ShareHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
ARLINGTON — It was the fourth quarter before the Dallas Cowboys gave up a big play against the pass. By then, the game was almost decided, and a strength of the Atlanta Falcons – wide receiver Roddy White and tight end Tony Gonzalez – had been neutralized.
The Cowboys asked their cornerbacks to stay with White, the big-play threat who came in leading the Falcons in catches, yards per catch and touchdown catches.They used almost every other position to play defense against Gonzalez, one of the league’s best pass-catching tight ends. Strong safety Gerald Sensebaugh covered him. Cornerback Orlando Scandrick covered him. Inside linebacker Bobby Carpenter covered him. Strongside linebacker Anthony Spencer covered him. In the end, the speedy white and the 6-foot-5 Gonzalez accounted for 10 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Gonzalez caught a third-and-10 pass for 17 yards against Scandrick, but Scandrick and Hamlin later broke up third-down passes intended for the big tight end."I let him catch a ball on me," Scandrick said. "I was mad about that. But it’s Tony Gonzalez, one of the best tight ends. I just played him to the inside, and he had leverage on me."White caught two significant passes – a 12-yard touchdown in the first quarter and an 11-yard pass on third down in Dallas territory in the third quarter.But otherwise, he did not hurt a Cowboys defense that came in ranked 26th against the pass and was playing with Sensebaugh in a cast to brotect a broken thumb. Jenkins intercepted a pass intended for White in the second quarter."We just wanted to keep the integrity of the defense," Sensebaugh said. "Just make sure guys are in position. No balls went over our heads."More time for sacksDeMarcus Ware picked up two of the Cowboys’ four sacks, but he knew where they came from.The guys in the back."Those guys in the back – Jenks, Gerald, all those guys – were making plays, hitting those guys," he said. "They probably didn’t want to catch it with the way they were hitting them. I think they forced at least two fumbles. So they gave us a little bit more time to get to the quarterback."Marcus Spears and Jay Ratliff also had sacks for the Cowboys, who became only the second team to sack the Falcons’ Matt Ryan this season. Ryan had not been sacked since Week 1 when Miami got him twice. Spears’ first-quarter sack ended a string of 142 drop-backs without a sack allowed for the Falcons, then Ware made it two in a row on the next play."Pressure affects the passing game, regardless of who is out there playing," Ryan said. "Dallas did a good job of getting some pressure in different situations. Even with them bringing the pressure, I thought we still hung tough back there."Falcons coach Mike Smith said the Cowboys produced their pressure with five rushers."They were the more physical and the better football team," he said. "We started fast that first drive. After that, I felt like the Cowboys dominated the rest of the ballgame."Positive turnoversFew stats determine an outcome like turnover margin, and the Cowboys were not strong in that department coming into the game. They were minus-4, while the Falcons were plus-5.But the Cowboys wound up with three takeaways to one giveaway Sunday. Jenkins and Scandrick each had interceptions, and Anthony Spencer recovered a fumble forced on a sack by Ware. The Cowboys had two near-miss opportunities for recoveries on fumbles forced by Jay Ratliff and Terence Newman. And Jenkins, who took a blow to his reputation last season by apparently avoiding a tackle attempt against the Giants’ Brandon Jacobs, nearly got in the act with a hard hit on Marty Booker that looked like it knocked the ball loose but was overturned on replay."You saw a lot of big hits and not a lot of missed tackles," Sensebaugh said. "Guys were doing a good job out there just running to the football."
@Nyx.CommentBody@