IRVING – Bill Parcells is normally harder on his team after it wins, because he does not want the players to become overconfident.
After Saturday's 17-7 domination of San Francisco, Parcells was a little nitpicky.
He talked about ill-timed penalties on offense, poor decisions in the return game and the lack of conditioning from some members of the second-team defense.
But for the first time since 1985, the Cowboys are 3-0 in the preseason. They can close out their first perfect preseason since 1971 on Thursday against Minnesota at Texas Stadium.
"We are making progress," Parcells said.
And that was the kindest thing Parcells had to say. With good reason. The last two opponents were a combined 7-25 last season.
"In my experience with him when things are going well that's when he's a real jerk," quarterback Drew Bledsoe said. "I would expect him to be hard on us."
In the two games started by Bledsoe, the first-team offense has scored on six of eight drives and all of it has come with Terrell Owens watching because of a strained hamstring.
Five days after he shredded New Orleans for 156 yards and two scores on 12-of-16 passing, Bledsoe picked apart San Francisco in one half of work, completing 12 of 17 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. Two of his incomplete passes were thrown away, and a third was dropped.
The only time the No. 1 offense was "stopped" Saturday came when Shaun Suisham missed an end-of-the-half field goal from 35 yards. That drive started at the Dallas 7 with 3:52 left in the second quarter, and the Cowboys pounded Marion Barber for 39 of his 49 first-half yards.
Bledsoe's quarterback rating is a staggering 131.6 in two games. And it's no coincidence Terry Glenn has flourished. In two games with Bledsoe, he has eight catches for 169 yards and two scores.
Glenn's touchdown catch Saturday was a diving thing of beauty. After cornerback Sammy Davis tripped, Glenn stretched his 5-11 frame as much as he could for a 28-yard score.
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| GARY PAYNE / Special to DMN Terry Glenn (83) leaps to make a touchdown catch, his second in as many games. |
On the next drive, Glenn caught a 52-yarder after turning around Davis, leading to Barber's 5-yard dive and a 17-0 lead.
"This defense was a good test because they do a lot of things when they line up," tight end Jason Witten said. "But with Drew, he kind of controlled things and put us in position, and that allowed us to make plays running or passing."
The Cowboys' first-team defense did not allow more than two first downs in any of its three drives of work (not including the final kneeldown of the half).
Cornerback Anthony Henry came up with the unit's first interception of the preseason, leaping for a deep Alex Smith pass intended for former Cowboy Antonio Bryant. For good measure, rookie defensive end Jason Hatcher had two sacks in the second half.
Through three preseason games, the Cowboys' first-team defense has allowed three points, and those came when the Cowboys were showcasing backup linebacker Scott Shanle (since traded) and defensive end Kenyon Coleman by putting them in the starting lineup.
The No. 1 defense has not allowed more than three first downs on nine drives in three games.
"We haven't been tested yet," said Parcells, heading off the happy talk.
San Francisco ventured into Dallas territory twice in the first half, but it did not get inside the Cowboys' 37. The first drive ended in a punt; the second ended with Henry's interception.
And with that, the first-team defense's night was done.
"You look at it and say, 'We've got something,' but at the same time there's still things to work on," linebacker Akin Ayodele said. "We can be dominant when we put our minds to it. Now it's, 'How many times are you going to do it?' "
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
| PRODUCTIVE PAIR |
| Preseason numbers on Drew Bledsoe and Terry Glenn: |
| .727 | Completion percentage by Bledsoe in two games (24 for 33, three touchdowns) |
| 189 | Yards receiving for Glenn on nine catches |
| 2 | Touchdown connections between Bledsoe and Glenn, who have 28 regular-season scoring passes as teammates with New England and Dallas |
