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| Wade Phillips is feeling the heat after quite a rough start |
The Dallas Cowboys had been tipped as Super Bowl candidates prior to the season. The fact that the Super Bowl will be held in Dallas’ stadium may have also placed further expectations onto the Cowboys.
Jerry Jones and the rest of the Dallas organization were not expecting a losing start to the season, but despite suffering a loss at the hands of their rebuilding rivals, the Washington Redskins, there were still signs of hope and potential future glory in the mist of despair which cast over the Cowboys following their opening game defeat.
The offensive line held strong for the majority of the game. They allowed just one sack for a loss of five yards. The line was missing injured tackle Marc Colombo and guard Kyle Kosier but still looked strong in both pass and run blocking.
New starting left tackle Doug Free also played extremely well and displayed his athleticism and nimble movement, which will be a major benefit to Dallas in the running game.
Dallas’ running game was questioned entering the season due to the lack of efficiency during the preseason. Despite the worries Dallas racked up over 100 yards on the ground. Dallas’ running game averaged 4.6 yards a carry, with both Marion Barber and Felix Jones averaged 4.7 yards a rush.
The shining star in a dreadful game was Dallas wideout Miles Austin. The Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver proved that last year’s break-out display was no fluke. Austin caught 10 passes for 146 yards, averaging 14.6 yards a catch.
Tony Romo’s connection with Austin was as strong as ever as Dallas’ triggerman threw towards Austin one in every three passes.
Romo had a passing completion of 65 percent. He averaged over nine yards per pass. Romo also threw for 282 yard, despite having his hands tied by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who refused to trust his offensive lines ability.
Dallas’ defense is continuing to go from strength to strength. Dallas allowed Donavan McNabb to throw just 15 completions and held him to 171 yards. They also held both Chris Cooley and Santana Moss under 80 yards receiving each.
The Dallas secondary has major question marks, but a 24-yard Cooley reception was the longest pass play they gave up to Washington. The defense also shut down Clinton Portis, who was held to just 63 yard on the ground, with an average of 3.5 yards per rush.
The Dallas defense also allowed Washington to complete just three of their 15 attempted third downs. It must also be noted that the Dallas defense stopped Washington on fourth down, but a special teams blunder gave up the first down to Washington.
The Cowboys also stuffed the Redskins twice inside the red zone and in a “goal to go” situation.
Rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant did not explode onto the National Football League scene, but he showed solid hands catching eight balls. He also showed great strength and tenacity as he tried to swat tacklers off him during screen plays and other receptions. His longest reception may have come via a penalty, but the young receiver’s attitude was a great sight.
Despite Dallas enduring an ugly defeat, the positive is that the Cowboys done the majority of things well. They should have won the game in all honesty. Romo drove the Cowboys down the field and completed what should have been a game-winning pass to Roy Williams with time running out. A penalty negated the touchdown and cost Dallas the game.
Dallas’ offensive coordinator Jason Garrett called a horrible game. He failed to bring Jason Witten into the game and he ran a passing play with four seconds remaining in the first half, which led to a fumble by Tashard Choice and a costly Washington touchdown. The Cowboys did not start the season the way many expected, but there were signs of quality despite the loss, and there is no call for panic just yet.
The biggest worry for Dallas is not the failure to win the season opener, but how will a suspected neck strain suffered by outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware inflict his future performances.
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