12-23-2007, 11:06 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Riotmaker
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: South Burlington, Vermont
Posts: 5,717
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Defense Seeks And Destroys.
Quote:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Twice in the last six days, the Cowboys' defense has been asked to supplement the offense's struggles - first when Tony Romo proved he was human against Philadelphia, then here Saturday night after Terrell Owens left with a high ankle sprain.
The Cowboys produced only three points in the second half, but their 10-point halftime lead provided enough cushion to escape Bank of America Stadium with a 20-13 victory over the Panthers - thanks in large part to the defense holding Carolina to a pair of field goals when a pair of touchdowns seemed imminent.
The first key stop came on the opening drive of the third quarter when Carolina reached the Dallas 1 on DeAngelo Williams' 7-yard run. After a false start penalty pushed the ball back to the 6, the defense forced the Panthers into a 37-yard field goal with back-to-back sacks on Matt Moore.
The Cowboys enjoyed a comfortable 20-10 lead until the final three minutes of the game, when Moore drove Carolina inside the 10 with a 57-yard completion to Steve Smith. The defense stopped the Panthers on three straight plays, leading to John Kasay's second field goal with 3:04 left.
Carolina never touched the ball again.
The defense allowed only 10 points last Sunday, but the effort wasn't enough to avoid a four-point loss to the Eagles. On Saturday, the unit rescued a Cowboys offense which produced only 114 yards of total offense with Owens shelved the entire second half.
The Cowboys sacked rookie quarterback Matt Moore five times, matching a season high, and held him to 7-of-15 passing for 58 yards in the second half aside from his 57-yard heave to Smith.
"We knew Matt Moore could throw the (ball) because we watched a lot of film on him and he always hits it on target every time," linebacker DeMarcus Ware said of the former undrafted free agent who lasted until final cuts with the Cowboys during preseason. "He even did it against us (in practice).
"If you can get pressure on the quarterback like that, that's where you really win games."
The Cowboys also stuffed the run. Aside from Williams' 39-yard run in the second quarter that led to a touchdown, Carolina rushed for only 30 yards on 13 carries.
Including last year's wild-card game against Seattle, the Cowboys haven't yielded a 100-yard rusher in 19 consecutive contests.
"If you stop the run, you can create some kind of takeaways - you can get after the quarterback," Cowboys inside linebacker Bradie James said. "We kind of got away from that in the Detroit game when they came out running the ball. That's our identity. Nobody really runs the ball on us.
"We gave up one long run, but the guy made a heck of a play."
The Cowboys' defense made several - enough to make up for Owens' absence on the other side of the ball.
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Very good defensive performance.
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cf...062C3F3A6969B4
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Defense Seeks And Destroys.
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