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We take a look at some of the early national headlines as they recap Sunday's action.
Cowboys go to Tennessee and trip up the Titans | ProFootballTalk
PFT's wordsmiths give us the title of our Monday Morning news roundup.
Dallas destroyed Tennessee 26-10 today, behind a surprisingly tough defense that looked a whole lot better than anyone imagined the Cowboys’ defense could be this season. Jake Locker had trouble all day, throwing two interceptions and getting sacked twice, and although Titans tight end Delanie Walker played well, with a 61-yard touchdown among his 10 catches and 142 yards, that was about all Tennessee had.
Cowboys' beleaguered defense shuts down Titans - NFL.com
Chris Wesseling offers seven observations from the game, two of which stand out to me:
1. Jake Locker's box score is misleading. Battling ball-placement issues, he had a 7.6 passer rating at halftime. Outside of a fluky 61-yard touchdown to Delanie Walker, the Titans offense was practically non-existent before garbage time.
3. DeMarco Murray's has thrown his hat in the ring for the honor of the NFL's best running back. He leads all starters in yards per carry since the start of the 2013 season. He was a tackle-breaking monster against the Titans on Sunday, bringing his two-game total to 316 yards from scrimmage on 55 touches.
Titans start too slowly in 26-10 loss to Cowboys - The Associated Press
"They did to us what we did to Kansas City last week," Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said summarized the day's events.
Massive win for the Cowboys as Murray shreds Titans- CBSSports.com
In a roundup of the weekend's action, Will Brinson applauds the Cowboys for sticking with the run. Looks like that was the plan all along:
Credit Jason Garrett for sticking with Murray even after the running back fumbled early in the game (again!).
"That was the third carry of about 30 carries you're going to have today," Garrett told Murray. "So hold onto the damn ball!"
Murray carries Cowboys past Titans - The Courant.com
This article leads with the meme that facts couldn't kill:
"The Dallas Cowboys are almost perfect when DeMarco Murray gets 20 or more carries in a game."
Sticking to run takes pressure off Romo - Jean-Jacques Taylor, ESPN
JJT makes it to the ESPN front page with his ode to the running game.
If the Cowboys can figure out a way to consistently play the style they used Sunday, they they're capable of winning more games than most of us envisioned and ending this wretched streak of four consecutive years without making the playoffs.
[...] But it was the fourth quarter where Linehan and Garrett showed us there really might be a new way for the Cowboys to win games. Linehan called runs on 17 of 21 fourth-quarter plays. And when the Cowboys took over at their 6 with 6:22 left after stopping Tennessee on fourth down, Linehan called 11 consecutive running plays -- five to Murray and six to Lance Dunbar.
Cowboys vs. Titans final score: 3 things we learned in Dallas' 26-10 win - SBNation.com
This article notes that Rolando McClain has been Dallas' best defensive player for two weeks running now, and gives us this gif of McClain's interception.
Surprise! Run game leads Cowboys over Titans | Matt Mosley, FOX Sports
Mosley wonders whether the Titans game is a preview of what to expect for the rest of the season.
Maybe the Cowboys have found an offensive identity early in this season. Murray has had consecutive 100-yard games. This young offensive line seemed to gain confidence throughout the game. And to eat up the final six minutes without having to throw a pass was especially impressive. New offensive coordinator Scott Linehan arrived with a pass-heavy reputation, but he stuck with what was working Sunday. It was also notable the Cowboys turned to the run in the red zone. That wasn't the case in last Sunday's loss to the 49ers.
Titans' defense 'embarrassing' against Cowboys - The Tennessean
The Tennessean sees the Titans' failure to stop the run as the key to yesterday's game.
The Titans stifled the Chiefs [in Week 1], limiting Charles to just 19 yards and his team to 67 on 17 carries. Murray proved to be an entirely different challenge. In the first half alone, he posted seven carries of nine yards or more, totaling 117 yards on 15 attempts. On the first touchdown drive, he accounted for all 40 yards — ripping off gains of 18, 6, 13 and 3 yards.
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