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Week 5 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 25, Buffalo Bills 24
What you need to know
| Dallas Cowboys |
Playing before a fired up crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the Cowboys committed six turnovers, two of which were returned for TDs, and they also gave up a long kickoff return for a TD. Yet incredibly, they staged a last minute comeback to pull out the victory.
QB Tony Romo had a disastrous night, turning the ball over four times in the first half and six times for the game. He threw the ball accurately at times, finished with over 300 yards, and directed two last minute scoring drives to pull out the win. But it's impossible to say he played well given the turnovers.
RB Julius Jones had one decent run (15 yards), but he was bottled up most of the night by the Buffalo front seven and did not get involved in the passing game. RB Marion Barber did not find any more room to run than Jones, but he came up with six receptions, four of them in the final two Cowboys scoring drives.
TE Jason Witten was by far the most targeted Cowboys receiver and finished with over 100 receiving yards. He pulled down a second quarter TD reception as well as several clutch grabs late in the fourth quarter. WR Patrick Crayton also played the hero, scoring the late Dallas TD and shagging the final sideline pass from Romo to set up the dramatic game winning field goal. WR Terrell Owens came up small in this game and had a couple of second half drops.
PK Nick Folk was stellar as usual, converting all of his place kicks, including the game winner (twice) as time ran out. Overall, though, the Cowboys special teams did not have a great night, as they could not break off any long returns, and also gave up a 100+ yard kickoff return for a TD. The Dallas defense yielded only three offensive points and made enough plays to keep their team in the game despite the rash of turnovers by the offense.
| Buffalo Bills |
The Buffalo offense played conservatively, ultimately too conservatively, and produced only a single field goal in sixty minutes of action.
Rookie QB Trent Edwards played ball control and had some success moving the chains, but the Bills offense frequently stalled and ultimately accounted for only three points on the night. Edwards stood up well in the pocket, despite facing a variety of Cowboy blitz packages, and he usually found a way to get rid of the ball before getting hit (though he was sacked three times). Edwards took care of the ball for three and a half quarters, but he tossed a disastrous INT late in the game, killing a Buffalo scoring drive that could have clinched a Bills victory.
RB Marshawn Lynch was very involved in the passing game, and he also ran hard, though his final totals don't show it. The rookie showed some elusiveness and wiggle, but overall, he was contained pretty well by the Dallas front seven.
WR Lee Evans did not break out of his slump and accounted for only one second quarter reception. WR Josh Reed, filling in for the injured Peerless Price, was fairly active and finished with five grabs. Starting TE Robert Royal had his busiest game of the year, serving as Edwards' safety valve and coming up with several big catch and runs.
PK Rian Lindell made one out of two field goal attempts, but his long range miss late in the second quarter provided the Cowboys an opportunity to kick a field goal of their own just before halftime.
The Buffalo special teams had a great night, producing a 103 yard TD return by Terrence McGee, and also surprising the Cowboys on a fake punt that resulted in a first down run by P Brian Moorman. The Bills defended the run better than expected, and they put occasional pressure on Tony Romo, though they did not come up with a sack. The big story of the game was the six Cowboys turnovers, which, incredibly, were not enough to secure a win for the Bills.
What you ought to know
| QB Tony Romo, Pass: 29 - 50 - 309 - 2 TD / 5 INT, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 |
Romo had a very shaky game, despite the decent stat line. He threw INTs on his first two passes, the first of which was returned for a TD. He threw two more picks on consecutive possessions in the second quarter, the second one also resulting in a Buffalo TD. He settled down a little after that, but the turnover bug bit him again in the fourth quarter as he once again gave up the ball on consecutive possessions. And believe it or not, it could have been worse, as Bills defenders whiffed on two other passes that could have been INTs, including a drop by Terrence McGee in the final minutes that would have sealed the Buffalo victory. Yet somehow, despite all the adversity and mistakes, Romo managed to lead the Cowboys to two scores in the final 20 seconds to pull out the win. He struggled on occasion with the Buffalo pass rush, but the disturbing thing about his INTs is that he usually had plenty of time to throw. Romo was forced to scramble a couple of times, and on his last run he fumbled the ball away. Romo ultimately threw to seven different receivers, but Jason Witten was his favorite target by far. WR Patrick Crayton was also quite active, especially in the second half, but Romo seemed out of synch with Terrell Owens the entire evening. RB Marion Barber got most of his looks late, as the Cowboys were scrambling to pull out the win.
| RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 8 - 28 - 0, Rec: 6 - 45 - 0 (7 targets) |
Barber ran hard and with his usual determination, though his owners may have been expecting better production given the propensity of the Buffalo defense to surrender lots of yards on the ground. The fired up Bills defenders attacked the line of scrimmage all night, and the Cowboy backs had a tough time finding room to run. Barber was stuffed for two yards or less on five of his eight carries, but he did make a couple of decent gains when he was able to escape initial contact. Five of his seven pass targets came in the last two drives of the game, as Romo was moving his team in position to win.
| RB Julius Jones, Rush: 12 - 41 - 0 |
Jones started at tailback, and though he ran with some pop, he was unable to exert his will on the Buffalo defense. It was not really Jones' fault, though, as he frequently had no place to run. The Bills defense stuffed Jones for two yards or less on half of his carries, and they very nearly trapped him in the end zone for a safety on the first two plays of the game. The former Notre Dame star was not involved at all in the passing game, and he had only one carry after the first Cowboys drive of the second half. It appears (from this game at least) that when the Cowboys are playing catch up, they prefer to have Marion Barber on the field.
| RB Deon Anderson, Rec: 4 - 39 - 0 (4 targets) |
The rookie Anderson started at FB for the injured Oliver Hoyte. He did not have a rushing attempt but did catch all four balls thrown his way, picking up 17 yards on one of them.
| RB Tyson Thompson |
Thompson was used exclusively for returning kickoffs. He averaged 21 yards on four returns.
| WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 6 - 73 - 1 (9 targets) |
Crayton was fairly involved in the passing game, especially late (five of his targets came in the final quarter). His TD catch came with 20 seconds remaining, and he also made a huge sideline grab on the Cowboys' final offensive play, setting up the game-winning field goal.
| WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (10 targets) |
Owens was active in this game, but overall he wasn't much of a factor, as Romo seemed to have difficulty finding him. Owens did have two opportunities in the last 20 seconds to make a game-changing catch, but he could not execute either attempt. The first came on a two-point conversion try to tie the game, but the ball was stripped out of Owens' hands on a great play by CB Jabari Greer. The second play was initially ruled a catch and would have set up a game-winning field goal attempt, but replays showed that Owens dropped the ball. Owens also dropped one other catchable ball in the third quarter.
| WR Sam Hurd, Rec: 1 - 22 - 0 (3 targets) |
Hurd saw the field when the Cowboys ran three WR sets. His one catch was a big one, as it set up a Dallas field goal on the last play of the first half. Hurd was also targeted once in the end zone, a play that was broken up by CB Terrence McGee.
| TE Jason Witten, Rec: 9 - 103 - 1 (15 targets) |
Romo looked for Witten all night, perhaps a little too often, as three of the Bills INTs came on passes intended for the Cowboy tight end. (Romo's first two passes of the game, both INTs, were both intended for Witten.) Not to criticize Witten, though--he played a terrific game and gave the Bills linebackers fits all night. His second quarter TD grab was a thing of beauty, as he broke away from the coverage and caught the ball on a dead run. He showed in this game why he is so the man in this pass offense.
| TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Fasano, the second year tight end out of Notre Dame, caught a short pass in the third quarter.
| PK Nick Folk 4 - 4 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 13 points |
Folk was perfect, converting all four of his field goal attempts (including the game-winner from 53 yards--twice!) and all of his extra points. Folk also did a great job executing an onside kickoff with 20 seconds remaining, which the Cowboys recovered to pull out the win. He planted two of his other four kickoffs in the end zone.
| DAL Rush Defense |
The Cowboys rush defense did a good job containing a fired up RB Marshawn Lynch, and most importantly, they kept the Cal rookie out of the end zone. SS Roy Williams (7 solo tackles, 2 assists) frequently helped in run support and led all Cowboys tacklers.
| DAL Pass Defense |
The Cowboys pass rush kept steady pressure on Trent Edwards most of the night. They sacked the rookie QB three times and hit him a number of times right after he threw the ball. The Cowboys secondary succeeded in taking playmaker Lee Evans out of the game, and most of Edwards' completions were dinks and dunks to secondary receivers.
| QB Trent Edwards, Pass: 23 - 31 - 176 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0 |
Considering he was playing in only his third NFL game against an undefeated team in front of a national audience, Edwards' performance was pretty solid. He hurried his throws at times, especially in the first quarter, but he held up well under pressure and frequently got the ball away just in time to avoid a sack. He was hit hard at least a half dozen times in this game, but it did not seem to rattle him. Edwards spread the ball around and did not favor any particular receiver. He took very few chances throwing the ball, and most of his completions were dump offs to his running backs and tight ends. Edwards had no turnovers until the fourth quarter, when he threw an ill-advised pass to Lee Evans that was picked off and nearly returned for a TD. Edwards also fumbled the ball on a fourth quarter sack, though he recovered it. Despite the numerous opportunities presented by Cowboys turnovers, not to mention the relentless praise being heaped upon him by the game announcers, the bottom line is that Edwards did not get his team in the end zone, and the Buffalo offense accounted for only three points.
| RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 20 - 66 - 0, Rec: 2 - 32 - 0 (5 targets) |
As expected, Lynch was the focal point of the Bills offense. He ran hard and busted off a few good runs (including a 15 yarder to open the game), but more often than not he was unable to evade initial contact by the Dallas defenders. The telling stat: Lynch was held to two yards or less on 14 of his 20 carries. He did have two red zone carries, though he didn't come close to scoring a TD. Lynch was somewhat involved in the passing game, especially as a safety valve for Trent Edwards, and he was able to break off a 23 yard gain on a nice catch and run. He also dropped a catchable ball on the first series of the game.
| RB Dwayne Wright, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Wright, a rookie from Fresno State, came up with a short fourth quarter catch and also had one carry in the final stanza.
| RB Anthony Thomas, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (2 targets) |
Thomas did not have a rushing attempt, but he caught both balls thrown his way and did a very good job pass blocking for Edwards.
| WR Roscoe Parrish, Rush: 1 - -3 - 0, Rec: 6 - 37 - 0 (6 targets) |
Parrish caught every pass thrown his way, including one red zone look. He also came up with a 12 yard reception for a first down on third and ten.
| WR Josh Reed, Rec: 5 - 35 - 0 (6 targets) |
Reed started for the injured Peerless Price and showed good hands, catching nearly every pass thrown his way in a possession role.
| WR Lee Evans, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (4 targets) |
Evans continued his fantasy slump, accounting for only one first half catch. Trent Edwards took very few chances throwing the ball and seemed content to check down to his RBs and TEs; this is undoubtedly a big reason why Evans was a non factor in the pass offense. Evans' best play came in the fourth quarter when he ran down Dallas CB Terence Newman after an INT and forced a fumble.
| TE Robert Royal, Rec: 4 - 34 - 0 (5 targets) |
Edwards looked for Royal in several key situations, and the big tight end came up with a couple of nice catch and runs. Royal had a 26 yard reception called back that would have given the Bills a first down at the Dallas 12 yard line with less than two minutes left in the first half.
| TE Michael Gaines, Rec: 2 - 6 - 0 (2 targets) |
Gaines is a backup tight end, and he caught a couple of short passes from Edwards.
| PK Rian Lindell 1 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points |
Lindell missed a 54 yard field goal near the end of the first half that put Dallas in position to drive down the field for a last second field goal. Ironically, Buffalo was initially going to punt, but Dallas called a time out, and after thinking it over, the Bills decided to send out Lindell instead.
| BUF Rush Defense |
The Bills did a good job holding RBs Julius Jones and Marion Barber in check. The Bills front seven, led by MLB John DiGiorgio (7 solo tackles, 2 assists, 1 INT), attacked the line of scrimmage and prevented the Cowboys from controlling the clock.
| BUF Pass Defense |
The depleted Bills secondary was scorched by Jason Witten, but it's hard to find too much fault considering they came up with so many turnovers (including three INTs on passes intended for Witten). The Bills DBs kept Terrell Owens from going off and also made a couple of great plays in the end zone to prevent a TD catch and a two-point conversion.
