Imagine if the Cowboys played with as much confidence, emotion and focus as they did Sunday against the Falcons. Maybe they’d actually cash in on some of their potential and make the playoffs.
Fresh off its bye, Dallas smacked Atlanta 37-21 in Week 7, as Tony Romo completed 21 of 29 pass attempts for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Miles Austin had another huge day, hauling in six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, including scores of 59 and 22 yards.
Defensively, the Cowboys looked like they were playing with a chip on their shoulder. Matt Ryan hasn’t been touched all season, yet Dallas consistently crashed the pocket and racked up four sacks. They also intercepted Ryan twice and forced two fumbles, although one was recovered by Atlanta.
The Cowboys need to find a way to play with this kind of fire every week. They made a statement today against a good opponent, but it means nothing if they come out next Sunday and give a lackluster effort. When they play at a high level, they’re tough to beat. But they’ve had issues playing consistently week in and week out, so the jury is still out on whether or not they can do it after this win.
The Falcons took a big step back this week. Their opponent punched them in the mouth repeatedly and they took it every time. This game reminded me a lot of Atlanta’s loss to New England earlier this season. They came out and generated points on their first possession in each game, but then couldn’t sustain drives after that. Opponents continue to bottle up Michael Turner, who has zero running lanes and is lacking the burst he had last year. Mike Mularkey found ways to spring Jason Snelling today, but he couldn’t do it with Turner. That’s a problem.
After great efforts against the 49ers and Bears the past two weeks, the Falcons laid a dud defensively today too. For the most part, they held the Cowboys’ running game in check, but Romo had tons of time to find wide open receivers and Atlanta couldn’t get off the field on third downs, which was also a problem for them in their loss to New England.
Things don’t get any easier for the Falcons next week when they travel to New Orleans.
