession).

Something does need to be done about the slow starts. They nearly got burned for it against Buffalo, and it made things extremely difficult against New England (when you have to battle back from 14-0 down in the first, by the time you take that third-quarter lead, it’s going to be a little difficult to hold on for 25 minutes against one of the best). You can get away with it when you’re playing the weaker teams, but with two games against Philadelphia (who continues to baffle, and not in the good way), two against Washington, and the Giants, Packers, Lions remaining, along with two other tough ones against Carolina and the Jets, slow starts can’t keep happening if Dallas wants to seriously be a contender.

But, a win’s a win, and coming off of the loss, it’s a good way to go into the bye week.

Looking Ahead

Speaking of the bye week, Dallas is off this coming week before embarking on a tough final nine weeks.

Coming off of the bye, they face their NFC East rivals, first going to Philadelphia and then New York, before coming back home to face the Redskins.

That three-week stretch will determine a lot, not only in the NFC East race, but also in the NFC playoff race, as the Cowboys, Giants, and Packers are above everyone else in the battle for first-round byes and in the running for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Philadelphia is 2-4, and squandered a win against the Bears on Sunday by allowing Brian Griese to drive Chicago 97 yards in the final two minutes to score the game-winning touchdown with nine seconds to go and give Chicago a 19-16 win at Lincoln Financial.

For all of the talent that the Eagles have, they’ve underperformed thus far, and have had some embarrassments (giving up 12 sacks to the Giants, fumbling away the season opener at Green Bay, and looking anemic on offense in a home loss to Washington, along with Sunday’s loss). But, there’s no denying that you can’t overlook them, no matter how bad they seem to look.

The Eagles (and their fans) will be fired up for the game in two Sundays, and will be intent on putting a damper on Dallas’ run to the NFC title.

But, the Cowboys will have their own intentions, as they want to keep rolling on towards an NFC East title and postseason glory.

And, it’s Cowboys-Eagles. That’s enough right there, especially given the two losses to Philly last year, and how the Eagles put a stake through the Cowboys’ NFC East title hopes at Texas Stadium last Christmas Day.

The bye week will also hopefully allow Anthony Henry the necessary time to get back to full strength, and for the rest of the team to heal their nicks and get re-focused for what will be a tough, but hopefully, successful remainder of the season.

12:15: Romo completes a couple of passes, but misses on consecutive passes to Witten on 2nd and 3rd down and medium, so Dallas is forced to punt. He made some interesting throws on that drive, and would have had a huge gain on that third down play had Witten caught it, because he was behind the defense and would have had plenty of room to run.

The punt takes a nice roll, going alll the way down to the Minnesota 9 to put the Vikings in poor field position yet again. McBriar has punted three times today for an average of 53.8 yards, and all three punts have gone inside the 20.

11:51: On the first play, Jason Hatcher knocks the ball loose from Peterson, and Bradie James recovers the ball at the Minnesota 22. If Dallas can get in the end zone here, that would all but seal the victory.

11:01: The drive stalls with the Cowboys being unable to go nowhere, actually lose yardage on a third down sack that puts them back at the 28, but Folk drills the field goal to put Dallas up 10. Given that the Vikings haven’t quite been able to crack the Cowboys defense today, that might be enough to breathe easy.

9:28: On 2nd and 3, Jackson finds Troy Williamson for 21 yards, and the Vikings, like they have in their last couple of drives, are moving the ball close to midfield. Bend, don’t break time again for the Dallas defense.

8:17: On second down, James sacks Jackson, which is the first sack of the day for the defense. James is having an excellent game, as he has nine total tackles (six solo, three assists).

On third down, the pass is incomplete, and once again, the defense comes up with the stop when they need to. However, the offense will be up against it, as the punt goes out of bounds at the 1. A few first downs would go a long way, as the Vikings only have one timeout, and are down two scores with time running out.

6:32: The Vikings make a relatively quick stop, limiting Barber on two runs and then forcing an incompletion from Romo on third down. Minnesota should get the ball back in pretty good field position, so, it’s not over just yet.

6:21: The Vikings get the ball at the 45 after McBriar’s punt, but go incompletion, incompletion, sack on the drive, and instead of oging for it on fourth down, will punt on fourth down, and Crayton makes the fair catch at the 19 with five and a half minutes to go. Once again, a couple of first downs could finish it off.

4:00: Barber goes for four yards on each of the first two plays, then busts a 21-yard run to get a crucial first down. That might do it, but one more would be good.

2:30: And there it is, as Barber gets loose again, running hard and getting inside the 30 on a 24-yard run on a 2nd and 6 play. The Vikings are forced to take their final timeout, and that should wrap it up. Barber now has 89 yards on 15 carries, with 57 of those yards coming on this drive.

2:00: Barber goes for two yards on the final play before the two-minute warning, taking his total to 91 yards and taking the clock down to the two-minute mark.

1:00: Barber gets stopped for a two-yard gain on third and 7, and the Cowboys take a timeout with 28 seconds to play. They don’t need to kick the field goal, and just give it to Barber on fourth down. He gets only two yards on the play, and will finish four yards short of the 100-yard mark.

Jackson gets sacked by Ellis on the first play of the drive, and for some reason, he decides to spike it to give the Vikings one more play. That ends with an inconsequential pass completion, and it’s all over from Texas Stadium, as the Cowboys overcome a couple of first-half mistakes and a 14-7 halftime deficit, and score 17 points in the third quarter en route to a 24-14 win.

The Dallas defense did an excellent job of limiting the Vikings all day, and the Cowboys got significant plays on offense and special teams to carry them to their sixth victory in seven games, which keeps them alone in first place in the NFC East. The Giants beat the 49ers today to go to 5-2, and the Redskins held off the Cardinals 21-19 to go to 4-2, while the Eagles gave up a touchdown to Chicago in the final seconds to lose 19-16 and drop to 2-4. The Eagles will be Dallas’ next opponent, as the Cowboys will travel to Philadelphia following next week’s bye week.

13:16: The Cowboys stop the Vikings on the first drive of the second half, and after the punt, get the ball at the 35.

11:18: On third and five from the 40, Romo scrambles and comes up a yard short of the first-down marker. The Cowboys punt and pin Minnesota back at the 7.

9:36: On the first play, Tavaris Jackson has to get the ball off before he’s nailed near the goal line, and gets called for intentional grounding, which puts the ball just outside the white line. On the next two plays, Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor just miss getting tackled for safeties, and the Vikings have to punt.

Chris Kluwe gets off an excellent kick, and Crayton has to retreat to the Dallas 40 to take the 58-yard boomer. He returns it to the 49, but the Cowboys will start at the Minnesota 36 after a Vikings’ player gets a personal foul for going out of bounds and not making an attempt to get back in.

Dallas is virtually being handed a golden opportunity to score, so we’ll see if they take full advantage of it.

7:45: Barber busts a nine-yard run on the first play of the drive, and then gets a first down to the 25. On the next play, Romo finds T.O. on the right sideline inside the 5, and the Cowboys are in business. T.O. has gotten his wish and has seen plenty of balls his way, and is already over 100 yards.

7:00: Two plays later, Barber barrels in from the 1, and the Cowboys are an extra point away from tying it. Or, maybe not. One ref made the touchdown call, while the other didn’t, so we’ll wait and see what it is. And, after a few seconds of deliberation, it is indeed ruled a touchdown, but Minnesota’s Brad Childress will challenge the call. Wade Phillips already used both of his challenges (won one, lost one), so the coaches are defintely making use of the red flags today.

After the short review, the play is rightfully upheld, and the Vikings allow their first rushing touchdown of the season, as Barber gets into the end zone for the first time since the Chicago game.

4:00: The Vikings convert a third and 8 from the Dallas 26 with a 16-yard completion from Jackson to Bobby Wade, and the next two plays get the Vikings into scoring position as Jackson scrambles for 12 yards, and Peterson busts loose for a 15-yard run before he’s upended at the Dallas 31.

3:05: Dallas makes an impressive defensive stop, stuffing Taylor for no gain on first down and then forcing two incompletions from Jackson to make the Vikings have to attempt a 48-yard field goal. The Vikings have to use their second timeout due to unpreparedness.

2:52: Chris Canty is up front for a reason. The 6′7 Canty uses his frame with optimal effectiveness, blocking Longwell’s field goal. Pat Watkins picks up the loose ball and takes it the other way, streaking down the left sideline into the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown return to put the Cowboys ahead.

End of the third: Peterson and Taylor gain 12 and 16 yards on the first play of the ensuing drive, but from there, the Cowboys defense stands tall and stops the Vikings short on a 3rd down to get the ball back as we begin the fourth.

As usual, I’m a little late, because rarely do I ever make it before the second quarter. We’re at the two-minute warning, and the Cowboys are moving the ball.

Both teams scored on their first drive, and due to both taking up most of the first quarter, each team has had only a handful of possessions thus far. The Cowboys opened the game by going 80 yards in 14 plays, and Tony Romo found T.O. for a 5-yard touchdown. The Vikings responded by going 69 yards in 11 plays, and Adrian Peterson scored on a 20-yard run.

And, while I’m typing this, Crayton makes a catch right out of the two-minute warning, the ball gets knocked loose, Ben Leber scoops it up, then pitches it to Cedric Griffin, who returns it for a touchdown.

That’s the second time in the game that the Cowboys have hurt themselves with a fumble on a potential scoring drive. On the previous drive, Dallas went to the 9, but then Romo was hit, the ball came loose, and the Vikings recovered.

On this play, it looks like Romo may have injured himself, and he hobbled off the field, careful not to put weight on one leg. He’s had a great first half, going 21 of 24 for 182 yards, but those two fumbles have cost he and Dallas dearly, as instead of it being a double-digit Dallas lead, the Vikings are ahead 14-7.

It looks like Romo might have injured his hamstring, but all indications are that he’s going to stay in. How effective he’ll be, well, we’ll just have to see.

Minnesota has done next to nothing on offense, and Peterson has been bottled up outside of his touchdown run, but those turnovers have kept them in it and given them a chance to win. As for Dallas, the offense is on pace for another 400-plus yard day, though the run game hasn’t been used all that much, as has been the case in the last few games.

0:28: Romo indeed stays in, and has the Cowboys on the move, completing two passes to Jason Witten, one to Marion Barber, and one to T.O. to get Dallas inside the Minnesota 40 with plenty of time still on the clock.

0:20: Romo throws his 30th pass of the half and completes it to Barber, but it goes nowhere, and Barber gets tackled in-bounds, so Dallas has to use their second timeout.

Halftime: Romo, under pressure, throws to Barber, which loses one yard and forces Dallas to use their final timeout. On third down, Romo completes a pass to Witten, and he gets it to the 32, so Folk will come on for a long field goal attempt, which misses wide left. So, the Cowboys have driven into Minnesota territory four times in five possessions and outgained the Vikings 250-77, and gotten 16 first downs to Minnesota’s five, but the Vikings go into halftime thanking the man above that they somehow have a 14-7 lead.

Now that I’ve had a couple of days to not think about the Cowboys’ loss to the Patriots, I’m back to give a little post, post, post-game analysis.

The 48-27 scoreline may well not do the game justice, as the Cowboys were in it until they took themselves out of it.

They could have very well taken themselves out of it early, as they got down 14-0 in the second quarter, but came back to pull within 21-17 at halftime, and even took a 24-21 lead in the third quarter.

But, the Patriots had a little bit more fight in them, and once they got back ahead, they didn’t let go of the lead, because while they limited the mistakes that they made, the Cowboys let mistakes spell the end of their chances. And, when you hand a team like the Patriots an inch, they go three miles, and once the machine got going, it rolled to a win that looks a lot easier than it was and should have been.

But, as disappointing as the loss was, both because it was a missed opportunity and because the unbeaten record is no more, it’s a learning experience more than anything.

And, hopefully, it’s enough of a learning experience that the Cowboys get back down to business and back up the ‘guarantees’ about seeing the Patriots again this season.

On to the real meat and potatoes of this entry - the analysis.

Offensive MVP: Offensive MVP: Julius Jones. If only he had gotten the ball more. He had some impressive, aggressive runs in the second half, and ran for 51 yards on eight carries. After struggling to really get going through the first several games, dealing with a few nicks, and with Marion Barber gradually getting the ball more, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jones’ confidence was down. But, it looks like the fire is back, and hopefully he carries that with him for the rest of the season, because the offense needs both he and Barber to be productive to be the best that it can be.

Defensive MVP: Defensive MVP: Is anyone really deserving of it? There were a few nice individual performances, even though the 48 points allowed overshadows most of them. CB Nate Jones had his best game, registering eight tackles (six solo, two assist), one sack, and forcing a fumble. Demarcus Ware also had his third straight game with a sack, as he picked up 10 tackles (six solo, one assist), one sack, and one forced fumble. Greg Ellis had the other Cowboys’ sack, which caused the fumble that Jason Hatcher returned 29 yards for a pivotal score in the second quarter.

Offensive Analysis: The offense started slow, gaining -4 yards on its first three possessions. But, on the next three, they had their spurt, gaining 212 yards and putting 17 points up. But, after that, the last five possessions yielded 27 yards and only three points. Suffice it to say, but that’s not going to get it done when the Patriots are almost scoring at will.

Even despite the defense’s troubles with slowing the robots down, the offense had ample chances to keep Dallas in it until the end, but when you shoot yourself in the foot, you give yourself no chance before the other team does it.

The turning point of the game was after New England had gone up 31-24. Dallas had a 4th and 1 at their 47 at the start of the fourth quarter, and Marion Barber easily picked up the first down on a run into Pats’ territory. But, an extremely unnecessary holding penalty by Kyle Kosier negated the first down and forced Dallas to punt.

Just four plays later, Tom Brady effectively put the game away with touchdown pass #5, a bomb to Donte’ Stallworth that made it 38-24. The game still wasn’t over, with 12 minutes still on the clock, and a 72-yard kickoff return by Tyson Thompson put Dallas at the New England 23. But, that drive only netted a field goal, which really wasn’t enough at that point.

The run definitely could have been established more. When Dallas did run it, they got some pretty solid gains (97 yards on 15 attempts - 6.5 yard average). But, when you’ve got two good backs, you need to use them. It means you have the chance to wear down the opponent’s defense, take control of the game, and give your own defense a much-needed breather in a shootout.

Defensive Analysis: Defensive Analysis: They would have had a nice game, had Brady not thrown for nearly 388 yards and five touchdowns.

They did well to get pressure on him a few times, including the forced fumble that was returned for a score, but Brady found ways to beat the pressure with quick throws.

Speaking of those quick throws, if the Cowboys defense does not work on defending quick, short passes, teams are going to be able to pick on them. The Bills utilized that strategy with their rookie QB, and the Patriots must have picked up on it and ended up using it with a heck of a lot more success, because, well, Tom Brady 100x> Trent Edwards.

Randy Moss’ production was limited, but that meant Wes Welker and Donte’ Stallworth were able to have big games. That’s the thing about a championship-caliber team - if one guy gets stopped, there are other guys to step up in his place.

But, the defense did a good job against the run for the most part, up until when the Patriots just started wearing them down, and the outcome became more decided.

In the end though, it goes without saying that it hurts to not have Anthony Henry in the lineup. The outcome may have been the same, and you definitely have to hand it to Nate Jones for stepping up and playing well, but you can never have enough quality players out there when you’re facing as deep and talented of a receiving corps as the Patriots now have.

Overall Analysis: Point blank - If you make mistakes against a team as good as the Patriots have been this year, you will pay, regardless of if you’re the Bills, the Bengals, or the Cowboys.

The penalties are going to have to be cleaned up, in a hurry. As confident of a team as the Cowboys appear to be, making unnecessary penalties is not a sign of confidence. When you truly are in that right mindset, mistakes like Kosier’s holding penalty can and should easily be avoided.

But, I’m not going to sit here and rip the Cowboys forever. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this game, and those lessons might be the missing link that separates Dallas from being a really good team and being a great team. When you see right in front of you an example of what you need to do to be a serious, serious contender, then the only thing you can do is learn and apply.

Sunday showed that there’s definitely still room for improvement (and little room for error, or injuries to key players), but Wade Phillips does have this team on the right track, and I’d like to think that he and the team now know what’s ahead of them and what they must do and what they must improve upon to be a Super Bowl team.

Looking Ahead

The guys don’t have any time to dwell, as they have a tough game against Minnesota coming up on Sunday. This will be the last game of October, as the Cowboys have their bye week the following week, and it will be the last home game until a Nov. 18 game against the Redskins.

The Vikings, while 2-3, are a dangerous, dangerous opponent, mostly because of one dynamic rookie. Adrian Peterson, a Palestine native, was the Vikings’ first round pick in April (7th overall), and has made a big impact early on, none more so than in a 34-31 victory over the Bears, where he tore Chicago‘s defense up for 224 yards and touchdowns of 73, 67, and 35 yards.

Peterson is the league’s leading rusher with 607 yards in five games, and he has four rushing touchdowns. He’s also proved to be a pretty good receiver, with 10 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown.

Peterson’s presence helps offset a passing game that’s among the league’s least productive. So, if the Cowboys can slow him down, that will put Minnesota in the uncomfortable position of having to throw the ball more than they’d like to.

Sunday’s game offers the potential for the offense to quickly get back on track and re-establish its dominance. The Vikings’ defense gave up 458 yards to the Bears on Sunday, with 375 coming through the air. Minnesota has the league’s worst pass defense (304.6 yards). But, they have the #2 run defense (66.2 yards per game), which might be helped by the fact that they played a couple of teams who haven’t had a lot of success running the ball thus far. Even if Tony Romo could have a field day, Jones and Barber need to see their fair share of carries, and if they do, it will no doubt pose a challenge for the Vikings’ (so far) stingy rush D.

Rebounding from Sunday’s disappointment with a win would send the team into the bye week with some positive momentum, which will help heading into a key stretch where the Cowboys face all of their NFC East foes in the first three weeks of November.

I’ll have an in-depth preview of Sunday’s game later on in the week, and hopefully, when I do this analysis next week, I‘ll be analyzing a sixth win in seven games.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys go for it on fourth down and easily get it, as Barber gets into New England territory on a run up the middle. However, an unnecessary holding penalty by Kyle Kosier on Tedy Bruschi negates the gain, and Mat McBriar comes on for the punt.

If there’s anything that has gotten in the way for Dallas this season, it’s penalties. Today, they’ve picked up a dozen, for 98 yards. If the Cowboys can’t win today, they’re going to look back at the amount of penalties and the third-down conversions they gave up as what hurt them the most.

12:21: The Patriots, as the Patriots do, make the Cowboys pay as Brady hits Stallworth for a 69-yard touchdown to extend the lead to two scores. New England has scored 17 unanswered points, and Brady has a career-high in touchdown passes with five.

12:08: Tyson Thompson ignites the crowd with a 72-yard kickoff return that puts the Cowboys at the New England 23. That’s instant momentum for you.

Romo quickly finds T.O. for 13 yards, and the Cowboys into the red zone in one play. It’s certainly not over folks, so don’t leave your seats, your couches, or in my case, your bed.

10:07: The first and goal play is a sack, and the second-down play gets the Cowboys a manageable third and goal from the five. But, Romo’s third-down pass to Hurd in the end zone is incomplete, and the Cowboys are forced to kick the field goal, which Folk makes from 23 yards out. Going for it on fourth down might have seemed like a nice idea, but it might still a little too early to have gone for it on fourth down and risk not getting anything. Dallas has all three timeouts, and there’s plenty of time left, so a quick stop gives Dallas a chance to come back and not have to hurry.

8:00: After a kick return by Welker give the Pats excellent starting field position at the 35, two completions to Moss get New England into Dallas territory, and a run by Faulk and a completion to Welker has the Patriots inside the 35. DeMarcus Ware got shaken up on the play, so we’re in a timeout right now.

If the defense can make a stand here and hold New England to another field goal, it’d still basically be the same situation as it would have been already, as Dallas would still need two scores. But, from the looks of it, Dallas might need three, if they can’t stop the run.

5:51: Moss unnecessarily pushes off on a touchdown catch, and the Patriots are pushed back from the 19 to the 29. The Cowboys are starting to look a little defeated now, but the clock hasn’t run out yet.

It doesn’t need much mentioning, but the absence of Anthony Henry is big. Brady might have had a big day anyway, but Henry would have at least helped provide some resistance.

3:59: The defense makes a little stand and keeps New England out of the end zone, so the Patriots can only increase their lead to 14. Monday night’s game shows that it’s not over until it’s over, but now it is, after Junior Seau picks off Romo on the first play of the drive.

While it’s going to be a disappointing loss for the Cowboys, it’s going to serve as a learning experience, because Dallas will know what they have to do and not do in order to be a championship-caliber team come January.

Going down 14-0 early on puts you in a bad position, no matter what personnel you have, and while Dallas’ comeback and the way that they never really were out of it until the end is commendable, it goes without saying that you can’t make mistakes or show your weaknesses in even one area against a team like New England and not pay for them, because a close game can turn into a whipping in a hurry.

But, Dallas should come out of this one much better, because, as I said, if anything, it should serve as a learning experience, and when it comes time for you to play the best of the best, the experiences, both good and bad, are big, if you take the right lessons from them.

The Patriots let one of their rookies get a late rushing touchdown, and that puts a capper on this one, as New England outscores Dallas 27-3 in the last 20+ minutes to remain unbeaten and hand the Cowboys their first loss. I’ll have my analysis later on.

10:24: Touchdown Cowboys! Romo executes the fake perfectly, and tosses one over the middle to Crayton in the back of the end zone for the score, and Dallas leads for the first time today.

It was a heck of a drive by the offense. Romo was perfect through the air, going 4 of 4 for 31 yards and the score, and connecting with Crayton three times for 25 yards. And, Julius Jones might have run better on that drive than he has all season long. He was down on that second carry, which went for 18 yards, but you might as well give him the yards, because he ran as hard on those two carries (25 and 18 yards) as you want to see him run.

9:30: It looks like the Patriots didn’t take too kindly to the Cowboys taking their lead, as they get a first-down catch by Moss and a nine-yard run by Kevin Faulk on the first two plays of the drive.

In injury news, Sammy Morris likely won’t be back for the rest of the game, which is a blow, considering Ben Watson is already out.

8:50: Welker makes a key grab on a third and one, and goes over the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career. With Moss not having a big day as of yet, and Watson out, Welker and Donte’ Stallworth are getting their fair share of opportunities.

7:00: The Patriots convert yet another third down, as Brady shakes off the pressure to find Jabar Gaffney for a first down inside the 30. They might as well take a knee on first and second down if they’re going to keep getting it on third down, no matter the length.

4:56: Key pass interference call on Pat Watkins, as he and Moss made contact in the end zone. The call moves it from the 16 to the 1, and it was a close call, but there’s no turning back now, as Brady finds Kyle Brady in the end zone for the one-yard touchdown.

On that pass interference play, it looked more as if Moss ran into Watkins as they went for the ball than anything else, but it might have been better for Watkins to have just stood where he was and let Moss run into him.

It looks lke Brady is going to log at least 50 pass attempts today. That could be a bad thing, if he continues to throw it well, but if they don’t get the run going, that puts the game squarely on Brady’s shoulders.

3:46: Me and almost every other Dallas fan watching the game just about had a heart attack, as Barber got pushed back and nearly got tackled for a safety, but somehow managed to turn it into a positive gain.

But, the drive fizzles as Romo throws two incompletions to Witten, and the Cowboys punt. The Patriots get a short field, as Welker returns the punt into Dallas territory. They immediately strike as Moss appears to make an incredible catch in the end zone for a zone for a touchdown. This one’s going to be reviewed, because it’s close. It looks like he might have gotten two feet in just barely, but a) the ball came loose when he hit the ground, and b) he may not have had full control as he went out of bounds on the right sideline.

And, vindication! The pass is ruled incomplete, as the ball came loose as he hit the ground, and the touchdown is off of the board. However, there was a roughing the passer penalty on the play, which takes the ball from the 43 to the 28. But, that’s a heck of a lot better than it being 35-24 right now.

2:14: The Cowboys make a defensive stand, as a first-down run goes for a loss, a second-down pass is incomplete, and a third-down pass goes almost nowhere. Stephen Gostkowski comes on for the 45-yarder and nails it to make it 31-24. All in all, not so bad, considering it’s still a one-score game, by the thinnest of margins.

2:09: Hard running by Barbers nets a 17-yard gain and a first down on the first play of the drive. If the Cowboys can continue to establish the run, the Patriots are in trouble.

:30: Big illegal shift penalty negates a 23-yard completion to Owens, and puts the Cowboys in a 2nd and 14 from the 34. The second-down pass is incomplete, and a third-down throw to Owens comes up a yard short of the marker.

Dallas quickly lines up as if they want to go for it on fourth and one, but the quarter ends before they can snap it. Going for the fourth down would be really risky at this point, but considering how well the offensive line is playing, then it’s not that much of a risk.

One drive can change the complexion of a game, and that may well be the case with Dallas’ touchdown drive at the end of the first half. It wasn’t a pretty first half, as Tom Brady shredded the defense for 213 yards and three touchdowns, but at the end of the half, Dallas is still very, very much in it.

New England dominated in the first quarter, putting together two touchdown drives. The first came after the Cowboys went three and out on their first possession, when the Pats went 74 yards in 14 plays, with the drive ending in a 6-yard touchdown from Brady to Randy Moss.

The second was a six-play, 69-yard drive that ended with Wes Welker catching a 35-yard touchdown pass.

That touchdown must have been what woke Dallas up, as they went 64 yards in 10 plays, and got a 38-yard field goal from Nick Folk to draw within 14-3. Within two minutes, the Cowboys were within four, as Greg Ellis hit Tom Brady at the 32 and knocked the ball loose, and Jason Hatcher recovered and took it 29 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-10.

The Patriots responded as the Patriots do and drove 72 yards in 12 plays, and got a 12-yard TD pass from Brady to Welker to make it 21-10. But, the Cowboys came right back down the field, and overcame penalties to get their first offensive touchdown. After a T.O. catch was ruled incomplete on 2nd and 5 from the 12 (when it should have been ruled complete, due to Ellis Hobbs pushing T.O. out when he had only one foot in), Romo tossed a throw over the pressure to a wide open T.O., who beat Hobbs and walked into the end zone.

So, a game that could have been over in the first 20 minutes is now up for grabs.

POSITIVES

It’s not over, by any means. The Patriots, for all their offensive glory, didn’t play at their best. Welker did make six catches for 94 yards, and had the two touchdowns, but he also fumbled twice, and there was the Brady fumble that led to the Hatcher touchdown.

And, while the Patriots defense did a great job of slowing Dallas down in the first quarter, Dallas woke up in the second and got themselves back into the game in a hurry.

NEGATIVES

The Patriots are 7 of 9 on third downs. Converting third downs helped them on all three of their scoring drives.

Keys to Second-Half Success

1. Keep the Pats from converting those third downs. If you get a team in a third and long, and they keep converting it, that makes it very, very difficult for you to have a chance.

2. Run the ball. The Cowboys had only seven rushing attempts in the first half, but did produce decently when they did, as Marion Barber had 27 yards on his five carries. Not only does the run make you less one-dimensional, but it also uses up the clock and breaks down the opposing defense, but also gives your defense a rest.

3. Pressure Brady. When you get some pressure on him, that means he is, believe it or not, as human as any other quarterback.

4. Win the battle of 81s, and utilize the targets the best. Moss had only the one catch, while T.O. came on late in the half and got three catches for 34 yards and the score. But, not only does T.O. need the ball, but Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton need to see the ball regularly. As for the Patriots, if you keep shutting Moss down, that can limit what Brady can do, especially considering TE Ben Watson might not be back for the rest of the game, and RB Sammy Morris is nicked up as well.

Okay, on to my second-half analysis, because the half’s already started, and I’m missing it trying to catch up.

It wasn’t pretty, it may not have been thoroughly deserved, and there will likely be some losses that look prettier, but in the end, the Cowboys found a way to win last night at Buffalo, and are one of only three 5-0 teams in the league.

It had to be an absolute gut-wrenching loss for Buffalo when they saw Nick Folk’s 53-yard field goal go through the uprights for the second time.

For the Cowboys, it was a sigh of relief, a moment of a jubilation, and a big gut check heading into a big game.

There’s a lot to be asked, said, and done between now and Sunday, but for a little while, we can ignore the first 59:58, and think of the sweet moment when Folk’s kick sailed through the uprights.

Offensive MVP: It was a sight, and not the good kind, to see Romo’s performance for 90% percent of the night. In the end, he did make the throws he needed to get the Cowboys in position to win. The ground game didn’t get anything going for the most part, but given the fact that Dallas had to play from behind from early on, that meant Romo had to keep throwing, even when that didn’t seem like a good idea.

Crayton, who made a couple of key catches down the stretch, is certainly deserving for the second straight week. But, there is one person, and one person only that should and will get it - Folk. Not only did he nail the game-winning field goal, but he also executed the pivotal onside kick and made a key 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half that pulled Dallas within 17-10 and gave them a little momentum going into the break.

Defensive MVP: DeMarcus Ware. Ware had an excellent night, collecting six tackles (five solo, one assist), 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and, in the fourth quarter, he made a leaping tip of a Trent Edwards pass that went right to Terence Newman, who returned it 70 yards.

Offensive Analysis: Anytime you throw five interceptions, even when you win, is not something to be proud of. Romo had an off, off night, missing receivers and making mistakes that made him look nothing like the guy who had shredded defenses in the first four games of the season.

Coming into the game, Romo was averaging just over 30 pass attempts per game, but put it up 50 last night. For the better part of the night, he stayed close to 50%, but ended up 29 of 50, and posting his fourth 300-yard game of the season, with the two completions on the final drive giving him 309 yards.

But, those five picks are a glaring number, and it’ll get the Romo skeptics and haters talking again.

But, you do have to give him credit for hanging in there, even when he wasn’t at his best, and making the plays that he needed to, when he needed to. Ultimately, the measure of a great, winning quarterback is the ability to overcome mistakes or subpar performances to help his team win.

As for the run game, Dallas had its lowest output of the season, picking up only 76 yards. But, due to Romo throwing it so much, the backs had their lowest number of attempts as well, with 22.

The one true positive, without any but’s coming after it, is the Cowboys converting 9 of 15 third-down situations, including 8 of 10 on the third downs.

Defensive Analysis: The rush defense had another solid performance, limiting Marshawn Lynch to 66 yards on 20 carries, and Buffalo to 81 yards total.

The defense allowed only three points all night, so they’ve now allowed only 13 points in the last three games, and 33 in the last four after allowing 35 in the opener.

But, Trent Edwards was able to burn them time and again with short pass after short pass. Edwards threw only a handful of passes longer than 10 yards, but kept getting positive gains from screens, dump offs, short slants and crossing patterns, and little tosses into the flat. But, it was a case of ‘bend, don’t break’ for the defense, as they held up when they needed to, and kept Dallas in the game even when the offense wasn’t returning the favor.

Overall Analysis: Like I said, we’ll likely see some losses prettier than last night’s win. But, it’s a win nonetheless, and you’ve got to be proud of the team for finding a way to win. After running all over the last three opponents, it was time for that nailbiter, the reality check before the reality check.

LOOKING AHEAD

Now, on to the hard part!

The Cowboys have a short week to prepare for the game against New England on Sunday. Point blank, Dallas is going to have play much, much better on Sunday if they don’t want to be beatdown victim #6 by New England.

The Patriots have had their foot on the pedal from the get-go, and have outscored their first five opponents 182-65. That’s an average margin of victory of 23.4 points per game. Tom Brady is on pace for one of the best seasons in NFL history, and has thrown 16 touchdown passes in the first five games. With three TD tosses Sunday against the Bears, he tied an NFL record with having at least three TD passes in each of his first five games of the season.

It’s going to be a matchup of the league’s top two offenses, as the Cowboys now rank first (429.6 yards per game) and the Pats second (427.6). But, New England also has the league’s #2 ranked defense, allowing 251.4 yards per game, is tied for first in turnover margin (+7), and third in points allowed per game (13.0).

As sharp as the Patriots have been, the Cowboys are going to have to find a way to force some mistakes (it is possible, rare, it seems, but possible), and more importantly, can’t make any mistakes of their own, because if they made the amount of mistakes agianst the Patriots as they did the Bills, it would’ve been over by the third quarter, if not sooner.

So, Wade Phillips, get your boys ready, cause it’s time for the big ‘un. Most people think the AFC is miles ahead of the NFC, and that thought is likely furthered by Dallas’ performance last night, but a win on Sunday would be big for the NFC, and for a team that has a lot to prove.

14:47: Romo can’t find Witten on the third down, and the Cowboys are forced to settle for a field goal yet again, and Folk puts his third three-pointer of the night through, from 37 yards out. Dallas is within a score at 24-16, and there’s at least a couple of possessions left. It is a MUST at this point to keep the Bills from scoring or even having a drive that takes up an extended period of time.

Even if the Cowboys come back to win this one, there are surely going to be several questions and concerns about the performance tonight. Romo has been nowhere near as sharp as he’s been in the first four games. He’s made a number of nice throws in the second half and been mistake-free, but he’s also misfired on a couple of key plays.

11:30: The defense is stepping up when they need to the most, making sure Edwards doesn’t have a chance to throw those short passes, sacking him on consecutive plays to put Buffalo in a third and loooooooooooong. Edwards’ shovel pass to Anthony Thomas doesn’t come close to getting the first down, and it’s punt time.

Brian Moorman’s leg gives Buffalo’s defense some breathing room, as he boots a 52-yarder. Crayton’s return has Dallas 73 yards from the end zone with 11:18 to play.

9:51: Romo’s fifth turnover is the night might be the one that does Dallas in. On a 2nd and 6 from the 46, Romo scrambled for a few yards, but Bills DE Aaron Schobel knocked the ball loose, and Kyle Williams recovered to give the Bills the ball at the Dallas 48. Unless the Cowboys can get a turnover, or push the Bills back again, even if Buffalo goes three and out or gets stopped quickly, the field position likely won’t be too favorable, and neither will the time on the clock.

6:05: And finally, the big play that needed to come does, as Terence Newman picks off Edwards on a 3rd down from the 11, and takes off the other way. Newman makes it to the 25 before Lee Evans knocks the ball away, but Jay Ratliff recovers it at the 17, and Dallas is back in it.

5:38: This is quickly staritng to be reminiscent of yesterday’s Falcons-Titans game. But, this time around, the Cowboys’ mistakes ARE going to cost them the game. Romo went for it all to Owens, but linebacker John DiGiorgio picked off the fifth pass of the night for the Bills, and just that quickly, Dallas’ potentially best chance went out the window.

3:58: The defense quickly forces a three and out, and the offense will have at least one more crack. But, they’re going to have to go 80 yards to have a shot at tying it up, as Moorman’s punt goes into the end zone.

Two-minute warning: Dallas is moving it again, and has it inside Bills territory, facing a 2nd and 2 from the 47 when the game resumes.

0:24: It’s crunch time, folks. Dallas has a first-and-goal at the 4 after a short pass to Barber turned into a 10-yard gain and a first down. Romo’s at 293 yards now, but how many yards he has won’t matter if the Cowboys can’t get these next four and then convert the two-point conversion.

0:20: Touchdown! Romo gets it to Crayton for the score, and it’s 24-22. Now, for the game’s most important play, a two-point attempt to try to tie it at 24. Two yards separate the Cowboys between a tie game and their first loss of the season.

And, it appears as if the latter will happen, as Romo’s pass for Owens is incomplete. I would have considered running it there, but the ground game hasn’t produced much tonight, so I don’t know if they wanted to go that route for the big play.

It’s not over yet! Nick Folk executes the perfect onside kick, and Nate Jones recovers. After an agonizing wait on the play to be reviewed, the play is upheld, and the Cowboys have one final chance to win it, with the ball at the Buffalo 47.

0:02: It all comes down to this, people. After a catch by T.O. was ruled incomplete, Romo completed passes to Marion Barber to Crayton to get Dallas to the 36.

COWBOYS WIN!: Nick Folk calmly drills a 53-yard field goal to apparently win it, and then, as we’ve seen in multiple games this season, the Bills get the timeout called, just before the snap. But, Folk has ice in his veins, and drills it again, with room to spare, and the Cowboys come from behind to score an amazing, miraculous, and strange, strange, strange win to improve to 5-0.

I’ll have full analysis on the game later on, and it won’t be all positive reviews, but I will be analyzing a win for the fifth straight time this season, and in the end, that’s all that matters.

10:28: The Cowboys have come out of the half moving the ball well, and have converted two third downs on the way to moving into Bills territory. They’re going to have to convert a third third-down play to keep the drive alive, as they face a 3rd and 8 at the Bills’ 43.

10:00: Patrick Crayton just made a big play on the third down to get the Cowboys into the red zone. Crayton caught a short pass and turned it into a 31-yard gain to move Dallas to the 12-yard line. Crayton had another first-down grab on a third-down play earlier in the drive.

9:15: Time for third-down conversion #4? Dallas faces a 3rd and 9 from the 11. But, they can’t make it four for four, as Romo underthrows Witten at the 5, and the Cowboys are forced to settle for a short field goal to make it 17-13.

You would have liked to get the game-tying touchdown right there, but coming out of the locker room and getting points on the first drive is a plus. Now it’s time for the defense to take care of business, and limit the effectiveness of those short passes that Edwards has thrown about 99.5 percent of the time tonight.

8:48: The defense didn’t have to exert themselves when Buffalo got the ball back. But, that’s because Terrence McGee took the kickoff three yards deep and took it all the way back for a 103-yard touchdown. The coverage team has given up a few long returns this season, but this one is, by far, the longest. When you’re trying to make your way back into the game, you can’t afford to let these kinds of things happen.

However, the momentum the offense has built from scoring on the last two possessions might quickly negate the impact of that return touchdown.

I will say this though: If you’re Trent Edwards, you should be beaming right now. The kid hasn’t had to overwork his arm, and even though he’s put only three points on the board, his defense and special teams have put him in a good position to win his second straight start. You know what they say - the best offense is a good defense.

7:31: The Cowboys just missed a big play, as Owens caught Romo’s long pass out of bounds inside the 25. That miss proves costly, as Romo underthrows Owens on another deep ball on 3rd and 8, and the Cowboys have to punt.

McBriar hasn’t had to work his leg much, as he’s punted only twice, with both kicks going well over 50 yards. The first one went 58, and this boot goes 55 yards, right through the end zone, giving the Bills the ball at the 20.

4:28: Edwards is using those short passes with amazing success, as he converted a third and long with yet another one, and has the Bills with a 3rd and short at the Dallas 42 with another short pass that turned into a decent gain. These guys shouldn’t be allowed to have the space to get yards after the catch.

3:33: Big play on the 3rd and 2, as the Cowboys aren’t fooled by the reverse and stop Roscoe Parrish in the backfield to force Buffalo to punt. Unfortunately, the drive took several minutes off of the clock, and following the punt, the Cowboys are going to have to start inside the 10 with time quickly running out of their comeback hopes.

End of the third: Romo has given the Bills a taste of their own medicine on this drive, as he’s completed a couple of short passes that were turned into first downs to help get Dallas into the red zone. The Cowboys will be facing a 3rd and 9 at the Buffalo 18 when the fourth quarter starts.

It was a pretty forgettable start for Dallas tonight, as the Cowboys started from the 2 on their first possession (following a Buffalo punt), and promptly handed the Bills the lead early in the first. On third and 10 from the 2, Tony Romo overthrew Jason Witten, and George Wilson was there to pick the pass off and return it 25 yards for a score.

Four plays into the very next possession, Romo was intercepted again on a pass intended for Witten. But, this time Angelo Crowell did an excellent job of jumping the route and getting a diving pick in front of Witten.

The Bills got the ball at the 44, but the Cowboys defense rose to the challenge and stopped Marshawn Lynch on a 4th and one at the 35.

Romo shook off the two early picks to lead the Cowboys to the game-tying score early in the second, as he completed 5 of 6 passes for 71 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown to a wide-open Witten to get Dallas on the board.

3:26: Unfortunately, rookie QB Trent Edwards has been sharp tonight, and led the Bills right back down the field. The Bills have smartly used a lot of short passes to pick up yards, and Edwards used several to complete 7 of 8 passes for 70 yards on a clock-draining, 15-play, 73-yard drive, getting the Bills in position for a chip shot field goal by Rian Lindell to make it 10-7, and that’s where we are right now.

3:00 - Actually no, that’s not where we are right now, as Romo just threw another pick six. A penalty on the ensuing kickoff put Dallas back at the 11, and on the first play, Romo’s pass was battled in the air, and picked off in the end zone by Chris Kelsay.

At this point, halftime is looking like a welcome sight, unless the Cowboys can get something going on this drive.

2:05: And, it couldn’t have come soon enough, as Romo threw interception #4 moments ago, with Jabari Greer being the lucky recipient.

This one seems to be getting uglier and uglier by the second. When you’ve completed seven passes to your guys and four to the other guys, and you’re still in the first half, you’re in need of some adjustments. As good as Romo has been so far, this is astounding - and not the kind of astounding he’s been in the first four games.

Two-minute warning: The Bills don’t look like they’re going to be putting on an explosive display on offense, but if these kinds of mistakes continue to happen, then Buffalo may well get a chance to wear down the D. As is, Buffalo has held the ball for over 18 minutes already, with Dallas having it less than 10. Something needs to turn around quick, otherwise it could be a pretty humbling (to say the least) nght for the Cowboys. Green Bay had a win in the palm of their hands against the Bears last night, but ruined their chances with turnovers and mistakes. It’d certainly take the wind out of the sails of this team to do that, and out of the much-anticipated matchup with New England on Sunday.

0:36: We’ve still a long way to go, so Dallas isn’t out of it by any means. The door just opened for the Cowboys to get a little momentum before the half, as the Bills just missed a 54-yard field goal, giving Dallas the ball at the 44 with half a minute to go before the break.

Halftime: And, there we go. On 3rd and five from the 49, Romo found Sam Hurd for 22 yards to put the Cowboys into field goal range. Since the last timeout was used after the first play on the drive (a rather curious run call), Romo had to spike it, and Nick Folk came on and booted through a 47-yarder to pull Dallas within a touchdown at the break.

It might have been the worst half Tony Romo will ever have, but that one completion to Hurd might have been what he needed to get things going in the right direction. The Cowboys will have the ball to start the second half, so they’re one drive away from having the game right where they want it.

After a slow start, another 300+ yard performance by Tony Romo, another fine performance by the ground game, and a dominant defensive showing led Dallas to a comfortable win over St. Louis and made the Cowboys 4-0 for the first time since 1995.

Romo posted his third 300+ yard game in four games, going 21 of 33 for 339 yards and three touchdowns, and he also added 24 rushing yards and a score. He was also involved in one of the game’s biggest plays. In the final minute of the first half, with the game tied at 7 and the Cowboys facing a third and three from midfield, Romo turned a potential disaster into a first down, recovering a kicked snap and scrambling four yards for a first down. It was only four yards, but it was the biggest four yards of the game, as the drive would capped off five plays later by a 15-yard touchdown run by Romo that put the Cowboys up for good.

And, the Rams would be put away early in the second half, as Romo threw two long touchdown passes to Patrick Crayton, and then tossed another one to Jason Witten late in the third for what would be the final margin.

The defense didn’t allow a touchdown, as the Rams scored their only points on an 85-yard punt return by Dante Hall that tied the game after a Julius Jones touchdown run.

The offense was clicking on all cylinders yet again, going over the 500-yard mark, as the Cowboys’ O racked up 502 total yards (171 on the ground). The defense held the Rams to only 187 yards and left the Rams offense feeling blue yet again.

Offensive MVP: Romo’s gotten it three games in a row, so it’s time to give it to someone new. And that someone is Crayton, who had a huge game, making seven catches for 184 yards and the two back-breaking touchdowns in the third, of 59 and 37 yards. With Terry Glenn still on the sidelines, it’s great to see quality contributions from Crayton and Sam Hurd.

Defensive MVP: The defense as a whole had a great afternoon, but there’s one player that deserves the award. Welcome back Greg Ellis! After a wait that was as agonizing for all of the fans as it was for him, Ellis made his return to the field, and made a huge impact, picking up 1.5 sacks. If there are any questions about his effectiveness following the long layoff, they were quickly answered.

Offensive Analysis: I think we’re all getting used to these performances by Romo. Maybe today’s kick and scramble will make people forget the bobble in Seattle. It’s easy to forget that he was actually tackled only a little bit short of a first down on that play, but a 4-0 record, 1,200 yards, and 11 touchdowns in four games make that a distant memory.

The running game didn’t get a big performance by a single person, but it was three backs who gained at least 47 yards (Jones - 13 for 52, Barber - 8 for 50, Tyson Thompson - 8 for 47), and it was an added bonus to see Romo moving well. Certainly a difference from the Drew Bledsoe and Vinny Testaverde days, right?

Defenisve Analysis: Ellis’ return, and Terence Newman’s cointinued return to health definitely make the defense a whole lot more formidable now, and it shows today, though the beat-up (and even more so after today) Rams might not be the fairest indication of how good the defense really is.

Overall Analysis: There’s no let-up in this team, and that’s what makes them so good. Anytime they’ve needed a play so far, they’ve gotten it. When the Giants pulled close multiple times, the offense had a response each time and put the G-men away. When the Dolphins took a third-quarter lead, the offense and defense took over the game, leading the way to 20 straight points and a second straight win. After the Bears tied the game at 10 in the third, the Cowboys scored on the next drive, and it wasn’t long before the win was signed, sealed, and delivered. And today, after Hall’s punt return tied the game at 7, Romo used the two-minute drill to perfection, and instead of the game being up for grabs in the second half, Dallas had a 14-7 lead going into the break, stopped the Rams on the first drive of the second half, and then blew it open with two touchdowns in three minutes.

LOOKING AHEAD

Next up, the Cowboys take their unbeaten record to Buffalo for a Monday night game against the Bills. The Bills got their first win of the season today, knocking off the Jets 17-14. Rookie Trent Edwards made his first career start in place of an injured J.P. Losman and gave the offense a huge lift, completing 22 of 28 passes for 234 yards and a score.

The Bills’ pass defense is giving up a ton of yards each game, and gave up 290 to Chad Pennington today, so that means that Romo could be on tap for yet another 300-yard outing.

It’s yet another one of those games that Dallas can’t overlook, as a showdown with New England is looming in two weeks, and both teams are expected to be unbeaten going into the game. But, as the Steelers found out today, it doesn’t take much to get knocked off of your cloud.

But, if the Cowboys continue to play as they have thus far, next week’s trip to the northeast will result in a fifth straight win and an unbeaten mark going into the season’s biggest test.

Turning Point: The Cowboys had taken a 17-10 lead with 1:18 left in the third on a Romo to Barber 10-yard touchdown pass, when the game completely turned in Dallas’ favor. Devin Hester had returned the kickoff to the 35, giving the Bears solid field position, and then Rex Grossman completed a pass to Cedric Benson for eight yards, setting up Chicago with a short second down. On that 2nd and two from the 43, Benson got the carry and had first-down yardage, but Remi (nope, not Akin, but Remi) Ayodele koncked the ball loose, and Roy Williams recovered at the Bears’ 45. Dallas got a field goal on the drive to make it 20-10, and then on the first play of the next drive, Anthony Henry picked off Grossman and returned it 28 yards for the back-breaking score early in the fourth.

Offensive MVP: Three games, three MVPs for Tony Romo. Romo threw for 329 yards and two scores tonight, and absolutely went off in the second half, going 13 of 18 for 185 yards and the touchdown passes. Through three games, Romo has thrown for 860 yards and eight scores. With games coming up against St. Louis and Buffalo, Romo’s got the chance to really pad the stats.

Props must go to T.O., who doubled his catch numbers and finally pushed over the 100-yard mark after coming close against the Giants (87 yards) and Dolphins (97 yards). Also, Marion Barber III went over 100 yards tonight, and got the majority of the carries, if that says anything about the running back situation. Jones has 124 yards and zero touchdowns through three games, and Barber has 256 yards and five total touchdowns, and is averaging over six yards per carry. Ideally, you’d like to see them both doing well, and you’d have to think that Jones is going to really get it going soon enough.

Defensive MVP: Anthony Henry. Well, well, is this the Anthony Henry of 2001 showing up? Henry has four interceptions in the last two games, after racking up another double pick night against the Bears. Henry already has more picks than he has had in any season since 2004, his last in Cleveland. With Terence Newman limited, it’s more than uplifting to see Henry playing so well. On the same token, it’s good to see Jacques Reeves still filling in nicely (six tackles tonight).

And, you also have to mention Roy Williams, who has interceptions in the last two games. And, DeMarcus Ware picked up his first two sacks of the season, and helped make Rex Grossman’s night pretty miserable in general.

Heck, just give kudos to the entire Dallas defense, which more than held their own on the field tonight. Games like these are proving grounds for how far this defense can go. Anyone who reads this blog knows how highly I think of the defense’s potential, and even with the injury issues, it looks like they’re starting to play up to it.

POSITIVES

Well, when your team has passed three tough tests, and looked pretty darn good doing so, there’s plenty to be happy about.

The offensive line has done a great job of protecting Romo and giving him time to throw and carve up defenses, and to give Barber holes to run through, around, and past defenders. And, not only is T.O. is being T.O., Jason Witten is being Jason Witten, and followed up a great opener two weeks ago by catching six passes for 90 yards and a score.

After a rough opener, the pass defense has seen a lot of improvement, even without Newman being 100 percent. Henry’s resurgence into a pickoff machine is huge, and Williams’ contributions are certainly a good thing.

The pass rush had a good night as well, as it forced Rex Grossman (then again, does he need much forcing?) into some bad throws and made him be the bad Rex Grossman. Ware finally got on the board in the sack department, so only 20.5 more to go for him. Anthony Spencer also had his best game so far, racking up five tackles and his first NFL sack (unfortunately, the one he got on Eli Manning on the two-point conversion doesn’t count in the official numbers).

NEGATIVES

The only really bad thing about tonight was the number of penalties. The Cowboys racked up a dozen penalties, which accounted for 100 total yards.

There were several key ones:

- In the first quarter, Dallas had a 2nd and three at their 47, when consecutive false starts on T.O. and Flozell Adams pushed them back to a 2nd and 13. On the second down play, Julius Jones lost two yards, and on the next play, Romo was picked off by Adam Archuleta.

- On the next drive, Romo and Jones hooked up for a 14-yard pass play that gave the Cowboys a first down at the 49. But, an illegal block penalty was called on Jason Witten, and the Cowboys would punt after going three-and-out.

- Early in the fourth, the Cowboys were up 17-10 and faced a 2nd and five at the Chicago 26. Jones got loose for a 22-yard run that put the ball at the 4, but Adams was called for a holding penalty that negated the first down. They ended up getting the first down, but had to settle for a field goal after a sack, a short run, and an incompletion.

In the end, those penalties only prevented the score from being worse than it was, so it’s not really a huge deal in terms of significance, but you don’t like to get that many penalties, even if you overcome them.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Cowboys return home to face the winless Rams next Sunday. St. Louis lost 24-3 to Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon, in a game that was close until the Rams’ mistakes came back to haunt them. Marc Bulger threw three interceptions, including two in Bucs territory (one in the end zone on a first and goal play), and Jeff Wilkins missed two field goals.

The Cowboys are looking great right now, and the Rams are looking bad, but that doesn’t mean Dallas needs to look ahead past this next game and the Bills game to the game against the Patriots in a few weeks. The Cowboys should be 5-0 when they face New England at home on the 14th, but they have to play these next two games first.

But, if the Cowboys continue to play as they have in the first three games, then they should take care of business.

Tonight’s win was a big win, and goes a long way to establish the Cowboys as the team to beat in the NFC. After the 49ers, Redskins, and Lions all lost on Sunday, only Dallas and Green Bay remain unbeaten in the NFC, and along with Indianapolis, New England, and Pittsburgh, are the only remaining unbeatens in the league.

Now it’s time to win the games that you’re supposed to. One week at a time, one week at a time, you know what they say…

After the defense was pretty absent for most of the opener, some adjustments undoubtedly had to be made going into Dolphins Stadium.

And, it appears that was the case. The Cowboys forced four turnovers in the second half, and capitalized on the first three to take command of the game, on the way to a 37-20 win.

It took a while for the defense to catch up, but when they did, they helped the Cowboys take control of the game and make Wade Phillips 2-0 as the Cowboys’ head coach.

After we got a taste of the quick strike offense last week, it was all about ball control for the Dalls offense in the first half. The Cowboys had the ball for only four possessions in the first half, but went into Miami territory on three of those drives, and scored on two of them, taking a 10-6 lead into the halftime break. The field goal drive lasted seven minutes, and the touchdown drive lasted 6:28, while the other foray into the Miami end went nearly four and a half minutes.

But, Green led the Dolphins to a touchdown right out of the locker room, and after the teams swapped punts, it was the Cowboys’ special teams taht swung the game their way.

Brandon Fields booted a 53-yard punt to the Dallas 16, but had to do it over again after an illegal formation penalty. Fields booted another 53-yarder, but this time, Patrick Crayton got loose and went all the way to the Miami 30, racking up a 49-yard return.

Three plays and a penalty later, the Cowboys were up to stay, after Tony Romo hooked up with Tony Curtis for a 2-yard score. That’s when the defense finally stepped up to help the Cowboys get a cushion. On the next drive, Green was picked off by Ken Hamlin, who returned the ball 35 yards to the Dolphins’ 15. Nick Folk put through his second field goal of the day to make it 20-13, and the lead would get stretched to 10 on another Folk field goal after Jay Ratliff’s fumble recovery set up the Cowboys in Miami territory for the third straight possession.

Then, in the fourth, the game was effectively wrapped up, after Anthony Henry picked off Green and returned it to the Miami 39. Romo hooked up with T.O. on a 34-yard score, and it was 30-13. After Green quickly led the Dolphins to a touchdown to pull them within 30-20, Henry recovered the onside kick, and one play later, Marion Barber put a stamp on the game with a 40-yard score.

Romo was 14 of 29 for 186 yards and two touchdowns, while Barber led the team in rushing with 89 yards and two scores. T.O. was T.O., making five catches for 97 yards. But, it was the five turnovers that made the biggest difference, and gave the Cowboys an early edge in the NFC East.

Offensive MVP: Tony Romo - It wasn’t as eye-popping of a performance as last week’s, but it was efficient. More importantly, he continued to show his abilities as a team leader. After two games, he’s on pace for 48 touchdowns. Don’t know if he’ll reach that mark, but I’ll take 30 or 35.

Defensive MVP: The rush defense and the secondary - The rush defense took a page out of the Redskins book, and stopped Ronnie Brown for the second straight week. After Brown was held to 32 yards last week, he was held to 33 yards this week, and the Dolphins amassed only 61 yards total, getting held to 2.9 yards per carry.

And, as for the secondary, four interceptions is impressive on any day. After they were a liability last week, they had to improve, and they did. True enough, Green did throw for 287 yards, but the four picks negated all of that.

POSITIVES

Well, they’ve pretty much all been listed. The defensive effort was something to be proud of, especially after the 35 points it allowed last week. Just think of what they’ll be capable of when Ellis and Newman return to full strength.

And, the offense showed that it didn’t have to rack up big time yards in order to put together a big game. When they got opportunities, they cashed in on them, especially in that stretch in the second half.

NEGATIVES

The margin might have been a lot bigger if not for penalties on multiple drives. In the first half, the Cowboys were in field goal range, when a holding call on a third down from the 32 took them back to the 40, and instead of having a field goal try, they were forced to punt after settling for a run on 3rd and 18.

Then, with the Cowboys up 20-13 and driving early in the 4th, Sam Hurd got called for an offensive pass interference penalty on what would have been a completion to put the Cowboys at the Miami 4. The penalty pushed the Cowboys from the 14 to the 24, and then a false start penalty on Marc Colombo pushed them back to the 29. Dallas was forced to settle for Nick Folk’s third field goal after Romo’s incomplete pass.

All in all, the Cowboys committed 11 penalties, which cost them 101 yards. But, the Dolphins helped the Cowboys out on a couple of possessions with penalties of their own, so you could say it evened out.

Looking Ahead

Dallas takes to the road for the second straight week, as they face a big one at Chicago next Sunday night. They’ll be on NBC for a primetime showdown for the second time in the opening three weeks, so all eyes will be Romo and the ‘Boys to go to 3-0 and keep the early success going.

The Bears are 1-1 on the season. They opened with a loss at San Diego last week, and evened their record with a 20-10 win against Kansas City at Soldier Field this week.

The first two games have seen the Cowboys face relatively soft defenses, but they’ll be going up against one of the league’s best next Sunday.

The biggest worry on offense might not actually be on an offensive player. Devin Hester, who is a cornerback by trade, is arguably the league’s best return man, in only his second year in the league. Hester had a 73-yard punt return for a score in the win over the Chiefs, and already has seven touchdown returns in his short career.

Rex Grossman has struggled in the first two games, throwing three interceptions and only one touchdown, so the pass defense will look to take advantage once again and give the Bears’ fans more reason to call for the former first-round pick’s head.

It’s going to be yet another huge early-season test, but judging by the first two games, the Cowboys will be ready and prepared for whatever comes their way.