ATLANTA – As Marion Barber walked out of the Georgia Dome toward the team bus Saturday night, Bill Parcells called him out by saying: "One-hit wonder."
Parcells was joking because he's fond of his No. 2 back because he's no one-hit wonder.
Barber rushed 11 times for 69 yards with two touchdowns in Dallas' victory over Atlanta.
Parcells has a nickname for Barber – "Droopy," because of the dour look on his face.
During a critical fourth-quarter stretch, starting running back Julius Jones was on the bench, and Barber was on the field.
With Dallas clinging to a 31-28 lead with 8:50 to play in the fourth quarter, Barber took over.
Barber carried six consecutive times during the drive, ending it with a score.
But it was his carry on a third-and-one that helped seal the victory.
At the Atlanta 15, Barber got the call and went to the right side for a 12-yard gain and a first down with four minutes to play.
"The fellas up front made the holes, and I just made the reads," Barber said. "Everybody as a whole executed. That last drive was a big one for us."
Two plays later, Barber got the big score – a 3-yard touchdown for a 38-28 Cowboys lead with 2:18 remaining.
Barber's two rushing touchdowns give him 13 on the season, the most by a Cowboys player since Emmitt Smith ran for 13 in 1998.
Barber's 15 total touchdowns are the most since Smith had 15 in 1998.
"It's just something he has in him, maybe it was something his dad passed to him or something," fullback Lousaka Polite said of Barber, whose father played in the NFL. "He has a great nose of going north and south and for finishing runs. He's a big strong guy, and he wears you down. Come fourth quarter he gets harder and harder, and he makes it difficult for those guys to bring him down."
In the first three quarters, Barber had five carries for 34 yards. In the fourth quarter, Barber carried six times for 35 yards, including the touchdown that gave his team the cushion it needed to seal the victory.
It's nothing new because this has occurred in previous Cowboys games.
The Cowboys like the change of pace they receive with Barber, a bruising and physical back to complement Jones, who is little more elusive.
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VERNON BRYANT / DMN Marion Barber (24) powers past Atlanta's Keith Brooking to score a touchdown. |
When most of the offensive linemen were asked about Barber, they shook their heads.
Left tackle Flozell Adams said, "That boy can go."
Right tackle Marc Colombo said, "Man, he was hitting people."
For all the compliments, Barber is hesitant to talk with reporters at times. He speaks softly and is rarely in the locker room after games or during the week when the media is allowed access.
It's not that Barber is afraid to speak. It's that he would rather let his play on the field tell everyone what he's about.
"I thought Marion ran real tough there in the end," Parcells said. "He was honking his horn. He was honking it pretty good."
E-mail cwatkins@dallasnews.com
