by William C Walker Jr.
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| Dallas Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden (3) is sacked by Arizona Cardinals nose tackle Dan Williams (92) during the second quarter of their NFL football game at AT & T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 2, 2014. (Michael Ainsworth/The Dallas Morning News) |
November 2, 2014
Going into the game the week began with would or wouldn't quarterback Tony Romo play? After not practicing all week and it being revealed that Romo suffered two small fractures in his back. The Cowboys made the wise decision in sitting their franchise quarterback. In spite of quarterback Brandon Weeden putting in a decent performance, he only put emphasis on why this offense needs Romo. Here are my 5 points from the Cowboys vs Cardinals.
5. Defense Tried: The defense after a pretty poor performance last week against Washington performed admirably. They started the game off right with a pick six and actually helped Dallas to a 10-0 lead. Henry Melton now getting healthy is starting to show that same Pro Bowl skill he once held in Chicago. Overall Dallas put decent pressure on Palmer. They kept Dallas in the game having them only down 14-10 with about 8 minutes to go in the 4th Quarter. They suffered on 3rd downs for the 2nd straight week but for the most part they did their job.
4. Special Teams: The special team play for Dallas has not been great this year. Dan Bailey is a beast without a doubt, but outside of him there's little to get excited about. After struggling to move the ball in the 1st half, finally the offense gets into Arizona territory. Dan Bailey trots on to attempt a chip shot field goal to cut the lead at half-time 14-13. For some reason an Arizona rusher was allowed to come free and block the kick. If it wasn't for the hustle of Jason Witten Dallas would've been down 21-10 at the half. That 3 points however was huge, seeing how Dallas being down by 4 impacted a crucial decision late in the game.
3. The Streak Ends: DeMarco Murray's 100 yard rushing streak finally came to an end. The Cowboys knew it'd be tough sledding against the Arizona's number 1 rushing defense. I'll get into later why play at didn't help matters. The line was missing pieces with Doug Free out for his 2nd straight game, as well as starting left-guard Ronald Leary. But Murray had a tough time the whole game. None of this was more evident then on a 4 and inches from the Arizona 34, when a run up the gut was stuffed. Arizona extends it's own streak of not allowing a 100 yard rusher to 18 games. Well all good things come to an end.
2. More Injury on Defense: Two of the Cowboys best players on defense left the game with injury. Comeback player of year candidate Rolando McClain and defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford went down in the 4th Quarter. Both have been large part of the defense's resurgence this year. With linebacker Justin Durant already lost for the season. Cowboys fans better pray these two are not gone for an extended period of time. Yes Anthony Hitchens filled in nicely for Durant, and DeMarcus Lawrence had a more than solid debut. But a thin defense can't afford to miss anymore pieces.
1. Hurry Back Romo: I didn't understand why Romo was allowed back in the game last week after being injured. After seeing Brandon Weeden play it all makes perfect sense. I mean seriously after getting all the snaps with the 1st team offense throughout training camp, every Wednesday this season, and finally all this week. You would think he could've put in a performance better than this. I thought that you may have been able to get through the next 2 weeks without Romo, with the bye giving him 3 weeks off for the final month of the season. But this offense can't afford Romo to miss anymore time. We all fell in love with DeMarco Murray and the run game rightfully so, and Murray is still vital to Dallas' success. We now have learned that Romo is just as important to this run game. Don't think for a second Arizona could've jammed 8-9 in the box like they did if you had a quarterback in the game that could actually complete a pass to a WIDE RECEIVER! Well Dallas falls to 6-3 and second place in the NFC East, with Romo back they should beat Jacksonville in London. All that matters now is getting to 7-3 going into the bye.
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