Week 9 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 19, Washington Redskins 22

What you need to know

Dallas Cowboys

QB Tony Romo did things that Drew Bledsoe hadn’t been able to do…except win. Romo showed excellent mobility both inside and outside the pocket, avoided sacks by getting the ball quickly out to his receivers and committed no turnovers. He showed excellent poise and accuracy more often than not, giving his team opportunities to win. His performance certainly solidified HC Bill Parcells’ decision to make the controversial QB switch.

WR Terrell Owens posted decent numbers with seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, but he could have done much more. Owens bobbled and dropped a pair of clutch throws, including a perfectly placed Tony Romo pass that should have been a 75 yard touchdown.

WR Patrick Crayton played a big role in the Cowboys’ offense, catching four passes for 84 yards and drawing a pair of defensive penalties to extend Dallas drives. He was also targeted on the Cowboys’ first quarter two point conversion attempt.

Dallas RBs Julius Jones and Marion Barber III combined for 118 yards on 27 carries with Jones getting just under two-thirds of the yardage. Jones had four red zone touches to Barber’s zero, but neither RB found the end zone. Barber added 28 yards to his total with a pair of receptions.

Penalties killed the Cowboys on both sides of the ball and ultimately cost them the game. Dallas racked up 153 penalty yards including the 15 yard facemask penalty that added an untimed down to the game, allowing Washington PK Nick Novak the opportunity to win the game on a field goal.

Washington Redskins

Nobody on the Redskins played a very good game, but they managed to eek out a victory. QB Mark Brunell, without his big play WR Santana Moss, completed 61% of his 23 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t throw any interceptions, though Dallas missed a couple of really good opportunities to pick him off. The fumble on his stat line came on a high snap when Brunell obviously wasn’t ready for the ball.

RB Clinton Portis had a single big play that resulted in a 38 yard touchdown, but was otherwise shut down. He carried the ball 23 times, 19 of those rushes gaining two yards or less. On one first quarter possession, Portis was unable to score with seven red zone carries, five of which came from inside the four yard line. He also added one reception for nine yards to his total.

WR Santana Moss was inactive due to a hamstring injury giving TE Chris Cooley a chance to be the Redskins’ leading receiver. Cooley reeled in three passes for 66 yards and QB Mark Brunell’s only passing touchdown. WR James Thrash was the most active WR for Washington with three catches for 52 yards.

What you ought to know

QB Tony Romo, Pass: 24 - 36 - 284 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0

Romo posted a strong effort in his second start since unseating Drew Bledsoe. He didn’t record an official pass attempt until the 3:10 mark in the first quarter, but came away from the game with 284 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Romo moved well in and around the pocket, getting the ball out to his receivers early to avoid the blitzing Redskins defense. He looked very sharp running the hurry-up offense at the end of the first half and again at the end of the game, giving Mike Vanderjagt a chance to win it for Dallas with an outstanding pass to TE Jason Witten to set up the potential game winning field goal. It certainly looks like Drew Bledsoe will be riding the pine for the foreseeable future.

RB Julius Jones, Rush: 20 - 73 - 0

Things didn’t look good when Jones’ first carry of the day was stopped for a loss of one yard and a Redskins’ safety. He bounced back and posted 73 hard fought yards on 20 carries, but did not find the end zone. He had all of the Cowboys’ red zone carries, four, but RB Marion Barber continued to vulture valuable carries.

RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 7 - 45 - 0, Rec: 2 - 28 - 0 (3 targets)

Barber ran very well spelling Julius Jones throughout the game. He recorded 73 combined yards on nine touches.

WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 7 - 76 - 1 (10 targets)

Owens was targeted ten times, recording seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. There was opportunity to double his yardage and touchdown numbers in the third quarter when Romo landed a perfectly placed long ball on Owens’ hands, but he bobbled and dropped it, keeping a 75 yard touchdown off the books. Owens also had another clutch drop later in the game. He made a dumb mistake after his touchdown celebrating by laying down on the ground pretending to be asleep on the football making a joke about the news this past week that he had trouble staying awake in meetings. Because he went to the ground though, it was an instant penalty.

WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 4 - 84 - 0 (8 targets)

Crayton was very active in this game, catching four passes for 84 yards and drawing a pair of defensive penalties for big gains. He was targeted eight times, including an unsuccessful two point conversion attempt.

WR Terry Glenn, Rush: 1 - -8 - 0, Rec: 3 - 26 - 1 (5 targets)

Glenn had a quiet game, but did score a ten yard touchdown in the first quarter. He was targeted only five times and pulled in three catches for 26 yards.

TE Jason Witten, Rec: 5 - 50 - 0 (10 targets)

The starting TE caught half of his ten targets for 50 yards, but did not find the end zone. He continues to be a trusted target for Romo and caught a clutch pass right at the end of the game to set up the potential game winning field goal.

TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (3 targets)

The rookie TE caught a pair of passes for 16 yards.

PK Mike Vanderjagt 2 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points

Vanderjagt hit from 33 and 30 yards in the second quarter, but had the probable game winning 35 yard attempt blocked as regulation ran out.

DAL Rush Defense

The Cowboys’ run defense did its job very well on all but one play of the game. They gave up 104 yards to Redskins’ RBs, but 38 of those came when Clinton Portis took a pitch out around the left end and down the sideline for a touchdown. They held Portis to two or fewer yards on 19 of his 23 carries.

DAL Pass Defense

Dallas’ pass rush had a hard time getting to QB Mark Brunell, recording only one sack, but they did limit him to only 192 yards and a lone passing score. Unfortunately, the were flagged for several big pass interference and defensive holding penalties that gave the Redskins repeated second chances.

QB Mark Brunell, Pass: 14 - 23 - 192 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0

Brunell did nothing spectacular, but his team took the game. He certainly felt the absence of big play WR Santana Moss who was inactive due to a hamstring injury. Brunell connected for only 192 yards on 14 of 23 passing, but took full advantage of a plethora of Dallas Cowboy penalties. He completed only five passes to his wide receivers, choosing to focus more on TE Chris Cooley and his running backs. Cooley caught Brunell’s only touchdown pass.

RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 23 - 84 - 1, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets)

Portis was expected to see a lot of work with Santana Moss inactive and the game certainly started out that way. He had 11 carries in the first quarter, including seven red zone carries on Washington’s first offensive possession. Five of those came from inside the four yard line, but Portis was unable to score. He was averaging only two yards per carry until he took a little pitch out around the left end and down the sideline for a 38 yard touchdown near the end of the first half. Portis finished with 84 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.

RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 3 - 8 - 0, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (5 targets)

Betts had only 38 combined yards on six touches, but one was a 21 yard for a clutch first down.

RB Mike Sellers, Rush: 3 - 12 - 0, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (2 targets)

Sellers combined for 21 yards on five touches.

WR James Thrash, Rec: 3 - 52 - 0 (4 targets)

Thrash led Redskins’ WRs with three catches for 52 yards.

WR Brandon Lloyd, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (6 targets)

Lloyd caught only two passes for 26 yards, but had a 35 yard reception wiped out by a holding penalty. With Santana Moss inactive due to injury, one would have expected Lloyd to step up his game.

WR Antwaan Randle El, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets)

Randle El was targeted twice in the end zone on the Redskins’ first drive and drew penalties on both. He ran the ball once for nine yards, but did not record a catch.

WR Santana Moss

Moss was inactive in this game due to his injured left hamstring.

TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 3 - 66 - 1 (5 targets)

Cooley dropped a sure 20 yard gain in the first quarter, but made up for it with a nice catch for a touchdown on an under thrown Mark Brunell pass in the fourth quarter. Cooley led the Redskins in receiving yards with 66 on the game.

PK Nick Novak 2 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points

Novak missed the possible game winner from 49 yards out in he fourth quarter, but redeemed himself 35 seconds later hitting a 47 yarder after Redskins’ safety Sean Taylor returned a blocked Dallas field goal. He has made only two of five attempts since taking over for the injured John Hall, but the game winner should help him keep his job. Novak also hit from 28 yards out in the first quarter

WAS Rush Defense

The Redskins gave up 118 yards to the one-two punch of Julius Jones and Marion Barber III, but did not allow either to cross the stripe for a score. Of equal importance was the absence of a big play with both backs posting ten yards as their longest run.

WAS Pass Defense

The Redskins blitzed frequently and did a good job hurrying Dallas QB Tony Romo, making him throw earlier than he wanted to and hitting him often. The secondary was not as sharp, allowing the Cowboys’ veteran receivers way too much room to operate.