At midpoint of season, Dallas Cowboys say overtime win was catalyst
Posted Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009
Star-Telegram staff
Four weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys were at a crossroads with a 2-2 record. There were questions about quarterback Tony Romo regressing and there were calls for coach Wade Phillips to be fired.
Of course that was before they went on a four-game winning streak that lifted them atop the NFC East with a 6-2 record at the midpoint of the season.
Romo is playing like a Pro Bowler again. The Cowboys have a new star in receiver Miles Austin, and Phillips’ defense is playing better than anytime during his three-year tenure.
According to the Cowboys, they found their salvation in the midst of a storm.
In what was the defining game of the first half and possibly the season depending on how they finish, the Cowboys point to the 26-20 overtime victory against the Kansas City Chiefs as the foundation for their turnaround.
While it will long be remembered as the coming-out party for Miles Austin, who set a team record with 250 yards receiving and caught touchdown passes of 59 and 60 yards to win the game in his first start, it was at halftime when the Cowboys banded together as one.
"People came in and they were fired up," linebacker Bobby Carpenter said. "They knew that was the season right there. We were playing for our jobs. We were playing for our season. We were playing for our head coach, too. Everyone wanted to come out and get the season turned around. Losing to an [0-4] team and being 2-3 with the expectations we have here, I think that would have been a disappointment in everyone’s eyes."
Midseason team MVP
Miles Austin: It can be argued that the Cowboys wouldn’t be 6-2 without Austin’s yards after the catch. He is seventh in the NFL, second among receivers, with 296 yards after the catch, according to STATS, Inc. He has 27 catches for 612 yards and seven touchdowns for the season. The play the Cowboys credit with turning around their season was the play Austin made in overtime in Kansas City. He caught a hook from Tony Romo, designed to get 12 to 14 yards, broke free from cornerback Maurice Leggett and then sidestepped safety Mike Brown. The 60-yard touchdown gave the Cowboys a new life.
Biggest surprise
Mike Jenkins: He began the season as a co-starter at right cornerback with Orlando Scandrick. But Scandrick struggled against the Giants in Week 2, and Jenkins won the job by default. Since then, he has earned the job. He has 27 tackles, has defensed 10 passes and has a team-leading three interceptions. Jenkins has become what the Cowboys thought he would be when they drafted him in the first round in 2008.
Biggest sub-performer
Roy Williams: He was supposed to be the team’s No. 1 receiver after the Cowboys cut Terrell Owens, but he and Romo have yet to get on the same page. Williams’ 19 catches are fourth on the team; his 324 yards are fourth on the team; and his two receiving touchdowns are tied for second on the team. That’s not what the Cowboys expected when they traded three draft choices, including a first-rounder, for Williams in 2008.
http://www.star-telegram.com/332/story/1762932.html
So going by the Boys, that overtime win that some thought showed all their inconsistencies was actually what they feel started this whole thing. Apparently it got their momentum up.