First of all the Cowboys were wearing the throwback jerseys which I am a big fan of. Will we see them in back to back games?
The first offensive series by the Cowboys started with a couple nice passes by Romo hitting Crayton and Witten. But ended in a punt. Oh ya and Troy Aikman just had to show a picture of Romo’s “splint”, I knew it wouldn’t take long until they infamous tape made an appearance.
The defense was pretty jacked up in their first two series, really coming of the ball fast and even getting a little too excited and jumping off sides once (Rat). I guess it is hard to stop that much meat once you get it going.
The second drive started after a great defensive goal line stand and a Niners field goal. Colombo moved a little early so the Boy’s had to start off with a 1st and 15. Romo’s first pass was caught out-of-bounds by T.O. Marion got a hand off up the middle and was swallowed up by the Niners front line. This put the Boy’s in a 3rd and long which was incomplete to T.O. and another Cowboy’s punt.
Cowboys first drive in the 2nd Quarter started with a long pass along the sideline to Witten where his left heel came down out-of-bounds. Stay-Puft threw the little red flag and the Boy’s were charged a time-out. This 3rd down and 8 was proof that Romo is the real deal, staying alive, stepping up in the pocket and throwing a precision pass to T.O. for a 75 yard Touchdown pass. Great effort by T.O. to keep his legs moving and breaking the TD saving tackle.
7-6 Cowboys 13:54 2nd
With the crowd into the game and some much-needed momentum the defense sacked Hill twice, and then blocked a punt in the Niners end zone for a safety. That’s what I am talking about Big D!
9-6 Cowboys
Leonard Davis is so big that he sometimes is a little too slow and gets caught for holding. Romo’s first pass was bobbled by T.O., I think he still had some popcorn butter on his hands after his TD. Marion got shoved around by Spikes on a short check down pass and forced a 3rd and 20 where Marion only gained about 8 yards. Great punt by Paulescu (70 yards) and was stopped on the Niners 1 yard line by Watkins.
8:20 2nd
Check down pass to Marion for a gain of 5 started the drive. Followed by a naked bootleg which was swatted down by a Niners LB. 3rd and 5 was an incomplete pass to Roy Williams. Folk’s FG was good from 48 yards.
12-6 Cowboys 7:30 remaining in 2nd
Tashard Choice got a 5 yard gain on 1st down and then on 2nd and 5 Romo connected with T.O. on a 45 yard completion. Incomplete to Roy Williams followed by a short gain from Marion on 3rd and long. Folk’s FG good from 41.
15-6 Cowboys
Fumble recovered by Zach Thomas for what should have been a TD, but the play was blown dead by a jackass ref. So the Cowboys got the ball on the 49ers 19 yard line. Nice 8 yard completion to T.O. on first down. Marion scrambled for 4 yards and a 1st and Goal for the Cowboys. The running game still hasn’t done much in the game but slowly the Cowboys are gaining more momentum. 2nd and Goal on the 5 yard line Marion pounded it up the middle for about 4. 3rd and goal on the 1, Martellus Bennett got the call for a short pass on a shallow crossing route for a 1 yard TD for the Cowboys. Good series for the Cowboys, you can tell the Niners defense was hanging their heads a little after the score. It is nice to finally have a comfortable lead at the Half. Hopefully the offense can continue to gain momentum and keep scoring in the 2nd half.
22-6 Cowboys :52 2nd
Halftime Notes:
The defense has kept the Cowboys alive in this one. Great field position and big red zone stops have been the key to this game. The offense started off slow only scoring on the long TD to Owens, but each series the running game started to become more of a factor. The turnover by Thomas resulted in a much-needed score and gave the Boy’s a confidence boost. I look for Marion to have a big 2nd half and also for the defense to continue to lay the pipe on this fragile Niners team. Special teams have looked a little better, especially the cover teams. The Niners lost their best return man so we will see if he returns in the 2nd half.
Cowboys get the ball to start the 3rd quarter.
Romo’s first pass was behind T.O. on a slant, much like the interception from last week. Marion gained about 1 yard on a run behind Colombo. Once again Romo steps up in the pocket and floats another bomb to T.O. for a 52 yard completion. It is obvious T.O. is mismatched on the outside, the Niners secondary just can’t run with him. Great snag by Roy Williams of 12 yards for another first down on the Niners 10 yard line. Romo came right back after a neutral zone infraction and a false start by Flozell to hit Crayton for a nice 10 yard TD pass across the middle. Good drive for the Boy’s to start the first half. They have to limit those penalties.
29-6 Cowboys 12:04 3rd Quarter
Niners field goal.
29-9 Cowboys 8:23 3rd
The Cowboys offense started on the 13 yard line and the first play was a hand off to Choice who gained 8 yards. Romo went right back to Choice on a short pass for a first down gain over the middle. Choice got the ball a 3rd time straight for a gain of 3 on a routine run up the middle. They haven’t been able to get much going up the middle today. Romo made a horrible decision to dump the ball off to Choice who was not really expecting to get the ball seeing as how he was standing about a yard from him. The Niners challenged the ruling that it was an incomplete pass. The ball was actually ruled an interception by Manny Lawson. Later in the game they ruled it as a fumble for Romo, giving the Niners the ball on the 29.
On the Niners first play Hill threw a ball behind his receiver and Henry made a great play on the ball for an interception in the end zone.
Barber got the ball for a gain of 3. Romo tried to hit Crayton on a deep ball but was incomplete. T.O. came through huge again for a nice 17 yard gain. The first sign of life from Marion Barber came on a run of 9 yards followed by a first down pick up on a short check down pass from Romo. This is Barber’s time to go to work and really just wear out the Niners defense. Witten took a bog shot from Clemens right in the ribs and was down on the field for a few minutes. 3rd and 9, Romo connects with Roy Williams for a big gain of 15 and a first down. Romo got sacked for the first time on a rare missed block by Marion. Screen pass to Marion for 10 yard pick up forcing a 3rd and 7. A false start made the 3rd down even longer.
End of 3rd Quarter.
Good news, Witten did come back on the field. Romo was incomplete to T.O. on 3rd down, forcing a Folk FG.
32-9 Cowboys 14:49 4th
Cowboys forced a 49ers punt and started their drive on the 30. Tashard Choice picked up a couple of yards on the ground and then Romo hit him on a dump pass for a gain of 9 and a first down. T.O. caught a quick pass in the flat for a gain of 2 yards putting him at 199 yards on the day. T.O. is finally looking like the playmaker we were used to. It is good to see him playing like we know he can. 3rd and 8 the Cowboys went to a screen pass, Marion was inches from getting the first down.
32-9 9:56 4th
Niners TD
32-16 8:20 4th
Niners attempted an on-side kick and were off-sides. 2nd attempt, right to Marion who caught the ball in the air and wisely fell on the ground.
Romo finds Roy Williams for a 9 yard gain. Marion rumbled his way for a pick up of 1 and a first down. Romo’s pass was incomplete to Witten, 2nd and 10 with about 6:45 left in the game. Hand-off to Marion no gain. Screen pass outside to Marion for about 6 yards which set up another Folk FG.
35-16 Cowboys 5:11 4th
Niners scored quickly and went for 2 but came up short.
35-22 3:46 4th
Another unsuccessful on-side attempt b y the Niners. Cowboys start what should be the final drive at the Niners 46. Hand-off to the workhorse Marion for 5 yards. Another false start on the O-Line made it 2nd and 10. Marion gets the hand-off again for another 5 yard gain. T.O. made a great grab on a quick slant for a first down. that puts him over 200 yards for the day. Marion up the middle for 1 yard. Toss sweep to the right to Marion for a 6 yard gain, which takes it down to the 2 minute warning. After a final hand-off to Marion, Romo would take the knee for the remaining time on the clock.
Good game for the Cowboys. Offense started off pretty slow, but with T.O. playing like a man possessed they took a comfortable lead. Defensively the Cowboys had another good game. Luckily no major injuries since they have a short week before they play The Seahawks on Thanksgiving. This win moves the Cowboys to 7-4. They have possibly the hardest remaining schedule in the league so were not done yet!
Here are some final Stats for the game:
- Tony Romo: 23/39 341 yards 3 TDs
- Terrell Owens: 7 receptions 213 yards 1 TD
- Patrick Crayton: 2 rec. 16 yards 1 TD
- Martellus Bennett: 1 rec. 1 yard 1 TD
- Marion Barber: 19 Att. 59 yards 7 rec. for 50 yards, 109 total
- Roy Williams: 3 rec. 36 yards
- Jason Witten: 1 rec. 11 yards
- Nick Folk: 4/4 FGs 3/3 PATs
