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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at SEA | BAL at NYG | CHI at GB | CLE at BUF | DAL at WAS | DEN at ATL | DET at CAR | HOU at IND |
| MIN at TB | NO at KC | NYJ at NE | OAK at MIA | PHI at CIN | SD at PIT | STL at SF | TEN at JAX |
Week 11 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 14, Washington Redskins 10
What you need to know
| Dallas Cowboys |
QB Tony Romo returned and played well enough to win. It was obvious that he was still being hindered by the splint on his pinky. He had a couple of throws come out a little bit funny and wobbly. On the first interception he threw he woefully under threw Owens and it went right to the awaiting arms of DeAngelo Hall. For the most part though, the Cowboys team looked like an improved offensive unit and kept the Washington defense respecting both the run and pass. The Cowboys had averaged under 200 yards of total offense in their games while Romo was out. On the night, Romo put up a modest stat line but was reasonably effective at moving the team.
Marion Barber had a good game and was a big factor in the outcome. He scored a touchdown, racked up 114 yards on the ground and helped run out the clock late in the game and Dallas nursing a small lead. Barber was much more active in the passing game then usual and hauled in six grabs and was the Cowboys leading receiver as well.
Miles Austin appears to be getting more playing time then Patrick Crayton. He was often on the field for three wide sets with both Williams and Owens. The targets for Austin were four to Crayton's one. This could signal a change in how the Cowboys run their offense and bears watching. Austin provides more speed and has really improved his pass catching abilities. He made a key third down catch in the fourth to set up the winning touchdown later on the very next play.
| Washington Redskins |
Jason Campbell was under fairly heavy pressure for most of the game. He was sacked three times on the game and struggled to get the ball down field. There were very few deep attempts in the game. Campbell did throw a touch down pass to his FB Mike Sellers to cap an impressive opening drive that gave the Redskins an early lead.
Clinton Portis played after most sources had him as not likely to go. It would appear that Portis and head coach Jim Zorn perhaps bent the truth about the severity of his Week 9 knee injury. During the lead up to the game it was being called a grade two MCL sprain. In any event, Portis showed no ill effects and ran the ball effectively right out of the gate.
Santana Moss has been a Cowboy killer in past games against Dallas. Not so, this time. The Cowboys defense and especially Terrance Newman did a solid job of limiting his catches and his after the catch abilities.
What you ought to know
| QB Tony Romo, Pass: 19 - 27 - 198 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - -3 - 0 |
Not a bad first start back for Romo. He had a mixed game with some errors and also with some signs that he is capable of making all of the necessary throws. The Cowboys seemed content with throwing lots of check downs to Barber early on. This was likely done to get Romo some feel for the ball early on in the game. There were signs of rust and that the pinky is still bothering him some. He was picked by Hall to halt a drive deep in Redskins territory, he under threw Owens badly after double pumping. Romo had two interceptions on the day. On a positive note, he seems to be developing a good chemistry with newly acquired Roy Williams. The two hooked up for some decent gains. The high-light of the game for Romo was his shovel pass in the fourth quarter to Miles Austin after successfully avoiding the Redskins pass rush. It was very Favre like. On the very next play he hit a streaking Martellus Bennett for the winning touchdown.
| RB Marion Barber, Rush: 24 - 114 - 1, Rec: 6 - 39 - 0 (7 targets) |
Barber had six catches on the day on top of his 114 yards running. Needless to say, Barber was a difference maker. Early in the game he caught a lot of short catches out of the backfield. He also had a fumble early on in the game that he luckily recovered himself. Barber was running hard and getting some decent blocking. It was apparent the Cowboys were attacking the Skins on the edge throwing multiple sweeps and toss plays. In the second quarter he powered in for a score from two yards out which was challenged by the replay officials and the touchdown was upheld. Late in the game Barber and the Cowboys used lots of power run sets with two full backs and hammered away at a tired Washington front seven . Barber showed his smarts on one run where he fell to the ground to avoid going out of bounds and stopping the clock. It was a big gain and his decision saved the Cowboys an additional 35 seconds.
| RB Tashard Choice, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0 |
Spelled Barber for a couple plays during the course of the game. He only got the one carry for six yards. He showed some speed and wiggle on his lone run.
| WR Terrell Owens, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 5 - 38 - 0 (9 targets) |
Owens was the most targeted player for the Cowboys. He also ran a double reverse that netted maybe one yard. Of note, both of Tony Romo's interceptions were in Owens' direction. The first was a poorly throw ball by Romo and the second was the result of Owens batting the ball in the air in an effort to make a catch in traffic. The Cowboys did a much better job motioning Owens to allow him a free release off of the line of scrimmage. This allowed Owens to beat the press coverage and have some success catching passes while running crossing patterns. His best catch of the game came on a deep cross route over the middle, which he almost scored on. This reception set up the Marion Barber two yard touchdown run right before the half. Owens also had two drops in this game.
| WR Roy Williams, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (3 targets) |
Williams and Romo seem to have a good rapport and feel for each other in the couple of throws that they hooked up on. Williams showed good after the catch abilities on a one step drop quick hit pass. The play went for ten yards. The other action Williams saw was a quick slant and a deep out pattern, both receptions went for first downs.
| WR Miles Austin, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (4 targets) |
During this game Austin saw the field a little more then in past games so far. He made some clutch possession type receptions on third down. The first one was a well run corner route where he showed nice hands to make the reception. His last catch of the game on a third and seven set up the eventual winning touchdown. It is possible that he may see more playing time going forward and may have passed Crayton on the depth chart. It will be worth watching.
| WR Patrick Crayton (1 targets) |
Miles Austin cut into Crayton's playing time. He was targeted only once on a deep sideline pass that was over thrown by Tony Romo.
| TE Jason Witten, Rec: 2 - 34 - 0 (3 targets) |
His first catch of the game came at the two minute warning for 28 yards. He dropped what would have been a big gain in the fourth quarter. His ribs are likely still a factor in his stat line although he did block quite well for Marion Barber.
| TE Martellus Bennett, Rec: 1 - 25 - 1 (1 targets) |
A couple of plays following a rare Jason Witten drop, the rookie Bennett made a tough catch in traffic for a 25 yard touchdown. It was a pretty play.
| PK Nick Folk 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Folk converted both of his extra point attempts.
| DAL Rush Defense |
After a shaky start where Portis and the Redskins moved the ball at will, the Cowboys defense settled in. Portis and the Redskins were held to just 92 yards.
| DAL Pass Defense |
The pass rush was able to generate good pressure throughout the game and this netted three Dallas sacks. Two of the sacks were by Jay Ratliffe and one by DeMarcus Ware. The Redskins were held to just 136 passing yards.
| QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 22 - 34 - 162 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 22 - 0 |
Campbell was under constant pressure when he dropped back to pass and he also had a couple of his passed deflected. Many of his passing plays were designed roll outs to the right to avoid Ware. These plays almost always went to tight end Chris Cooley. Campbell had an excellent gain on a third and long draw that went 23 yards before he ran over Pat Watkins of the Cowboys. He and receiver Santana Moss never really got untracked and were bogged down. Most of the success the Redskins had was with dump offs and screens.
| RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 15 - 68 - 0, Rec: 2 - 6 - 0 (2 targets) |
Despite not practicing and being expected to miss the game, Portis showed no signs of any injury. He was running with speed and in power running formations. The sweeps were working very well early in the game. Many of his most successful runs were to the left side of his line.
| RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (2 targets) |
Betts was not able to gain much on the ground in limited action. He did have a couple of nice receptions where he made some defenders miss in the open field and he punished the eventual players who tackled him.
| RB Mike Sellers, Rec: 2 - 15 - 1 (2 targets) |
Sellers capped off the opening drive with a two yard touchdown reception. He scored on a play action fake where Campbell rolled out to the right and Sellers beat Bradie James to the flat. Easy pitch and catch for the score.
| RB Shaun Alexander, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 |
Alexander had one carry for one yard when Portis came out of the game after appearing to be banged up. Portis returned on the next series.
| WR Santana Moss, Rec: 5 - 29 - 0 (11 targets) |
The game plan for the Redskins seemed similar to the first time these two teams played. The plan seemed to be very simple, run the ball with Clinton Portis and attack corner Terrance Newman. Newman and Moss battled all night long with Moss losing more then he won. Moss caught five of his 11 targets for only 29 yards. Most of his catches on the day were slant routes and wide receiver screens. Campbell threw a deep to Moss were he had Newman by a half step but the ball was dropped.
| WR Devin Thomas, Rec: 3 - 14 - 0 (5 targets) |
Thomas made a couple of nice short catches, one of them for a first down. He seemed to replace Randle El when he came out. Thomas also had a dropped a third down pass.
| WR Antwaan Randle El, Pass: 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rec: 1 - 24 - 0 (3 targets) |
It was not the best night for Randle El, it started with a drop on third down. His next action was an end around where he then passed the ball. The play was much like his touchdown from the Super Bowl. This pass however was just thrown out of bounds. Later in the game he left the game with an injury. Cameras caught him receiving some treatment on his left ankle from the trainers.
| TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 7 - 47 - 0 (9 targets) |
Cooley was the leading Redskins receiver with seven balls and 49 yards. Many of his catches were on plays with rolls outs and play action. He and Campbell had some solid gains with screen plays.
| PK Shaun Suisham 1 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Suisham scored four points with a successful extra point and 40 yard field goal. He did miss short from 46 yards into the wind.
| WAS Rush Defense |
In past meetings they have had lots of success against Marion Barber and the Cowboys. Not so in this game. The Cowboys ran at the ends all game with the help of pulling their guards. The Cowboys were able to run effectively and late in the fourth quarter this group couldn't get off the field and stop the clock. The Cowboys rushed for 117 yards in total.
| WAS Pass Defense |
It was a good outing as Tony Romo only threw for one touchdown and 198 yards. The group also had two interceptions from Rocky McIntosh and newly acquired DeAngelo Hall.
