IRVING – It was a boxing story Bill Parcells told his team before the second game of the season, and the Cowboys' coach loves boxing stories.
After losing to Jacksonville, 24-17, in the season opener, Parcells was concerned his team did not have the gumption to fight back when punched for the first time. With NFC East rival Washington next on the schedule, he did not want to wait to find out, so he told his team about a middleweight fight between Vito Antuofermo and Cyclone Hart.
Hart was the big puncher, a knockout specialist. Antuofermo had the ability to take a pounding, a sign of mental and physical will. In the early rounds, Hart kept throwing punch after punch, breaking three of Antuofermo's ribs, but Antuofermo would not go down. Then in the fifth round, Antuofermo knocked out Hart.
As the Cowboys begin what Parcells has called a three-game season tonight in Atlanta, the Antuofermo-Hart story fits once again. The Cowboys were bloodied last week in a 42-17 loss to New Orleans, essentially taking them out of a bid for a first-round bye, but the fight isn't over.
"It's the not-giving-up mentality," linebacker Akin Ayodele said. "Standing in the ring, taking all the blows, and the last one standing wins."
At 8-5, the Cowboys are in position to clinch a playoff spot this weekend, but they must beat the Falcons first to do so. They have to beat Atlanta for a variety of reasons:
Stay at least one game ahead of the New York Giants and Philadelphia in the NFC East.
Earn a tiebreaker over a potential wild-card competitor if they falter in their final two games.
Rid themselves of last week's abomination and regain momentum.
"The thing is, this is when it counts," linebacker Bradie James said. "It counts in December. All we've got to do is go win. We're not hitting the panic button. We've just got to play good, sound football."
Like Antuofermo, the Cowboys have proven they have been able to take a punch this season. They followed up their loss to Jacksonville by beating the Redskins.
They took care of Houston after a final-minute interception return for a touchdown ended a potential game-tying drive at Philadelphia on Oct. 8. They did so after losing to the Giants at Texas Stadium by winning at Carolina in Tony Romo's first start. They did so after the bizarre ending at Washington with a convincing win at Arizona in Romo's third start.
But can they take another one and continue the fight?
"The guys sense the urgency," quarterback Tony Romo said. "They know how big of a game this is this week, and they understand the importance of it. If they don't understand it now, they're never going to."
A week ago, the Cowboys were riding a four-game winning streak as the hottest team in the NFL, and there was talk of a Super Bowl run through the NFC. This week the talk was "doom and gloom," as Parcells put it, which is the nature of the league this year.
The Giants had lost four straight before winning last week, and now all seems right with their world. Two weeks ago, the Falcons were a game under .500, and quarterback Michael Vick had just flipped off heckling hometown fans. But Atlanta has won two straight to get into the mix, as has Philadelphia, even with backup quarterback Jeff Garcia.
"I think Bill has done a great job of keeping us level-headed," tight end Jason Witten said. "We're looking at our next opponent and not looking at the big scheme of things and what's taking place ... One thing Bill said, the further we go, the bigger the games get the next week."
Moments after the Saints' loss, Parcells said he would wonder about his team's confidence, but players said practice was crisp this week.
The 25-point margin, however, raised the most questions about the Cowboys' long-term viability. But in 1970, they lost by 41 (Minnesota) and 38 (St. Louis) but still made it to Super Bowl V. In 1992, the Cowboys lost to Philadelphia by 24 in October but still won Super Bowl XXVII. In the Cowboys' last Super Bowl season (1995), they suffered an 18-point home loss to San Francisco.
In Parcells' first year with the Cowboys, they shook off a 36-10 loss to the Eagles and made the playoffs.
"As I told the team, it's a three-game season," Parcells said. "It's as simple as that. That [New Orleans] game doesn't mean anything. ... I don't believe that's a true reflection of what we are or have been obviously since we're leading the division. Must've been something else. Maybe we're not good enough, I don't know. We'll see. It's not going to take long to find out now. We've got about 18 to 20 days. We'll find out."
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
