My 5 Points Cowboys Dominate!!!!

My 5 Points: Cowboys vs. Saints
by William C. Walker Jr.

Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) high steps into the end zone for a second quarter touchdown ahead of New Orleans Saints strong safety Kenny Vaccaro (32) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, September 28, 2014.

How Bout Them Cowboys!!!!!!! Sorry I couldn't resist that.  As much as I loved seeing the Cowboys comeback last week in St. Louis down 21-0, there's something so satisfying with a beat-down. Especially when prognosticators all week gave the Boys no chance.  Even despite the fact that Dallas has the number one leading rusher in the league.  With great pleasure here are my 5 points from the Cowboys big win.

5. Good riddance Mo: I hate to kick a man while he's down, but it has to be done.  The Cowboys are a better defense without Mo Claiborne.  This week Mo Claiborne left the team after finding out that he was losing his starting job to Orlando Scandrick.  Anyone that's watched this team knows that the demotion was warranted, and after Claiborne went down with a knee injury in the first quarter you'd be crazy to say this defense wasn't better off.  Former New England Patriot Sterling Moore was a more than adequate upgrade over the 6th overall draft pick Claiborne.  Sterling Moore known in New England for his last second pass break-up against the Baltimore Ravens receiver Lee Evans in the 2012 AFC Championship game.  I didn't think Scandrick would make that big a difference coming back to the starting line-up but the evidence so far is clear.

4. Defense stepped up: On a night where Dallas dominated, I'm not going to lie a tad bit of nervousness rose in the 4th Quarter. An accurate statement had been made of the Dallas Cowboys last year and previous seasons saying "They've snatched defeat from the jaws of victory".  Too many times the defense would blow a large lead.  With 8 minutes left in the game the Saints had the ball down only 14 near midfield after Dallas had their second 3 and out.  The recipe for disaster was there yet defense held on and after a insane fake punt attempt got the ball back to the offense.  This defense has far exceeded expectations, after being shredded by Austin Davis last week. For the majority of the game they kept Drew Brees in check.  Last week Rolando McClain and Justin Durant didn't play, who knew having them back would help so much?  Props once again to Bruce Carter who has been balling after looking horrible last year.  Hopefully his quad injury isn't too severe, but this defense has stepped up in a big way.  Forcing 3 turnovers if they can add a pass rush from the D-line this defense can still improve.

3. Perfect Game plan: I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Jason Garrett and the coaching staff put together a perfect game plan.  From electing to take the ball first as opposed to deferring to the second half, to continuing to focus on the run.  The very first drive was a 12 play 80 yard masterpiece utilizing the run and play-action pass to great effect.  If they can keep this kind of game plan going with this balance this offense is going to be hard to stop.  For years fans have been screaming for Dallas to commit to the run, and allow DeMarco Murray.  This year they seem to have finally learned from the past.  With New Orleans committing 8 to the box to stop the run it gave Romo single coverage all night long, and with precision he hit the open man.  Romo finished 22-29 for 262 yards and 3 TDs to 0 interceptions, and a blistering 12-12 when passing from play-action.  It's not rocket science running the football only helps Romo operate more efficiently.

2. Complete Offense:  After the game Tony Romo spoke of how this is the most "complete offense" he's been apart of.  The production backs up his claim.  Now while we've seen this offense thrive in the past, it's always been a pass first mentality which was led by Romo's arm.  Last year alone Romo attempted a pass 535 times, that's a lot for any QB that's asking for a bit much from a 35 year old QB coming off two back surgeries. As the season continues and teams try and focus on stopping the run, it will continue to open things up for receivers Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Jason Witten.  It's quality over quantity Dallas looks like a balanced offense and a more complete unit than in times pasts. This is a formula for winning football, we're only a quarter into the season and while there's still a chance things could fall apart in December.  The chances of that will slim if the team keeps playing at this level.

1. DeMarco Murray MVP: The undoubtedly MVP of the first quarter of the season for this team has been DeMarco Murray.  Finally getting through a game without fumbling the ball Murray continued to shine.  Already leading the league in rushing going into last night's game, Murray added 24 carries 149 yards and 2 TDs to his totals.  The performance give's Murray his 4th straight game of 100 yards rushing and scoring at least 1 TD putting him with elite company.  Only 3 other players have done so Emmitt Smith(4 times), O.J. Simpson (5 times), and Jim Brown (6 times).  If Murray rushes for 100 yards Sunday against Houston he'll break the franchise record being the only Dallas Cowboy back to rush for 100 yards in 5 consecutive games.  Beating out Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith who ran for 100 yards in 4 consecutive games 4 times twice in 95, and Tony Dorsett who did it 4 times.  Murray has been stellar the first 4 weeks of the season.  After Sunday night's win Dallas's record improves to 14-1 when Murray gets 20 or more carries.  If the 4th year pro can keep this pace and Dallas keeps stacking wins he can legitimately be in the conversation for league MVP.