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With a 31-21 win over the New York Giants in Week 7, the Cowboys improved to 6-1. A big part of their success against the Giants was the same sort of thing that has been a big part of their success all season long—a Big Three of offensive skill position players that hearkens back to the last generation of Cowboys.
Quarterback Tony Romo helped lead the way to victory against Eli Manning's team by completing 17 of 23 passes for 279 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception.
He may not earn the same amount of plaudits as former Cowboy (and current Fox broadcaster) Troy Aikman, but the current passer has been one of the NFL's best quarterbacks for a long time. This season, he's starting to remind people of that.
Romo hasn't needed gaudy stats this season, and Bleacher Report's Clarence Hill reminded us why leading up to this week, in a column titled: "Cowboys Getting the Maximum from Tony Romo by Asking Less." In that column, Hill wrote:
When it comes to the Dallas Cowboys' formerly pass-happy approach behind quarterback Tony Romo, less is more has resulted in him being more efficient, more mistake-free and more effective.
In the end, it could result in Romo, America's favorite whipping boy for hollow stats and big-game failures, finally having some playoff success and him being appreciated more than ever.
Much of that, as Hill also points out, is because Romo hasn't had this kind of support before.
Running back DeMarco Murray went over 100 yards for the seventh time in seven games this season. He's the first running back in NFL history to do that—not Jim Brown, not Walter Payton and not Barry Sanders.
He's outpacing even former Cowboys great Emmitt Smith, who retired as the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Murray's got a long way to go before claiming the kind of career Smith had, but the fourth-year player has gotten an awfully good start.
On the day, Murray racked up 128 yards on 28 carries (4.6 yards/carry) and a touchdown.
Perhaps the most physically gifted member of this new Big Three is wide receiver Dez Bryant. He was downright uncoverable against the Giants, with 151 yards receiving on nine catches. Though he didn't have a touchdown on the day, he was huge on the two final drives to put the Cowboys out of reach. CowboysRT expressed being impressed by the Cowboys' current team in comparison to past performances:
Up 21-14, Bryant broke loose down the left side of the field for a 24-yard catch down to the 1-yard line was initially ruled a touchdown. Though it took Murray to punch it in, the play seemed to put the Cowboys comfortably in control of the game—even if the Giants scored on the next drive to make it 28-21 with 5:28 remaining.
Then, on the Cowboys' final drive, Bryant had a 10-yard reception on 2nd-and-11 to help keep the time-killing drive alive, before a 13-yard reception just a few plays later. A few clock-burning runs by Murray after that and kicker Dan Bailey (who's good enough one could almost call this a Big Four) made the rest of the game academic.
This group of Romo, Murray and Bryant doesn't just compare favorably to the old Cowboys heyday of Aikman, Smith and Irvin. No, rather, it also compares favorably to the rest of the NFL in 2014. It took the Cowboys long enough to pair Romo with a couple of studs, and fans had to sit through failed attempts such as running back Felix Jones and wide receiver Roy Williams, but they've finally got the horses in the stable.
In fact, it is more than reasonable to say that no other team this season comes even close to the talent level of the Cowboys at QB, RB and No. 1 WR.
For years, the narrative of the Cowboys has cycled between blame for Romo, head coach Jason Garrett and owner/general manager/radio personality Jerry Jones. For much of that time, a lot of the criticisms were correct and rightfully made. However, that "brain trust" is the same core that is not at the center of the Cowboys' success.
The difference, of course, is the talent surrounding Romo on the field. It isn't just the other two in the Big Three. No, it's also a defense that no one expected to be anywhere near this capable and an offensive line that could lay claim to being the best in the entire league.
As Hill pointed out in his aforementioned column, and as I wrote about the offensive line previously, this kind of help alleviates both the quarterback from doing it all and the head coach from needing to be nearly perfect in everything he does.
Take, for instance, the Cowboys' first drive of the fourth quarter.
In a 4th-and-1 situation on the opposite side of the 50, up seven, with under 13 minutes remaining, the Cowboys could have gone a long way toward icing the game by simply giving Murray the chance to pick up that yard.
The New York Times' "4th Down Bot" called the decision too close to call, but it was hardly a "fortune favors the bold moment." One does not have to watch a lot of Cowboys games to think of how calls like this have bitten Garrett in the behind in the not-too-distant past.
Yet, the Cowboys' better-than-expected defense caused a fumble on the very next drive to make it a moot point.
Those sort of breaks...these sort of whole-team efforts haven't been the hallmark of this team in years past. That's a big part of why this team is heading for the playoffs instead of another 8-8 record.
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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