NFL: Week Seven – Atlanta Falcons vs. Dallas Cowboys
Atlanta Falcons (21) vs. Dallas Cowboys (37)
The Cowboys dialed up the pressure on Matt Ryan Sunday sacking him four times and harassing him into committing three turnovers as Dallas won was being dubbed a ‘statement’ game for the Cowboys. The Cowboys came into the game having lost both their games to teams with winning records while holding wins against the Panthers, Chiefs, and Buccaneers who have just 3 wins between them this year.
Tony Romo carved up an ailing, mediocre Falcons secondary to the tune of 311 yards while Miles Austin had another big day scoring a pair of touchdowns and posting 171 receiving yards.
The constant pressure on Ryan aided the much-maligned Cowboys secondary into holding Roddy White to just 50 yards on 6 catches. Jason Snelling was the lone bright spot for the Falcons gouging the Cowboys defensive front for 7 yards on 68 carries.
The Cowboys suddenly look like they have some fight left in them while the Falcons look as though they have some serious issues to on the defensive side of the ball to address. The most disconcerting thing has to be that the pass defense is now looking as bad as the rush defense was. Miles Austin was consistently running free in the secondary and the Falcons pass rush was enable to sustain pressure on Tony Romo. Pass protection has been a big weakness of the Cowboys this season and John Abraham was virtually unheard from yesterday.
News, Notes, and Observations
Austin has had at least 171 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his last two games.
DeMarcus Ware recorded a pair of sacks for the second straight game for the Cowboys.
Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton, the Cowboys other two receivers, combined to catch just 3 passes for 25 yards. But, Patrick Crayton did score a touchdown.
Romo hit the 300 yard mark for the second straight game and third time this season. He has thrown five touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last two games.
Roddy White scored a touchdown for the third straight week.
Michael Turner scored for the fifth straight week and has seven touchdowns on the year for the Falcons.
Cowboys running back Marion Barber is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry since injuring his quad against the Giants in week two.
