JACKSONVILLE – Things started off so well for the Cowboys' secondary Sunday.
Terence Newman kept a quick pass to Reggie Williams to a minimal gain. Roy Williams knocked away a pass to George Wrighster, and Anthony Henry did the same on a pass to Matt Jones.
But things started to change for the secondary in the second quarter. Newman was beaten by Ernest Wilford for a 30-yard gain that led to a Jaguars field goal. Henry was beaten by Reggie Williams, thanks to a slight nudge, for a 6-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds to go in the half to tie the score at 10.
"If we were outside, he threw it inside," Newman said. "If we were inside, he threw it outside. The quarterback put the ball where it needed to be."
After an interception by Roy Williams, Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich connected on 10 straight passes spanning the second, third and fourth quarters. Leftwich, who was sacked seven times in 43 pass plays during preseason, was sacked only once Sunday, but coach Bill Parcells did not put the onus on the pass rush.
"We didn't cover as well as we should have," Parcells said. "They threw some back shoulders. They're pretty good height-wise down there. They did a good job."
The 6-4 Wilford (three catches, 58 yards), 6-6 Jones (5-71) and 6-4 Williams (6-47) hurt the Cowboys as the game wore on.
Jones caught four straight passes for 57 yards on Jacksonville's go-ahead touchdown drive against four different defenders: safety Pat Watkins, Henry, Newman and cornerback Aaron Glenn.
"To me, they didn't do anything special," Roy Williams said. "But they did make some catches at crucial parts of the game."
Jones, Wilford and Reggie Williams did what Jimmy Smith, who retired after 11 seasons with the Jaguars and 862 catches, did for so many years: made plays.
"People know them," Glenn said. "They made more plays than we did. It's always the case when you boil the game down: Who makes plays and who doesn't?"
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
