One streak continued while another ended on Wednesday night. Defending Super Bowl champions had been 8-0 since the current format of them playing the season opener began. The Cowboys ended that streak by beating the Giants 24-17. But the Cowboys unbeaten streak against the Giants in season openers was extended and they are now 6-0 in those games. But what does it all mean?
First off, let me say that I'm not surprised by this outcome. The Cowboys weren't expected to win this game. Vegas had them as 3.5 point dogs, and given the 'Boys habit of giving up leads last year, twice to the Giants I might add, it was easy to see why New York was favored. Add on the fact that Jason Witten was doubtful for the game, it was even more clear why most people picked the Giants. But here's the thing, Romo, and it seems the Cowboys entire team, plays a whole lot better when people aren't expecting much from them. It's when the expectations are high and the pressure is on that they crumble. I'm not saying that wasn't a pressure packed game by any means. I'm saying there was far more pressure on the defending Super Bowl champion to beat a division rival whose owner had called them out, then there was on Dallas.
While the Cowboys did win, and look like the better team, they are nowhere near where they need to be. The secondary was still soft on 3rd down coverage, there were way too many penalties, and Romo didn't look as great as everyone is making him sound. I'll be the first to admit that the defense did look better than it has in a while. Coverage was adequate down the field, but still not where it needs to be. I'm glad to see they're playing man coverage, but there were still times when they were clearly beaten. Had the Giants receivers actually held on to the ball tonight, the score line probably would've looked much different. Luckily for the Cowboys there were several drops. I know I'm overly critical of the defense, but with the kind of talent Dallas has on the field now, there is no reason to get beat consistently down the field. The defensive line looked great, they managed 3 sacks, and forced a fumble.
As for the penalties, ugh. 13 penalties for 86 yards is awful, especially considering how many false starts there were. I know it was loud and they were in hostile territory, but come on. I'm hoping this was a first game jitters kind of thing and doesn't carry over to the rest of the season. Which brings us to Romo. Now let me be the first to say that I'm a die-hard Cowboys fan. Have been my whole life. But I'm not a Romo fan. He's got as much talent, if not more, than the top QBs in the NFL. What he lacks is the mindset, or clutch gene as I like to call it. Under pressure, he terrifies me. Yes there are times when he comes through, like the 38-yard completion to Dez Bryant. You won't find anyone else who could've made that pass look any better. But when he has to make a short dump-off pass because he's under pressure and there isn't anyone open down field, he can't do it. At least twice during the game he failed to complete a short 2-4 yard pass that would've come close to a first down. This is what kills me. Sure, he threw for 3 scores, was 22-29 and had 307 yards. But he also had a stupid interception, and he threw another ball in the endzone that had he made a better pass would've been TD number 4, and he was lucky that one actually didn't get picked off as well.
I know I'm overly critical of Romo. I have been since day 1. A lot of it has to do with the media shoving him down my throat. I'm sorry, I grew up watching Troy Aikman under center. So when people try to tell him how good Romo is, and how he's great for the Cowboys, I want to puke. Not his fault necessarily, but whatever. I don't want to sound like I wasn't impressed by the Cowboys though. They played well enough to win, they looked better than I expected on defense, Murray showed just how good he can be, and they didn't blow a 4th quarter lead. Oh, and Kevin Ogletree, yeah, he's like, good and stuff.
All in all, this was a big win for Dallas. They beat a division rival on the road. Last year they only won two divisional games, both against the lowly Redskins. So while this is week 1, it does have implications. There are still some areas that need improvement, but I was pleasantly surprised by their performance. Yeah the first quarter was ugly, the whole first half wasn't great from an offensive standpoint. But hey, I'll take it.
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