A great quarterback make big plays when the team needs him the most.A great defense makes stops the team needs it the most.
A great coach's team always seems to be a page ahead of the opposition.
What the Cowboys got on Sunday was an effort by a mediocre football team that wins some and loses some. A team that wins some and loses some is probably about an 8-8 or 9-7 (or 7-9) football team.
Against the Broncos, Dallas jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The Cowboys held the Broncos on three consecutive possessions, but then Tony Romo was blindsided by Renaldo Hill, causing Romo to fumble. D.J. Williams picked up the fumble and took it to the Dallas 9. From there, Kyle Orton hit Knowshon Moreno on a touchdown pass, cutting the Dallas lead to 10-7.
The Cowboys had several opportunities in the second half to extend the lead. Moreno fumbled on Denver's opening possession of the second half, and Bradie James recovered. The play gave Dallas the ball at the Denver 27, and the Cowboys moved inside the 20. However, on a third down play from the Denver 17, Miles Austin ran a poor route, and Champ Bailey made an acrobatic interception to kill the Cowboys' drive.
From there, the Cowboys struggled to do anything on offense. Tony Romo missed open receivers by overthrowing ball, and one of the high passes led to Roy Williams being injured. The defense held its ground for the most part until Orton led the Broncos on a drive starting with 9:35 remaining. The Cowboys held Denver to a field goal, tying the game.
Dallas needed to put together a drive with 5:58 remaining, but after moving the ball to midfield, the drive stalled. Denver got the ball at its own 27, and it only took three plays to score. Orton hit Brandon Marshall on a fade pass that Terence Newman could not manage to deflect. Marshall came down with the ball and was off and running. Ken Hamlin made another awful attempt at a tackle, and Marshall scored.
Credit Romo on the next drive with hitting Sam Hurd on a fourth-down play that resulted in a 53-yard gain. None of the offensive minds should take credit for what happened inside the Dallas 10 with 27 seconds left. Dallas had a first-and-goal from the 8. Romo threw underneath to Patrick Crayton, who was stopped at the Denver 2. The Cowboys were out of timeouts, and Romo was not able to spike the ball until there were only nine seconds left. Romo tried two slant plays to Sam Hurd, but Denver deflected both passes. The player defending Hurd on both passes: Champ Bailey.
Romo completed 25 of 42 passes for 255 yards and a pick. For the first time since taking over as a starter, Romo failed to throw a touchdown pass in two consecutive games. The Dallas rushing game never got on track, with Marion Barber and Tashard Choice combining for only 74 yards.
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