Cowboys-Falcons: Playing Dallas at Home after a Bye Week Isn't Much Fun

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

On Sunday, the Falcons left Dallas hammered and beaten. To be precise, it was a 37-21 beating. Not a stellar day for any Falcons faithful expecting to see the franchise continue its path to back-to-back winning seasons.

"We did some very uncharacteristic things on Sunday," said coach Mike Smith. "In most games if you turn the ball over three times, have your quarterback get sacked four times, give them two explosive touchdowns and have a punt returned..."

"You're not going to get positive results."

Yeah, I believe that to be accurate. We witnessed it Sunday and it wasn't a pretty sight.

So what went wrong? What happened? When the game started, the Falcons marched downfield and scored with little effort. Roddy White caught an 11-yard pass from Ryan and the Birds were up 7-0 on their first drive.

What happened to the Falcons after that? In all honesty, they just got physically beaten up.

With five minutes left in the first quarter, Matt Ryan faced a second and 25 thanks to a chop block by center Todd McClure. He was sacked twice after that and the Falcons were forced to punt.

It seemed like from that point on, the Falcons offense went conservative. What happened to the no-huddle?

Starting the second quarter, the Cowboys got on the board with a field goal. That began a turnover battle for the rest of the quarter.

Ryan tossed a pick to Mike Jenkins and two plays later Felix Jones coughed the ball up to Brent Grimes. It was like a chess match to see which defense would control this game.

It became obvious by the fourth quarter who would hold those bragging rights.

Going into the second quarter the "little engine that could" defense had a letdown. The offense wasn't moving the ball at all. They stayed on the field and tried to contain a Cowboys offense that opened their playbook for Sunday.

The extra week off did wonders for the Cowboys. They had a game plan and enforced it. Play more physical than your opponent. They also took advantage of the Falcons depleted secondary.

After Matt Ryan fumbled the ball to Dallas, Tony Romo found his new stud WR Miles Austin on a slant that went for 59 yards and a touchdown.

“You’re not going to get a lot of sacks against this team," said defensive end DeMarcus Ware. "But the main thing is that we had to rattle (Ryan) in the pocket and be in his face and I think that we did that today. We rattled him and got two interceptions back there, so it’s not all about the sacks; it’s getting in his face to get pressure."

That sack of Ryan by DeMarcus Ware changed the entire complexion of the game. If you seek a turning point in the game, look no further. The Cowboys only sacked Ryan one more time the rest of the game, but he "felt" them coming.

That play gave Dallas enough momentum to take over the game. Tony Romo evaded a sure sack by Jonathan Babineaux and tossed a touchdown right at half-time. The wind was taken out of the Falcons' sails.

“I think pressure affects the passing game, " said Ryan. "Regardless of who is out there playing. I thought Dallas did a good job of getting some pressure in different situations. Even with them bringing the pressure, I thought we still hung tough back there. We distributed the ball a couple of times with some pressure on. They’ve got some great players up front. They are a tough matchup.”

So the second half was completely one-sided in favor of Dallas? Well, not exactly...

On the opening possession, the Falcons sacked Romo and forced them to punt. On the following drive, running backs Michael Turner and Jason Snelling combined for 64 yards rushing and a two-yard score by Turner. The Falcons were back in it, down 17-14 with a quarter and a half remaining.

The Falcons found life, and their offense. This game wasn't over!

Well, it was if Romo and Austin had anything to say about it. They connected on 54 yards and a 22-yard touchdown in a matter of three minutes.

Down 27-14, the Falcons faced a fourth and two on their 28-yard line. The way the Falcons defense had been playing, one would consider going for that. Smith elected to punt.

That folks, officially ended the game.

Shunned receiver Patrick Crayton ran the punt back 73 yards and put the final nail in the Falcons' coffin. Three scores ahead and a defense that is playing stronger now than they had the previous three quarters, the fat lady was singing.

The Falcons tacked on a touchdown pass to Eric Weems but it was too little too late. The damage was done and the game a disappointment.

Did Anyone Look Good?

Jamaal Anderson

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