Scouting Report for Dallas Cowboys(3-4) vs. Atlanta Falcons (7-0)
November 4, 2012-Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
Cowboys: Last week's game against the Giants had everything. It had the Cowboys down by 23 early in the second quarter. Then the Boys battled back to take the lead. The G-Men retook the lead. Afterwards, Dez Bryant had a winning touchdown catch. But the referees reversed their call and New York held off Dallas 29-24.
The running game never had a chance. When a team rushes for 19 total yards, it's not hard to see why Dallas lost. Tony Romo (31-62, 437 YDS and 1 TD) overcame 4 interceptions to get the Cowboys a chance to win. Bryant and Miles Austin had a slow start themselves, but finished the game with a combined 14 catches for 248 yards. Jason Witten was also strong with 18 catches for 167 yards.
Rob Ryan's defense did as good as a job given the circumstances. All in all, the Giants only scored one offensive touchdown and were limited to 5 field goals. Danny McCray (3 tackles) got the only interception of Eli Manning.
Falcons: Atlanta is the only undefeated team in the league for a couple of reasons. They play well on both sides of the ball. Plus, the coaching staff seems to be dialing up the right plays at the right time. All that was evident when they beat the Eagles 30-17 on the road.
Matt Ryan threw only 29 passes, but missed only 7 times. As a result, he amassed 262 YDS and 3 touchdowns. Julio Jones made 5 of those catches for 123 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter. Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers amounted for 118 of the Falcons 146 yards on the ground. All of that is a product of why Atlanta held the for 32:55.
The Falcons defense didn't force a turnover. However, they did force former Michael Vick in to 14 incompletions. Atlanta was able to hit Vick 5 times resulting in 3 sacks. Thomas DeCoud had 9 tackles (2 for losses) and 1 sack.
What to watch for: The Cowboys are playing their 3rd nationally televised night game this season. Their last performance was on Monday night when the Bears defense capitalized on Dallas' miscues. But that was at home. Their first game was on the road when the beat the Giants on opening night. We'll have to see which team actually shows up.
Conclusion: Jason Garrett has been criticized for not running the ball enough. Dallas only rushed the ball 17 times and the Giants were able to stifle them. That and the fact they were trailing by 4 possessions early in the second quarter was reason enough to rely on the passing game. At any rate, how the Cowboys perform in the next four weeks will determine if Garrett will have a job.
That doesn't mean that they have to win. It just means that Dallas needs to set the benchmark with solid play against Atlants. With 3 out of 4 of their upcoming games against their own division, now is the time to get back to winning football.
Prediction: Falcons by 17.
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