Julius Jones went over 1,000 yards on the season, but it was a fight. The Cowboys had a difficult time blocking tackles Rod Coleman and Grady Jackson. Marion Barber came up with his 13th rushing touchdown of the season and pounded the Falcons in the fourth quarter.
PASS OFFENSE
B+
For the third straight game, Tony Romo was intercepted, which is not a good sign, and the Falcons batted down a handful of his passes, too. But Romo shook off some poor throws to finish with 278 yards on 22-of-29 passing and two touchdowns. Terrell Owens beat DB DeAngelo Hall twice for TDs.
RUN DEFENSE
B
The Cowboys did a decent job containing Michael Vick, even as he set the NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a season. The Cowboys did not overcommit to Vick. He mostly was kept to short gains as the Cowboys used a linebacker to mirror him. Warrick Dunn, who was questionable with a calf injury, rushed for 56 yards.
PASS DEFENSE
D
The big plays continued to kill this unit. Roddy White caught passes of 52 (on Anthony Henry) and 43 yards (on Aaron Glenn) in the first half. Ashley Lelie caught his first touchdown pass as a Falcon, beating Terence Newman. DeMarcus Ware had the defensive play of the game when he returned an interception 41 yards for a score.
SPECIAL TEAMS
A
In a game filled with momentum turns, the unit had perhaps its best game of the season. Miles Austin had an excellent tackle of Allen Rossum on a punt. Austin's 37-yard kickoff return in the third quarter gave the offense good field position that led to Martin Gramatica's 48-yard field goal.
COACHING
C
The Falcons had little answers as the Cowboys racked up 352 yards and held the ball for 33:21 as coordinators Tony Sparano and Todd Haley mixed up their calls. Defensively, the Cowboys played more man to man than they had all season and were worse off for it, but they felt they had to do it to contain Michael Vick.
OVERALL
B
When it mattered most, the Cowboys made plays on offense and defense. The offense put up 38 points and scored on three of four drives in the second half. They took the life out of the Falcons with an 80-yard drive that ended in a Marion Barber touchdown. The defense, torched for most of the second and third quarters, came up with three straight stops to right a ship that was taking on a lot of water. As a result, the Cowboys find themselves in the driver's seat for a playoff spot with two games to go.
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