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That's not a word that has been used for the Dallas Cowboys in years past, but it is the first quality that should come to mind after their 38-17 drubbing of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night.
Quarterback Tony Romo passed for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He found receiver Terrance Williams for two of those touchdowns. Though the Saints defense keyed in on wide receiver Dez Bryant all game, the star wideout was still able to catch three balls, one for a touchdown. Tight end Jason Witten played his usual security blanket role.
None of that is new for the Cowboys.
No, what's new for the Cowboys is running back DeMarco Murray with his 149 rushing yards and two touchdowns. What's new is a road-grading mentality that pounds a defense into submission and doesn't compound mistakes with even more mental errors.
Instead, physical toughness gives way to mental toughness.
When Bryant comes down the tunnel to the locker room shouting "We dat!" in reference to the Saints' famous chant, it's not just bravado. As the saying goes, it's not bragging if you can back it up.
Throughout the postgame locker room, shouts of "Who dat?" and more "We dat" answers were sprinkled throughout conversation.
It's swagger, yes, but it's earned.
Much will be made about Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan—that the buck must stop with him and he just doesn't have it this year. Maybe people think last year was some sort of mirage, as Ryan coached a top-five defensive unit.
Whatever the case may be, Ryan clearly stinks if one believes the growing media narrative.
With that said, the Saints weren't ignorant of what the Cowboys wanted to do. For the entire game, safety Jairus Byrd rolled over to Bryant's side of the field and helped limit his catches. However, coverage almost immediately broke down on the opposite side of the field and allowed Williams to feast.
For good measure, Romo still completed a number of picture-perfect passes to Bryant just to show that he could.
That's imposing your will.
That's toughness.
The Saints weren't ignorant of what Murray could do, either. After the game, Byrd said that the Saints game-planned for the Cowboys as a good running team. Both Byrd and fellow safety Kenny Vaccaro stacked the box on a number of plays that turned into big runs by Murray anyway.
Byrd's answer: "They did what we thought they would do."
The Saints were prepared. That just couldn't stop the Cowboys.
That's because of Dallas' toughness.
As Romo said in his postgame press conference, "This is a different football team and we know that. We're excited to be able to close out teams."
Many will want to focus on a defense that pitched a shutout in the first half, but shutting down a Saints offense that has been tepid for most of the season isn't exactly headline-worthy.
In fact, for a Cowboys defense that—maligned though it may be—entered Week 4 ranked 18th in scoring defense, this wasn't that far removed from what we're used to seeing.
No, what stood out in this game was an offense that seized opportunity. As the Saints came roaring back in the second half, it wasn't time for a back-breaking Romo pick or a fumble by Murray. No, it was time to simply finish the job.
That starts on the offensive line.
After the game, rookie offensive guard Zack Martin spoke glowingly about both Romo and Murray, saying that the caliber of play of both those stars makes it easy to be a lineman for the Cowboys.
"As long as we do our jobs, those two are going to make us look really good," he said.
Martin also called the offensive line the "hardest-working group I've ever been around," pointing out that the effort of each player across the line forces the others to work harder, and that mentality has allowed the unit to gel as the young season has gone on.
For years, the biggest knock on the Cowboys was how the team was built like owner Jerry Jones' personal fantasy football team. I'll admit, I was first among those critics...and we were right—emphasis on "were."
Now, after years of building in the trenches, the team can do more than just put up big numbers one day only to collapse the next.
Efforts like Sunday's allow Jones to say things like what he told reporters following the game. "I don't recall ever seeing a Cowboys team, in my 25 years, play better in terms of effort than we did in that first half," he said.
That's because this team isn't just talented. Now it's tough as well, and that makes this Cowboys team as dangerous as it's been in a long time.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.
Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.
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