Article:Easy there, Cowboy

by Taytay 24

Last week I warned the Cowboy fans not to get too carried away and identified my concerns about the team. This week I feel it is my responsibility to keep you from getting too down, so I'm going to point out all the things that went right Monday night in Buffalo.

The defense played great. Despite defending a short field due to Romo's turnovers, the defense only gave up 257 yards and three points-- Buffalo's TDs came off of two INTs and a kickoff return. Their offense went nowhere. The defense looked pretty bad in week 1 giving up 35 to the Giants, but they have gotten better each week since. As is, this is a Super Bowl caliber defense.

Romo's last two drives. He absolutely stunk for the majority of the game, but in the end, when the win was there to be taken, he led two scoring drives to get the job done. That answered a lot of my lingering questions about Romo. Most QBs would have folded sometime around half time, and most coaches would have yanked pulled the plug much earlier. Kudos to both Romo and Wade Phillips for not giving up on the game.

Only one player had a bad game. Romo has gotten a lot of attention for a year now, but this game was a pleasant reminder that there is more to the Cowboys than a hot QB. The running backs can play, particularly as a tandem, if they get the carries. The receiving corps can play and the O-line is solid. They've got a kicker. And have I mentioned the defense? Romo's game was awful, but it was not typical of him, and the rest of the team was able to make up the difference.

Team attitude. When Romo was down in the second quarter, offensive players, defensive players and coaches took the time to rally him. Yes, even T.O. Do you think that would have happened last year? This is a team that believes in each other. Don't underestimate that.

Can they afford games like this out of Romo every week? Certainly not: Buffalo might be the only team in the league that might happen against. The fact that they were able to pull off that win against anybody says something. Romo won't be that bad again, and this game showed us what the rest of the team can do.

Also published at 110 Percent.