Football
Associated Press 16y

Cowboys' numbers impressive, but beating Packers most important goal now

IRVING, Texas -- The records keep coming for the Dallas
Cowboys, with more in sight. Good ones, too.

Most wins? The record is 13, and this club is already 10-1,
itself a record for best start. Dallas would have to finish 2-3 or
worse not to get this one.

Most points? The record is 479, and this club has 358. The
Cowboys' season low is 24 points, done only once. They'll have to
average that or less to fall short of this mark.

Most touchdown passes? With 29, Tony Romo already has surpassed
the greatest seasons by Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach and tied the
record set by Danny White. Terrell Owens has been on the receiving
end of 13 TDs, one shy of matching that record.

As glorious as it all sounds for a franchise with such a proud
history, these milestones will be pretty useless if the Cowboys
don't win their next game -- at home, Thursday night, against Brett
Favre and the Green Bay Packers, who happen to also be 10-1.

The winner will have a two-game lead in the chase for home-field
advantage in the NFC playoffs with only four games left. Put more
bluntly, the upcoming game could determine whether the conference
championship is played at Texas Stadium or Lambeau Field.

"I like Texas Stadium better," Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus
Ware said.

A late January game in Green Bay wouldn't necessarily doom
Dallas' Super Bowl chances. After all, the Cowboys are 5-0 on the
road and, as coach Wade Phillips noted Friday, a game in nasty
weather would mean fewer passes and more runs, which probably would
benefit his club.

Still, there's something to be said about getting to play at
home, like Dallas will do in this potential NFC championship
preview.

"The thing that excites me is this team always seems like
they've been up for a challenge like this," tight end Jason Witten
said. "This is why you play, to be in these situations."

The Cowboys are enjoying their most pleasantly surprising season
since 1992, when Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin went from
up-and-comers to team to beat.

Like the '92 squad, Dallas came into this season expecting to be
good, just not so good that it's rattled off a pair of five-game
winning streaks around the lone loss, to undefeated New England.
Expectations are now flying despite the team having gone 10
straight seasons without winning a playoff game.

"To see those really hard, lean years, and now to be part of
the Dallas Cowboys on a positive side, it's a good feeling," said
linebacker Greg Ellis, who arrived in 1998, when the postseason
drought was only a year old.

Playing before a national audience on Thanksgiving, the Cowboys
offered a pretty good primer for folks who haven't been watching
with their 34-3 stomping of the New York Jets.

While it was far from their best performance, they were in
control from the start and never relented. Romo didn't dominate,
but still completed 75 percent of his passes and had two
touchdowns. They ran for another score and had their most yards
rushing all season. They didn't allow a touchdown for the first
time and won by their widest margin.

"The goal is to continue to get better, continue to work,"
linebacker Bradie James said.

Taking care of business is never as easy as it sounds in the
NFL. In this case, Dallas had to get fired up for a 2-8 team on a
short week following a win over rival Washington that closed a 3-0
stretch against division foes. And right before the showdown with
the Packers.

"We have done that all year," Phillips said. "We have focused
at the game at hand, and I think we will continue to do that. We
will certainly focus on this one. ... If we play our best, we are
going to do well."

A big part of the buildup for this game will be the
quarterbacks, Favre vs. the kid who grew up in Wisconsin cheering
for No. 4. It can't be a coincidence that Romo's swashbuckling
style is a lot like Favre's.

"I just think it's going to be fun," Romo said. "Any time you
play in a big game it's enjoyable. The fact it's the Packers is
exciting for me."

Dallas and Green Bay will be only the second 10-1 teams to
square off since 1970.

The last time it happened was in 1990, when the New York Giants
went to San Francisco and lost to the 49ers. They met again at
Candlestick Park in the NFC championship game and the Bill
Parcells-coached Giants won the rematch. They went on to win the
Super Bowl.

------

^Extra points:@ There were no significant injuries. ... Phillips
offered high praise for RG Leonard Davis' performance against the
Jets: "Leonard played Pro Bowl-caliber. I thought he dominated the
game." ... More kudos went to Sam Hurd and Miles Austin, the No. 4
and No. 5 receivers coming out of training camp who were bumped to
Nos. 2 and 3 against the Jets. "The two young receivers I thought
really did well," Phillips said. "It didn't show up as far as
numbers of catches, but Sam Hurd and Miles Austin separated well,
they ran the routes well. They practiced real hard on those things.
Both of them played well on special teams. That was encouraging."
... Greg Ellis' two sacks give him 8.5 this season, darn good
considering he missed the first two games and didn't start the
third. "That's pretty significant," Phillips said. "He's a force
out on the field."

^ Back to Top ^