IRVING – As the final seconds ticked off the clock Sunday, Bill Parcells could not hold back his smile anymore as two of his daughters watched him coach the Cowboys in person for the first time.
Cornerback Aaron Glenn proudly walked off the field pointing to friends and family in the Texas Stadium stands. Quarterback Tony Romo, four games into his starting tenure, sprinted off the field, holding the game ball above his head to the cheers of the sellout crowd.
With a 21-14 victory, the Cowboys ended Indianapolis' chase for an undefeated season and in the process may have inserted themselves into the NFC contender conversation with six games to play.
"That was a big win for us," Parcells said. "I told the team that that ought to tell them something about what they are capable of doing."
At 6-4, the Cowboys will be tied for first place in the NFC East if the New York Giants lose at Jacksonville tonight. Their other division foes, Philadelphia and Washington, suffered losses Sunday, with the Eagles also losing quarterback Donovan McNabb for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
When they host Tampa Bay on Thursday, they will look for their first three-game winning streak since the middle of last season.
"This is a tough stretch of the season for us, and we have to be ready to play on Thursday," Parcells said. "And maybe we can take a deep breath on Friday if we play well Thursday."
The reason for the optimism, aside from the 3-1 start to the Romo era, was the play of a defense filled with potential that until Sunday was unfulfilled.
"When you can play defense like that," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said, "you can be in a lot of games."
For it to happen with linebacker Greg Ellis out for the year with an Achilles' injury made it even more rewarding. For it to happen against the Colts' Peyton Manning made it even more surprising.
For the first time this season and only the third time in the last 26 games, Manning was intercepted twice (by Roy Williams and Kevin Burnett). He was also sacked twice (by DeMarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff) and off target much more than that. The Cowboys forced the Colts into four turnovers, the most since Tony Dungy became Indianapolis' coach in 2002.
Williams intercepted his team-high fourth pass of the season at the Cowboys 1, ending one scoring threat in the second quarter, and Glenn broke up a third-quarter pass to Marvin Harrison, giving Kevin Burnett a chance for his first career interception. The second-year linebacker turned it into the first touchdown of his career with a 39-yard return to tie the score at 7-7.
The offense, contained for most of the game, came alive late in the third quarter and into the fourth thanks to two Marion Barber touchdowns sandwiched around a three-and-out effort from the defense.
After Barber's second touchdown made it 21-14 with 6:00 to play, the defense needed one more stop. Linebacker Bradie James, the defense's soul, called the unit together before it went on the field.
"It was another turning point of our season," James said. "This is what the goal has been for the team since the off-season, winning games, winning big games. That's what I was talking to the guys about. Lay it all on the line and win the game."
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ANDREW P. SCOTT / DMN DeMarcus Ware (94) celebrates a sack of the Colts' Peyton Manning. |
With 5:54 to play, Manning was 69 yards away from a potential tying touchdown. After five plays, he was at the Dallas 8. On third down, Manning's floater to Ben Utecht, who was bracketed by Williams and Keith Davis, sailed out of the end zone.
Manning's fourth-down pass was near nobody, and Texas Stadium erupted. It grew even louder when Romo completed a 7-yard pass to Terry Glenn on third-and-7 from the Indianapolis 32 at the two-minute warning.
With the game effectively over, Parcells smiled, players hugged, and fans wondered what might be in store.
"It'll do us a lot of good if we keep going," Parcells said. "We have played our best football in the last month. Even though we lost that game to Washington, we have still played our best football this last month. We have six to go, so there is a long way to go, but if we keep playing like this, I think we have a chance to do something."
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
