Week 15 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 38, Atlanta Falcons 28

What you need to know

Dallas Cowboys

QB Tony Romo bounced back in a big way after what was probably his worst performance last week since taking over as a starter. Romo was 22 for 29 for 278 yards and did a great job of spreading the ball around to all of his main receiving weapons in the game. He had two touchdown passes to WR Terrell Owens in the first half, including a beautiful 51 yard bomb in which he hit him in full stride. Romo probably played his best football in the second half as he rallied the Cowboys from a 28-21 deficit in the third quarter and lead them to 17 unanswered points. He directed three scoring drives and had 146 passing yards in the second half.

RB Marion Barber started the game slow only getting two carries for 14 yards in the first half. But he got the bulk of the carries in the second half and took full advantage of the opportunity by scoring twice. Barber had touchdown runs of nine yards and three yards in the second half. He also had 55 rushing yards on nine carries as he was Dallas’ primary ball carrier in the half. Most impressive was the way Barber ran the ball by punishing tacklers and fighting for extra yards on each run.

WR Terrell Owens had two touchdown receptions in the first half and added 69 receiving yards in the game. His first touchdown grab came on a nice one handed, seven yard reception early in the game with CB DeAngelo Hall on him with good coverage. His second touchdown pass came at Hall’s expense again as he beat him deep down the field and QB Tony Romo hit him full stride for a 51 yard strike. Owens and Hall were jawing at each other much of the game, and Owens admitted after the game to spitting in the face of Hall of during the game.

WR Terry Glenn had a nice game as he hauled in five catches for 96 yards, including 86 of his yards in the second half as Dallas came back from a seven point deficit and rolled off 17 consecutive points.

Atlanta Falcons

QB Michael Vick had an excellent game as he had a career high-tying four touchdowns passes on 16 of 24 passing for 237 yards. Vick started the game out slow and had a costly mistake early in the game as he had an interception returned by DE DeMarcus Ware 41 yards for a touchdown. But Vick rallied his team from a 14 point deficit and threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter. He played very well in the second quarter and made several big plays with his arm by sitting in the pocket patiently. Vick came out on the first drive of the second half and lead them down the field for a touchdown and got his fourth touchdown pass of the game. The Falcons went up 28-21, but then the Atlanta offense fizzled out the rest of the game. Vick set the league’s single season rushing mark for a quarterback with 975 yards after an 11 yard run in the fourth quarter breaking Bobby Douglas’ 34 year old record. He had 56 rushing yards in the game. Vick left the game with 1:24 left in the game with what was reported a strained groin.

RB Warrick Dunn did start the game despite a calf injury, but backup RB Jerious Norwood was inactive because of a knee injury. Dunn was kept in check for the entire game as he only had 56 yards on 18 carries, but he surpassed the thousand yard rushing mark this season, giving him his third consecutive season of a thousand rushing yards or more.

WR Roddy White had three catches for 104 yards and TE Alge Crumpler added five catches for 59 yards, but neither receiver caught a touchdown in the game.

K Morten Anderson became the NFL’s all-time leading scorer 2,435 points when he made his second extra point of the game midway through the second quarter.

What you ought to know

QB Tony Romo, Pass: 22 - 29 - 278 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - -1 - 0

Romo started the game strong going seven for nine for 64 yards and one touchdown in the first quarter. He led the Cowboys on an 11 play, 66 yard touchdown drive on their second possession of game. On that drive, he hit Terrell Owens on seven yard pass in the end zone on a nice pass he put over Owens right shoulder. Romo had a ball tipped on a third and short play and it was intercepted by Atlanta in the second quarter. The play changed momentum of the game as the Falcons eventually scored a touchdown after the interception and it got Atlanta back into the game. But Romo would come back late in the second quarter as he hit Terrell Owens again for another touchdown on a beautiful pass for 51 yards. He hit Owens in full stride showing his arm strength and ability to throw a great deep ball. Romo had an excellent first half going 11 for 15 for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

In the second half, Romo did a good job of moving the Cowboys’ offense as threw for 146 yards and didn’t have any turnovers. Marion Barber got both of Dallas’ touchdowns in the second half as the Cowboys ran the ball with a little more proficiency in the redzone. Romo did a good job of distributing the ball to many different receivers and finding the open man.

RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 11 - 69 - 2, Rec: 4 - 27 - 0 (4 targets)

Barber’s first carry was a 13 yard burst up the middle for a first down on Dallas’ second possession of the game. But he only had one other carry in the first half and finished with only 14 rushing yards in the half as Julius Jones got most of the carries. In the second half, the roles were reversed as Barber got most of the carries and he cashed in with a big second half. He had a great nine yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter in which broke a few tackles to get into the end zone. The Cowboys turned to Barber in the fourth quarter as he got all of the carries and ran the ball hard. He had some nice runs late in the game as Dallas tried to control the ball and clock late in the game. Barber had 38 yards rushing on the Cowboys last touchdown drive of the game and scored a touchdown on a three yard run. The drive was critical to Dallas’ victory as they ate up six and half minutes on the clock late in the game. Barber now has thirteen rushing and fifteen total touchdowns this season. This was another impressive performance by Barber who once again looked better then Julius Jones rushing the ball.

RB Julius Jones, Rush: 13 - 26 - 0

Jones had ten carries for 24 yards for a quiet first half. Atlanta did a good job of shutting him down for the most part in the first half. His best run of the half was a nine yard carry up the left side line for a first down. Jones gave way to fellow running Marion Barber in the second half as he only had one carry for two yards. Jones didn’t get the ball anywhere near the goal line and was out performed by Barber in the second half.

RB Lousaka Polite, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (2 targets)

Polite caught a nine yard swing pass in the flat for a first down in the first quarter. He added another 12 yard reception on another swing pass.

WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 5 - 69 - 2 (6 targets)

Owens scored his first touchdown early in the game as he came up with a seven yard pass in the back of the end zone. He made a nice catch as DeAngelo Hall was draped all over him. Late in the second quarter, he burned Hall deep and Romo hit him with a perfect pass for a 51 yard touchdown. Owens finished the first half with three receptions for 60 yards, and two touchdowns. Owens only had one catch for nine yards in the second half as the Atlanta defense did a much better job of containing him. Owens did have another dropped pass in the second half to add to his league high 15 drops this season. Owens and Hall were jawing at each other most the game and after the game Owens admitted to spitting in the face of Hall during the game. There were also reports after the game that Owens has possible ligament injury in one of his hands that he has been dealing with for at least a month now.

WR Terry Glenn, Rec: 5 - 96 - 0 (9 targets)

Glenn’s only catch of the first half was a ten yard reception for a first down on Dallas’ second possession of the game. Glenn would have a much more productive second half as he had four receptions for 86 yards. On a third and 13 play in the third quarter, Glenn came up with a big first down on a 22 yard reception. He caught another big pass on the next drive for 34 yards on play he got wide open along the left side line. Glenn caught a 19 yard reception in the fourth quarter on the Cowboys last touchdown drive. Glenn seemed to be Tony Romo’s wide receiver of choice in the second half as Owens got more attention by the defense after his second touchdown reception of the game. Glenn’s catches in the second half were a big part of a 17 point, unanswered run in the second half by Dallas that won them the game.

WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets)

Crayton caught a nine yard reception in the third quarter and it was his only catch of the game.

TE Jason Witten, Rec: 5 - 56 - 0 (8 targets)

Witten started the game well by catching a 19 yard pass on the Cowboys first series of the game. His longest reception in the second half was 13 yard catch for a first down. Witten had eight balls thrown his way and finished with respectable numbers in the game.

PK Martin Gramatica 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points

Gramatica made a 48 yard field goal in the third quarter and it would be his only attempt in the game. He did have five extra point conversions in the game.

DAL Rush Defense

The Cowboys did a good job of shutting down Warrick Dunn and containing Michael Vick just enough to get a ten point win. Atlanta had 127 yards rushing but 56 yards came from Michael Vick.

DAL Pass Defense

Defensive end DeMarcus Ware intercepted a pass and returned 41 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. The Cowboys sacked Michael Vick three times in the game. Defensive back Pat Watkins also got an interception off of Matt Schaub late in the game.

QB Michael Vick, Pass: 16 - 24 - 237 - 4 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 8 - 56 - 0

Vick got off to a shaky start to the game as the Falcons’ offense didn’t do much the first quarter. The Falcons tried to run a bootleg on the first play of the second quarter, but defensive end DeMarcus Ware did not bite on the play and was able to intercept the ball when Vick tried to throw the ball over his head. Ware returned the ball 41 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons got the ball deep in Dallas territory on the 12 yard line after a turnover. Vick ran the ball to the one yard line before being pushed out of bounds. He hit fullback Justin Griffith on a one yard touchdown pass on the next play. On the next possession, Vick was lined up in the backfield with fellow quarterback Matt Schaub and he received the ball on a pitch from Schaub. The Falcons ran several plays with both Vick and Schaub on the field. On the next play, Vick came back and hit Roddy White on 52 yard strike down the sidelines. Vick had a four yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins called back on a penalty, but on the next play he found Jenkins again wide open in the end zone on a nine yard pass. Vick drove the Falcons down the field late in the second half and found Griffith for a three yard touchdown, but the play was called back because of an illegal formation penalty. He came back on the next play and threw a laser to Ashley Lelie for an eight yard touchdown pass. This capped a huge first half for Vick who had 121 yards passing, three touchdowns, and 29 yards rushing.

Vick came out hot again the second half as he lead the Falcons on a 55 yard scoring drive on there first possession of the half. Vick found fullback Justin Griffith wide open again on a five yard touchdown reception on the same play he scored on in the first half. It was Vick’s fourth passing touchdown of the game and tied a season high for touchdown passes for him. He had a nice 20 yard run called back on a holding penalty late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Vick scrambled for 11 yards and in the process broke Bobby Douglas’ 34 year old record for rushing yards by a quarterback in one season. He would finish the game with 56 rushing yards. Late in the game with a little over a minute left, Vick left the game with an apparent groin injury. It seemed an odd time to go out of the game as the Falcons were down ten points and were trying one last desperate drive with less then two minutes left in the game. Vick didn’t seem seriously injured and appeared he could have finished the game.

QB Matt Schaub, Pass: 3 - 5 - 33 - 0 TD / 1 INT

Schaub was used on a few trick plays in the game where he lined up with Vick in the backfield. He completed a ten yard pass to Michael Jenkins on the last play of the first quarter where the Falcons lined Vick up in the back field and Schaub at quarterback. They tried this lineup again later in the first half and Schaub pitched to Vick on a sweep to the right. They used Schaub on a couple of other trick plays where they lined up Vick and him in the backfield later in the second half. Schaub came into the game with less then two minutes left to replace Vick who evidently hurt his groin.

RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 18 - 56 - 0, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (3 targets)

Dunn got the start despite nursing a calf injury coming into this game. The Falcons’ running game struggled in the first half as Dunn only had 19 yards on ten carries. The Cowboys did a good job of bottling up the Falcons’ run game as he only had 37 more yards on eight more carries. Dunn had two receptions for 19 yards in the game.

RB Justin Griffith, Rush: 1 - 15 - 0, Rec: 4 - 34 - 2 (5 targets)

Griffith caught two touchdown passes and had a third called back because of a penalty. Griffith caught his first on a one yard pass from Michael Vick for a touchdown in the second quarter. He had a second touchdown reception for three yards called back on a penalty in the first half. On the first drive of the third quarter, Griffith got his second touchdown on seemly the same play Atlanta had run twice before where Griffith simple rolled out into the flat to the left side of the field. He was wide open for his second touchdown and this time the play wasn’t reversed.

RB Jerious Norwood

Norwood was deactivated before the start of the game because of a knee injury.

WR Roddy White, Rec: 3 - 104 - 0 (5 targets)

White had a nice game as he was the recipient of Michael Vick’s two longest passes in the game. White caught a 52 yard pass down the sideline in the first half that set up Atlanta’s second touchdown. He also made a great catch late in the first half down the right side line as he dove for the ball and caught it before it hit he ground on a 43 yard completion. The play was especially impressive because he was interfered with by the defender on the play. White finished the game with 104 receiving yards.

WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 3 - 37 - 1 (5 targets)

Jenkins had a touchdown four yard touchdown called back in the second quarter on a penalty, but Vick came back to him on the next play and hit him wide open in the end zone for a nine yard touchdown reception. Jenkins had three catches for 37 yards in the game.

WR Ashley Lelie, Rec: 2 - 17 - 1 (4 targets)

Lelie caught his first touchdown pass of the season on an eight yard pass from Michael Vick late in the first half. In the second half, he caught a nine yard pass and then limped off the field after the catch. Lelie did not have anymore receptions in the game.

TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 5 - 59 - 0 (8 targets)

Crumpler had a slow start to the game as he only had one catch in the first half for eight yards. He had a 26 yard completion in the third quarter on a nice catch that was bit under thrown. He added another three receptions for 25 yards in the fourth quarter as the Falcons tried to rally from a ten point deficit.

PK Morten Andersen 0 - 0 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points

Anderson had four extra points in the game, but did not have any field goal attempts. On Anderson’s second extra point of the game in the second quarter he became the NFL’s all-time leading scorer with 2,437 points, breaking Gary Anderson’s previous mark.

ATL Rush Defense

Atlanta’s defense did a good job of containing the Dallas’ run game in the first half, but gave up two rushing touchdowns to Marion Barber in the second half.

ATL Pass Defense

Michael Boley intercepted a deflected Tony Romo pass and returned to the Dallas 12 yards line. The turnover set up Atlanta’s first touchdown of the game. Defensive tackle Rod Coleman had both of Falcon’s sacks in the game.