I said I wasn't going to get too high after wins. You can't get very high when the 4th quarter makes you clench your butt so tight that chair cushions require the jaws of life to extract them. I was sweating. We all were sweating. No way I wanted overtime.
I couldn't be more thrilled. If we had only taken care of business against the damned Giants I feel like we'd be in prime position to be a serious threat in the post season. To win the NFC East we need to take care of business the last 2 games. Getting too high on this win is fine for the fans, but the goal is not met. There is work to do.
Perhaps the best 1st quarter we have played all year. I think other than the two Saints drives in the 4th quarter it may have been our best Defensive effort all year because folks, that team can flat out score. Prior to tonight, their lowest point scoring game this season was 24 points vs. the Jets.
You know how I like weird stuff to share with you after the games. This is my paragraph for doing that. The Cowboys and Saints have now played 23 times. 3 of those 23 times have been on this calendar date. That's right, this is the 3rd time we have played the Saints on December 19. We are 3-0 against them on that date. Not only that but we have only won on that calendar date 4 times. 3 of the 4 times are against the Saints. Now do you believe?
Our longest active losing streak to any team was the 5 games to the Saints. That is now snapped. The new longest losing streak is to the Broncos at 4 games. We won't face them again until 2013. The game will be in Dallas and it has the possibility of being a Thanksgiving Day game on CBS.
Earlier this year Tony Romo did something he had never done before. He did not throw an interception in 3 straight games. He repeated that accomplishment last week vs. the Chargers. Tonight he made it 4 in a row and even bigger, he has not thrown one this December. The Cowboys are 1-2 in the hated month of December, but you cannot hang that on Tony Romo. Another thread already touted his stats and I won't steal that thunder. He has been awesome. By the way, tonight was his 7th 300+ yard passing game of the season. That matches his 2007 best and he has two games to set a personal best in that stat.
Miles Austin, welcome to the 1000 yard receiving club. He needed one yard to join that fraternity. He got 138 beyond that and a brilliant 49 yard score to get the game rolling for Dallas.
Did anyone besides me wonder if Barber wanted redemption for the last 2 weeks when he punched the 2 TDs in? I feel like his pride had been wounded and he had something to prove.
Time of possession is my favorite stat in the world other than the final score. I like it when we dominate the clock. We held the ball for almost 13 minutes more than the Saints tonight. That is how you beat an Offensive juggernaut. You deny them the ball.
We took the ball away 3 times tonight. I had to look at that 3 times and rub my eyes to make sure I was seeing it right. If we can start creating turnovers we will be so much better off. Jenkins almost had a 2nd one and he had some running room.
DeMarcus Ware, tonight I will hit my knees and I will once again thank the man above for you. If anyone ever questions his leadership again they need to be pointed towards this game. Playing with an injured neck and making the play that seals the game isn't big. It is beyond that. Not only did he get the sack which probably would have iced it anyway, he made it possible for Romo to take a knee. That is leadership, confidence, and aggression meeting in one play. I will be hoarse tomorrow. I may not sleep tonight. He did it twice. Sacks and forced fumbles on both plays. He is the man.
Do you remember when Anthony Spencer could not get to the QB, but the stats said he was getting the most pressure on the QB? He has so stepped up his game and at the greatest time he possibly could. I thought tonight was his best game this year for more than just the 2 sacks. He and Ware had Brees rattled at times. That is not an easy task ever.
I hate Kickers. I really don't want to say much beyond that. One of the things I hate most about Kickers is that guys put their guts on the field to get him into position for a chip shot FG and he doinks it. I hate it when teams kill themselves to get a Kicker down there and then the press talk about them winning it. I just hate Kickers. There is literally nothing about them that I care for. At one time I actually had confidence in him. Now I cringe. I thought when he hit the 1st one that it was over. What the hell was I doing thinking that? I ought to have my head examined. He's a freaking Kicker. They cannot be trusted.
Maybe that's what I can remind myself of so as not to get too high after this win. I believe that one was needed, timely, and faith restoring in a lot of ways. I will watch this game several times in the coming week. Count on it.
