Star-Telegram.com: Sports

Dallas Cowboys prove a point in Philly, take over first place

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:10 CST

By CLARENCE E. HILL JR.

PHILADELPHIA — It was billed as a battle for the first place in the NFC East.

But it was much more than that for the Dallas Cowboys.

They came to the City of Brotherly Love not only seeking redemption for the embarrassing 44-6 rout in the 2008 season finale, but also validation.

The Cowboys needed to know for themselves if they were for real ... if they had the character and mental toughness to get it done against a good team in a big game on the road?

Mission accomplished.

A fourth-down stand by the defense in the fourth quarter was followed by a 49-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tony Romo to receiver Miles Austin, sending the Cowboys to a 20-16 victory before 69,144 disgruntled Philadelphia Eagles fans at Lincoln Financial Field.

"We had a lot of confidence going in," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "I think we’re getting better."

It’s the team’s first four-game winning streak since 2007, putting Dallas all alone atop the NFC East with a 6-2 record at the midpoint of the season.

The Cowboys are one game ahead of the Eagles (5-3) and the free-falling New York Giants (5-4) are two games back in the loss column after a four-game losing streak.

Most importantly, it answered some questions about the Cowboys’ character and resolve as they prepare to embark on the second half of the season and a push to the playoffs.

It was a game in which the old Cowboys might have wilted in crunch time. But these Cowboys proved to be the better team when it mattered the most.

That they did it here in Philadelphia makes it that much sweeter considering their awful recent history against the Eagles and the bitter memories of their previous trip here.

The Eagles had won four of the past six meetings and had double-digit victories against the Cowboys 10 times since 2000.

Eight of those were by more than 20 points, capped by the 44-6 game with the playoffs on the line in last year’s regular-season final.

Those days are over and if the Cowboys can continue to build their success of the last month, maybe their streak of 13 years without a playoff win will end, too.

Austin will be remembered as the hero as he continued the hottest streak in NFL history for a receiver in his first four starts of his career. He was held without a catch by the Eagles until a double move and a pump fake on Sheldon Brown allowed him to haul in a perfect pass from Romo. He then split the defense and raced to the end zone to break a 13-13 tie with 8:04 remaining.

Austin is the only player in NFL history to have touchdown receptions in his first four starts and he became the first Cowboys player to do it in four consecutive games since Terrell Owens did it in seven straight in 2007.

Romo exorcised his own demons with the touchdown throw. It was following the loss in Philadelphia last year that he uttered the infamous and regrettable quote: "If this was the worst thing to happen to me, I’ve lived a pretty good life."

It only fueled criticisms about Romo’s care-free attitude and the notion that he did not perform well in big games.

He has made amends with his play and words for much of the season. He continued to shine Sunday despite ending a career-long streak of three games without an interception and being under pressure for most of the night. Romo completed 21 of 34 passes for 307 yards.

Jimmie Johnson's wreck overshadows drama of Kurt Busch's victory at TMS

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:52 CST

By ANTHONY ANDRO

Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage has pulled off several successful publicity stunts.

Having a fat lady sing in Victory Lane after Sunday’s Dickies 500 wasn’t one of them.

It turned out to be premature.

Jimmie Johnson’s seemingly insurmountable 184-point lead entering the Sprint Cup race was cut to 73 after he was caught up in an early crash and finished 38th.

Kurt Busch won the event for the first time in his career, but the battle with two races remaining is between Johnson and teammate Mark Martin, who finished fourth to make up 111 points.

"All along we’ve been trying to tell everybody this thing is far from over and what our mind-set’s been," said Johnson, who spent more than an hour in the garage with the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet and finished 129 laps down. "Luckily we’ve raced for every point throughout this Chase. We still have a decent points lead right now. We need to dust ourselves off in Phoenix and get a good one in the bank there."

Sam Hornish Jr., who was tapped by David Reutimann, hit Johnson exiting Turn 2 on the third lap. Johnson slapped the wall and then hit Hornish, sending the No. 48 to the garage in last place.

Crew chief Chad Knaus contemplated putting the car on the truck, but the team was able to get it back in the race. By that time Johnson was in scramble mode and was as much a spectator in Busch’s battle against his brother as the estimated 167,000 in attendance.

Kyle Busch, who had the dominant car for most of the race, led 232 laps but ran out of gas with less than three laps to go, finishing 11th and ending his bid to become the first driver to win all three NASCAR races on the same weekend.

Kurt Busch had just enough fuel to cross the finish line and beat Denny Hamlin by more than 25 seconds.

While other drivers vying for the win stopped for fuel in the final laps, Kurt Busch was able to conserve fuel and avoided pitting.

The win was sweet because it made a $1 million winner out of a fan who had randomly selected Kurt Busch to win the race and because it came after a duel against his brother.

"I knew it was the 18 [Kyle] and the 2 [Kurt] and to have him going for his sweep of the weekend, I was rooting for him," Kurt Busch said. "It was bittersweet. We took the sweet part, which was the victory in the Cup. You want to win on Sundays. We raced him hard and it felt like old times."

Martin and his No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg’s Chevrolet were in 15th place 100 laps into the race. But his car was at its best at the end of the race, and Martin goes to Phoenix next week with a shot at his first Sprint Cup title.

"We can go head-to-head with them, no doubt about it," Martin said.

"In Phoenix we led the most laps and won the last time there and we have no reason to think we can’t run strong at Homestead. There could still be swings in points. There’s two races left and you never know what’s going to happen."

Sunday’s outcome could have been worse for Johnson.

Getting the car back on the track earned him 15 more points than a 43rd-place finish would have.

He also benefited from Jeff Gordon struggling to a 13th-place finish. Gordon is in third place, but 112 points behind Johnson.

"There were a couple of small things that helped us in the end but it’s still a big ouch," Johnson said. "We’re still in a great position. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or the wrong place at the right time depending on who you want to see win the championship."

There’s a real rivalry again, thanks to the Dallas defense

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:51 CST

GIL LeBRETON

PHILADELPHIA — All chanted profanities and fall-down drunks aside, there is something reassuring about seeing the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys back on the same field again, fighting in November for first place.

The Eagles, after all, are the ones who first put the post-Jimmy Cowboys in their places, which is to say on their silver-pantsed posteriors, wondering where all the America’s Team mojo went.

If the Cowboys were going to pronounce themselves truly back, though, they had to do more than come into Lincoln Financial Field and not wet those same silver pants.

As they did last December, for example, when Philadelphia embarrassed the Cowboys and spanked them 44-6, laughing all the way into the playoffs.

The Cowboys needed their defense, in other words, to right itself in the second half Sunday night and resume holding the upper hand over a Philly offense that was without Brian Westbrook.

They needed their offense in the fourth quarter to seize the field position that Eagles coach Andy Reid had brashly given them and get the ball to the end zone.

They needed Tony Romo, Roy Williams, Miles Austin, the pass rush and the entire secondary to finally put together a complete game.

Most of all, they needed to show themselves that they could put together four fearless quarters against a bullying division rival.

And, in the end, they did.

Austin grabbed a Romo pass and dashed 49 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, and the Cowboys held on to defeat the Eagles 20-16.

In so doing, the 6-2 Cowboys gained sole possession of first place in the NFC East for the first time in two seasons.

They have won four games in a row. And whatever smirks we may have rendered for that end zone celebration against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs, there should be no disparaging this hard-earned road victory over an old and bitter foe.

Perusing the Cowboys’ schedule before the season, most fans — and even Jerry Jones? — would have been amply happy with a 6-2 record through the season’s first half.

Receiver Austin continues to steal the headlines, but the Cowboys’ current streak has been held intact by their defense.

Toss out the season’s second game, in fact, against the New York Giants, and Cowboys defenders have held opponents to 21, 7, 17, 20, 21, 17 and now 16 points.

That kind of frugal defense will win a lot of NFL games. And in the Cowboys’ case, it also is taking pressure off quarterback Romo and the offense to drive the length of the field on every possession.

The Eagles’ offense finished with 297 yards, 89 of them on the ground. It was a far cry from the 44-point season finale last year.

Unlike last season, the Cowboys were able to keep the heat on Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb most of the night. They sacked McNabb four times and pressured him into two interceptions.

McNabb remains elusive, but the night-long rush kept him constantly dancing around and out of the pass pocket.

Cowboys tackle Jay Ratliff sacked McNabb twice and led the defensive charge.

Mavs winning at both ends

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:46 CST

By BRANDON GEORGE

Perhaps it’s hard to believe, but the Dallas Mavericks’ new mantra is strong defense.

For a team that once believed the fastest way to the win column was getting to 100 points, this season’s Mavericks have talked defense from the beginning and backed it up on the court.

Even on Saturday night, when the offense finally found a rhythm with swingman Josh Howard making his season debut, forward Shawn Marion attributed the Mavericks’ defense to the season-high point total in a 129-101 Toronto win.

"Everything starts with the defensive end. We’re all playing defense, and you’re seeing it now," Marion said. "The more we keep playing defense and getting stops, it’s going to fuel our offense."

Last season, the Mavericks were 18-23 in games in which they didn’t score in triple digits. This year: 3-1.

Coach Rick Carlisle emphasized defense from the first preseason practice. It’s been a missing link the last few seasons for a veteran Mavericks team that hasn’t made a deep playoff run.

They addressed their defense in the off-season, adding Marion and his far-reaching wingspan and SMU-ex Quinton Ross, whose strength is being a perimeter pest.

"Just by adding those two players, we’re already a better defensive team," Dirk Nowitzki said. "We’ve made a conscious effort to be better defensively. We’re doing well defensively and we’re rotating for each other and scrambling, and the defense has been fun to watch."

Though Howard gives the team a boost offensively, he’ll also help on the other end of the court. He had three steals in the first half against the Raptors. At the shooting guard spot, he can use his height, wingspan and physical play as an advantage.

"They got into us defensively," Toronto coach Jay Triano said. "We didn’t match them with the same intensity and that’s why [the score was] lopsided."

The Mavericks will have to rely on their defense to help get them through a tough upcoming stretch. Beginning Tuesday at home against Houston, Dallas plays five games in seven days, and the last four are on the road.

One of the areas the Mavericks struggled in last year was forcing turnovers, ranking 26th in the NBA at 13 per game. Through six games, Dallas is 12th in the league at 15.5 forced turnovers a game.

The Mavericks have held opponents to an average of 94.3 points and 44.2 percent shooting. Last year, Dallas allowed 99.8 points a game.

The Mavericks rank fourth in the NBA this season in blocks with an average of 6.83, led by center Erick Dampier’s 2.5 a game.

"As long as we’re going out there and playing team defense," Dampier said, "we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win every night."

Guard Jason Terry, known for his offensive punch off the bench, said he’s even taking it personal to improve his defense.

"I was challenged in training camp early," Terry said. "Actually at the end-of-the-year meetings last year, they said I could do a much better job defensively. I have taken that to heart and the team feeds off of it. Our defense is very underrated and right now we’re trying to make a statement."

ONLINE: mavs.com

Laid-back attitude helped Brett Hull into Hall of Fame

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:51 CST

By MIKE HEIKA

Brett Hull was born with a lot of his father Bobby’s hockey talents, including one of the hardest shots in the game. But the younger Hull said it was the mix of gifts he received from his parents that made his NHL career possible.

"When I was younger, I couldn’t have cared less if I ever became an NHL player, and I think that’s probably one of the key reasons I eventually made it," Hull said of a personality that favored his mom’s side of the family.

"I went at my own speed and never worried about things, and that was probably just as important as anything I did on the ice."

While Hull’s 741 career regular-season goals — third most in NHL history — made him a slam dunk for first-ballot induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame today, the stories that were told this weekend revolved around the mercurial personality of the man who serves as executive vice president and alternate governor of the Stars.

And that was always the key for Hull — being able to mix a stealth-like ability to disappear on the ice with an air of cockiness off of it.

"The funny thing about him is he would just find a way to get so wide open," former Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "You would see him score late in a game and hear the other coach say, 'How do you not cover Brett Hull?’ But he had a way of making you forget about him when he was out there."

Hull rarely was forgotten off the ice, offering opinions on everything from hockey strategy and labor relations to crossword puzzles, politics and football pools.

"I honestly think we needed him," said Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk, who helped the team win the 1999 Stanley Cup and was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner that season.

The Stars signed Hull as a free agent before the 1998-99 season following a four-year buildup that included the acquisition of players such as Nieuwendyk, Ed Belfour, Sergei Zubov, Darryl Sydor, Mike Keane, Pat Verbeek, Dave Reid, Guy Carbonneau and Shawn Chambers.

"He was clearly the last piece, the missing piece, in building our team, and I just think he gave us the swagger we needed," Nieuwendyk said. "You would watch him, and there was an absolute confidence in how he did things, and I think we picked up on that."

Hull said that swagger was equal parts confidence in what he could do on the ice and indifference to what anyone thought of him.

Being raised as the son of Bobby Hull, considered by some the greatest left wing in hockey history, wasn’t easy. But Brett said he watched his older brother, Bobby Jr., deal with the expectations and decided he wanted no part.

That was a tribute to his mother, Joanne. Hull’s parents separated when he was 14, and Hull spent some of his formative years with his mother in Vancouver. He said the ability to escape the shadow of his father’s name for that period was key.

"I think the genetic makeup I have — easygoing, don’t let a lot of things bother me, never really have any problem with pressure — I think that all came from my mother," Hull said.

Brett Hull left hockey for a while as a teen. He played baseball and football and just hung out. When he decided to return to the ice, he worked his way up through the lower-level junior ranks and eventually played at Minnesota-Duluth.

Along the way, he set ridiculous scoring marks, such as 105 goals in 57 games for Penticton, then 86 goals in the 1990-91 NHL season. That still stands as the third-highest season total in league history.

"It’s an amazing number," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow, who lists Hull as his boyhood idol and now a close friend. "You just can’t even imagine what it would take to do that for an entire season."

As much as Morrow was dazzled by Hull’s shot, he said he appreciated his style more.

"He just always looked like he was having fun," Morrow said. "And I always thought, 'It’s a game; it’s supposed to be fun, isn’t it?’ "

TCU knows what’s on the line against Utah

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:40 CST

By STEFAN STEVENSON

This is going to be huge.

The TCU football team plays one of the most important regular-season games in school history Saturday as reigning Mountain West Conference champion Utah comes to town for a 6:30 p.m. showdown at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

The Utes (8-1, 5-0) are riding a six-game winning streak and seek to dash the Horned Frogs’ hopes of a MWC title. TCU has lost to Utah three consecutive years, including a 13-10 heartbreaker at Utah last season.

But more than a MWC title is on the line.

TCU (9-0, 5-0) moved up two spots to No. 4 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, the highest BCS ranking ever for a team from a conference without an automatic BCS bid. TCU is attempting to finish the regular season undefeated for the first time since 1938, when the Frogs finished 11-0 and won the national championship. TCU jumped past No. 5 Cincinnati (9-0) and No. 10 Iowa (9-1), which dropped six spots after losing to Northwestern.

Utah is 16th in the BCS and The Associated Press, and 14th in USA Today’s coaches’ poll.

The Frogs, who have their highest AP ranking since 1956, when they were also No. 4, have won 11 consecutive games since losing to Utah on Nov. 6 of last year.

TCU moved up two spots to fourth in the AP poll, remained No. 4 in the USA Today coaches’ poll and is up one spot in the computer ranking used in the BCS equation. Florida is the consensus No. 1, while Alabama (No. 2 in the BCS) and Texas (No. 3) continue to jockey for the No. 2 spot. Texas, No. 2 in both the AP and coaches’ polls, dropped from third to fifth in the computer ranking, behind TCU. More importantly, TCU is still in a battle with No. 6 Boise State for poll position in hopes of earning a BCS bowl berth. Only one team from a non-automatic qualifying conference — the MWC for TCU and the Western Athletic Conference for Boise State — is guaranteed an invitation to one of the five BCS bowls.

Of course, all the speculation, rankings and hoopla will evaporate if TCU doesn’t beat Utah. Gary Patterson has preached this verse all season.

"It won’t be special unless we win this one," he said. "We’ve had teams right up to the cusp, but if you can’t win a conference championship, you can’t be special. We’ve been here before. We were playing awfully good football last year."

The Frogs were 9-1 and ranked No. 12 in the BCS when they faced the No. 8 Utes, then 9-0. Utah finished 13-0 and defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. TCU finished 11-2 with a victory over Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl.

"They’re very physical and they play hard and they know how to win," Patterson said of Utah. "They know how to play in big games and we’ve learned how to play in the big games. Now we’re going to see the final test of that story."

Hello, Davey O’Brien ...

Andy Dalton may have been overlooked by his hometown when the selection committee for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award — named in honor of the legendary Frogs quarterback — neglected to name him a semifinalist, but his name is starting to be dropped for top awards, such as the Heisman Trophy, by smitten national talk-show hosts and commentators.

Dalton, who is on the watch list for the Manning Award, is fourth in the nation in passing efficiency (162.71) behind Boise State’s Kellen Moore, BYU’s Max Hall and Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen. Dalton is ahead of many notable Heisman candidates, including Florida’s Tim Tebow, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Houston’s Case Keenum.

No. 4 TCU vs. No. 16 Utah 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Amon G. Carter Stadium

TV: CBS College Sports

Radio: ESPN/103.3 FM, KTCU/88.7 FM

Records: TCU 9-0, 5-0 Mountain West; Utah 8-1, 5-0

Tony Romo delivers another complete performance in win over Eagles

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:10 CST

By JEFF CAPLAN

PHILADELPHIA — With a quick pump fake followed by a tight, arching spiral that Miles Austin snatched in mid-stride, quarterback Tony Romo sent Wade Phillips bouncing downfield, his arms stretched to the sky and a smile spilling over the face of the coach of the NFC East’s first-place team.

Phillips, the always embattled head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, never seemed to take the early season criticism and questions of his quarterback seriously.

Was the coaching staff allowing Romo to be Romo? Should Romo be Romo? If not, who should Romo be anyway? Eli Manning?

"Tony Romo will be fine," Phillips would say.

In a conference top-heavy in quarterback play with Brett Favre, Drew Brees and Kurt Warner at the highest level, Romo, his team 6-2 after a 20-16 victory, is right there in the conversation.

One game after Romo spread the ball around to 10 pass-catchers, seven caught balls Sunday totaling 307 yards, Romo’s fourth 300-plus-yard game of the season.

And, yes, his perfectly placed 49-yard bomb to Austin in the fourth quarter was the back-breaker. But Romo’s best achievement might have finally been getting him and struggling receiver Roy Williams on the same page.

Williams caught a season-high five balls for 75 yards. Most impressive was the percentage Romo completed to him. Romo threw his way eight times, completing five. Entering the game, the two had connected just 38 percent of the time.

Doing it in Philadelphia, the site of last season’s embarrassing end and Romo’s forgettable comments, made it all the more special. And when the game was on the line and either Romo or Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb would make the plays to win the game, it was Romo taking the lead.

Romo had talked last week about such a situation unfolding, realizing the doubt hovering from past failures.

"We think we’re a different football team now," Romo said earlier in the week. "We’re a confident group that feels as though if we go out there and execute we can score on anybody."

The Cowboys’ defense came through in the fourth quarter with a fourth-and-1 stuffing of McNabb up the middle to give the offense the ball at the Dallas 45. A holding penalty on center Andre Gurode put the Cowboys in a first-and-20 hole at their 45.

Then Marion Barber lost 4 yards to make it second-and-24, and it appeared the Cowboys were about to blow the momentum switch.

Romo stepped up and hit Patrick Crayton for 10 yards to the Philadelphia 49 for a third-and-14.

Quiet all night under the watch of Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel, Austin broke free of Philadelphia’s other stellar corner Sheldon Brown — Romo’s pump fake freezing the defense — and split the secondary.

Austin made a bread-basket catch and took it in for the score. Romo jumped into Marc Colombo’s arms as Phillips chugged down the sideline as coach of the NFC East’s first-place team.

Quarter-by-quarter look at Cowboys-Eagles game

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:10 CST

The Cowboys spent all off-season trying to get over the no-show performance in the 44-6 loss at Philadelphia to end 2008. They opened the game looking like a team bent on atonement. The defense was simply dominating against the Eagles’ explosive attack, limiting them to one first down. Gerald Sensabaugh’s interception off a tipped pass put the Cowboys in scoring position early. On their second possession of the game, Dallas drove 37 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. They converted two third downs and got a big play from rookie Kevin Ogletree, who gained 21 yards on a flanker screen on a third-and-9 play. The Cowboys broke out the Razorback offense, with running back Tashard Choice taking a direct snap from center and running 2 yards for a touchdown.

Time

of possession

DAL PHI 10:11

4:49

Total yards

DAL PHI 103

Rushing yards

DAL PHI 16

Passing yards

DAL PHI 87

SECOND QUARTER

The Cowboys continued to do a solid job on defense as they gave up no big plays and took advantage of good field position to force the Eagles to drive the field. The Eagles made a few plays, but didn’t get anything done consistently against the Cowboys’ defense and had to settle for 45- and 48-yard field goals by David Akers. The Cowboys offense wasn’t much better, rushing for 10 yards in the second quarter. They were hit and miss in the passing game as well, typified by the final drive. A 64-yard pass to Patrick Crayton gave the Cowboys a first down at the 17. A screen to Kevin Ogletree gave the Cowboys a first-and-goal at the 4. But quarterback Tony Romo twiced missed Roy Williams on slants in the end zone. He then threw incomplete to Jason Witten, forcing the Cowboys to settle for 22-yard field goal by Nick Folk and a 10-6 lead.

Time

of possession

DAL PHI 5:26

Losing to Cowboys places Eagles in a familiar spot

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:10 CST

BY JON MARCKS

PHILADELPHIA — It’s like old times in the NFC East, as the NFL season reaches the midway point.

In other words, the Philadelphia Eagles are again looking up at the Dallas Cowboys.

In a city where they’re still feeling the sting of the Phillies’ near miss in winning back-to-back World Championships, folks here at Lincoln Financial Field were hoping Donovan McNabb & Co. could give them a shot of adrenaline.

But after scoring on the first possession of the second half to take a three-point lead, the Eagles couldn’t seal the deal.

And following a couple of spots by the officials that denied them apparent first downs — both upheld by replay — the Cowboys responded with 10 unanswered points, then held on for a 20-16 win that moves them into sole possession of first place in the East.

While the division has pretty much belonged to the Eagles — who’ve won it five times since the turn of the century — prior to that it seemed Philadelphia was always in pursuit of the Cowboys.

Now they are again, as the Giants’ free fall has flipped the balance of power.

The backbreaker for Philadelphia came with the score tied 13-13 midway through the fourth quarter when Tony Romo hooked up with Miles Austin — who had been shut out until then — on a 49-yard scoring strike.

The Eagles countered with a 52-yard David Akers field goal, his third of the night, leaving them just 4:26 to steal the win, but with no timeouts, having lost two critical ones on unsuccessful challenges.

But when they couldn’t prevent Dallas from getting two first downs, taking it down to the 2:00 mark, the game was essentially over.

Westbrook sits

The concussion that Brian Westbrook suffered against the Redskins two Monday nights ago has cost him two games, and counting.

After missing last week’s 40-17 romp over the Giants, Westbrook returned to practice early last week.

But once he began getting headaches late in the week — even though a series of tests did not indicate concussion symptoms — the Eagles decided to err on the side of caution and held him out against the Cowboys.

It’s the first time the 30-year-old Westbrook has missed a Dallas game in his eight seasons.

For his career, Westbrook had carried the ball 178 times for 734 and seven touchdowns against the Cowboys, a 4.1 average. He had also caught 3 passes for 517 yards and two scores. Only once — in 2006 at Texas Stadium — did he reach the century mark against the Cowboys.

In addition to Westbrook, outside linebacker Chris Gocong was held out because of a sore hamstring, bringing to six the number of Eagles’ prospective preseason starters sidelined.

Already out for the season are middle linebacker Stewart Bradley (knee) and former Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews (back).

Receiver Kevin Curtis (knee) and defensive end Victor Abiamiri (knee) were also inactive. While Curtis and Abiamiri have been out before, this was the first game Gocong missed. Rookie Moise Fokou, a seventh-round pick from Maryland, took his spot.

Top 2009 draft pick Jeremy Maclin, who’s caught 23 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns, started in place of Curtis, while veteran Juqua Parker took Abiamiri’s spot, sacking Tony Romo on the Cowboys’ first possession.

UIL Football Playoff Pairings

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:31 CST

Star-Telegram

CLASS 5A

DIVISION I

Region I Bi-District

EP El Dorado (8-2) vs. Odessa Permian (7-3), 1 p.m. Saturday, Socorro AC, El Paso

Haltom (5-5) vs. Martin (6-4), 9 p.m. Thursday, Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Trinity (8-2) vs. Flower Mound (6-4), 11 a.m. Saturday, Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Duncanville (4-4) vs. Plano (4-6), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Irving Schools Stadium

EP Franklin (7-3) vs. Odessa (8-2), 8 p.m. Friday, Sun Bowl, El Paso

Burleson (7-3) vs. Arlington (8-2), 9 p.m. Friday, Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Keller (6-4) vs. Coppell (9-1), 8 p.m. Saturday, Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Irving MacArthur (6-4) vs. Plano East (6-3), 1 p.m. Saturday, Standridge Stadium, Carrollton

Region II Bi-District

Dallas Skyline (10-0) vs. Rowlett (4-6), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, Mesquite

DeSoto (8-2) vs. Bryan (5-5), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Waco ISD Stadium

Spring Westfield (7-3) vs. Conroe (5-5), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Woodforest Bank Stadium, Shenandoah

Cypress Woods vs. District 16 No. 2, TBA

Richardson Berkner (6-4) vs. Garland (8-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Wildcat-Ram Stadium, Dallas

A&M Consolidated (7-3) vs. Tyler Lee (4-5), 2 p.m. Saturday, Corsicana HS

Klein Forest (7-3) vs. The Woodlands (10-0), TBA

Cypress Falls (5-5) vs. Round Rock Stony Point (9-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Round Rock ISD Stadium