Walt, I just wanted to see your predictions for the Cowboys game-by-game. I have tweaked mine a little bit but it still amounts to the same record.
@ Jacksonville: W 41-27
We will have something to prove in this game. We got much better in the off-season and Jacksonville got slightly worse yet we are the underdogs! TO will make Jacksonville's defense pay early and the Jags' offense will not get much of anything going against our stout defense. I think that we jump out to a 17-0 lead before the Jaguars do anything. The Jags finally come back with a touchdown to make it 17-7 before we kick a field goal right before halftime that gives us a 20-7 lead. The Jags don't know what hit them. In the second half, the Jaguars get the ball and have to settle for a field goal that makes it 20-10 before we score another touchdown to take a commanding 27-10 lead in the third quarter. Jacksonville answers back with another score and the score is 27-17 going into the fourth. With the Jags coming up on us, I can see someone making a big play and us scoring a touchdown to seemingly put the game away at 34-17, but the Jaguars aren't done yet. They score a quick touchdown to pull within 34-24 in the fourth, and then kick a field goal to make it 34-27. Now with just a one score lead, we have to do something to put the game away. At this point, Parcells uses one of his signature trick plays and Terrell Owens scores on a flea-flicker. We win 41-27.
DAL 14 6 7 14 41 JAX 0 7 10 10 27
v.s. Washington
As usual, the sportswriters would find something wrong with our win over Jacksonville and so they criticize our defense for giving up 27 points to the Jaguars' offense. This week our defense will not make the same mistake. Breathing fire from our sweep last year, the Cowboys jump out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The Redskins defense finally wakes up in the second quarter and we go into the half still leading 10-0. In the third we get our offense going, but we are forced to just kick a field goal so it is 13-0 going into the fourth, sound familiar? It does, but this time we won't let it slip away. We score a touchdown in the fourth to take a 20-0 lead and seemingly have the game rapped up, but the Redskins pull their magic again, scoring on a long bomb to Santana Moss. Now it is 20-7 and Washington needs two more of those to win and after they recover an onside kick it looks like they may just do that, but the Cowboys intercept Brunell on the drive and kick a field goal to end the game 23-7 and go into our bye at 2-0.
WSH 0 0 0 7 7 DAL 10 0 3 10 23
@ Tennessee
This game reminds me of the Oakland and San Francisco games last year. It's a trap. We go in all rusty after our bye and overconfident and the Titans jump out to an early touchdown and a 7-0 lead. We answer with a field goal, but Tennessee still leads 10-3 after they kick one themselves. In the second quarter, the Titans score again on a field goal and our team is just so down in the dumps that they don't get anything going the rest of the quarter. Tennessee leads 13-3 at the half. To start the second half, we finally get it going and not to be blown out, score a touchdown to make Tennessee's lead just 13-10, the Titans answer with a field goal to make it 16-10 and just before the end of the quarter, we score again to finally take the lead at 17-16. In the fourth quarter, the Titans can't catch up with us after we take the lead. We stop their offense and then score again to take a 24-16 lead with about 5 minutes left. Now, Jeff Fisher gives his team an inspiring speech telling them to not give up on this game. The Titans come out and execute, scoring a touchdown to come within 24-22 and they attempt a two-point conversion. They fail and we still lead 24-22. They then attempt an onside kick, but we recover and we are in control of the game. The Titans call timeouts on our first two downs and so here we are- third down and the Titans still having a timeout. We could be conservative and force the Titans to use their last timeout with less than 2 minutes remaining but that would let them have an opportunity to win with a field goal, and we didn't hire Terrell Owens to be conservative in the clutch. Bledsoe throws to Owens, he scores and the Cowboys win 31-22.
DAL 3 0 14 14 31 TEN 10 3 3 6 22
@ Philadelphia
Now we get the Eagles who are ready to beat us after we swept them last year. But we are ready too. Both teams come out firing and after the first quarter we hold a 14-10 advantage. We keep piling it on in the second, as the Eagle defense cannot stop our offense. We score two more touchdowns to take a 28-10 lead. The Eagles score to cut it to 28-17, but we answer with a field goal before the half to lead 31-17. Our lead isn't insurmountable but it almost is, and in the third quarter we turn it into an insurmountable lead. We score another touchdown to take a 38-17 lead and clinch the game. The Eagles would add a touchdown and we would add a field goal and we leave Philadelphia with a 41-24 win.
DAL 14 17 7 3 41 PHI 10 7 7 0 24
v.s. Houston
Please! That opening day loss to Houston seems like it was a million years ago now. No real story here. We jump out to a 27-3 lead and they score before the end of the game to make the score just closer on the scoreboard than it was on the field.
HOU 3 0 0 7 10 DAL 7 10 7 3 27
v.s. NY Giants
The Giants are kind of hot after their terrible start. After starting 0-3, the Giants rebounded to win their next 2 games to reach 2-3 going into this game, so with a win the Giants could go to .500, but we were waiting. The Giants start out good, taking a 3-0 lead, but our offense was just too much for their defense to handle as we answered their field goal with a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. That score would maintain going into the second quarter. In the second, all we get is a field goal and at the half, we lead 10-3. The Giants had put together a good effort up to this point, but in the second half we score a pair of touchdowns to take a 24-3 lead going into the fourth quarter. They answer back with a touchdown to make it just a two score game at 24-10 but we kick a game clinching field goal to win 27-10. The win brings the Cowboys to 6-0.
NYG 3 0 0 7 10 DAL 7 3 14 3 27
@ Carolina
Now this is a big one. This is the test everyone has been waiting for the Cowboys to answer and we come up big. Keep in mind that we were the only team that knew how to shut down Steve Smith in last year's regular season. In fact, the Cowboys defense frustrated Smith to the point that he was thrown out of the game last year. This year will be no different. After we jump out to a 14-0 lead though, Delhomme relies on Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson can be a GOOD receiver but he is not a GREAT receiver. The Panthers score on this drive to make it 14-7 but relying on Keyshawn will not get them very far. In the second we add another touchdown to lead 21-7 and then Vanderjagt kicks a field goal to make it 24-7 Dallas at halftime. The Panthers are frustrated. In the third, they score to cut the lead to 24-14 but then we answer right back with another touchdown to take a commanding 31-14 lead. Both teams score in the fourth, and we win 38-21 at Carolina. The Cowboys are now 7-0 and their doubters are shut up... at least temporarily.
DAL 14 10 7 7 38 CAR 7 0 7 7 21
@ Washington
At this game, the Redskins stand at 4-3, us 7-0, so if Washington is to have any chance in the NFC East they would have to beat us on this day. They start out good, taking a 10-0 lead after 1, but we answer back with a touchdown in the second to make it 10-7 Washington. The Redskins answer right back to make it 17-7 but then the Cowboys come back with their two minute drill and kick a field goal to go into halftime trailing 17-10. The third quarter is a stalemate as neither offense can do anything on the opposing defense but the fourth quarter is a track meet as Washington scores first to take a 24-10 lead and just need to stop the Cowboys on their next drive to just about hand Dallas their first loss, but the Cowboys dont let that happen. The Cowboys offense gels, moving down the field quickly for a touchdown to make it 24-17 'Skins. The Cowboys then luck out, recovering the onside kick and scoring on Julius Jones run to tie the game at 24 and send it to overtime, but unfortunately, the Redskins win the overtime coin toss and score in the extra period to win 27-24 and stay in the NFC East race
DAL 0 10 0 14 0 24 OT WSH 10 7 0 7 3 27
@ Arizona
The Cowboys are depressed after the overtime loss to Washington, while the Cardinals are needing a big W to stay in the race. The Cardinals score early to take a 7-0 lead, but their defense gives up a big play to TO on the next possession. However, the long pass amounts to nothing more than a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 Cardinals. Arizona will score again before the half and they lead 14-3. In the third quarter, they add a field goal and lead 17-3 after 3. The Cowboys look hopeless at this point, but then urgency kicks in. Much like Washington last year, we score two touchdowns to tie the game at 17 with only about a minute remaining, but it was too little, too late. Arizona wasn't going to let this game get away and they drive down the field for the field goal that gives them a 20-17 win, dropping the Cowboys to 7-2 and losing them their second consecutive close game.
DAL 3 0 0 14 17 ARZ 7 7 3 3 20
v.s. Indianapolis
The Cowboys are depressed after losing the two close games and come out with little effort against the Colts. Manning and Co. score at will and take a 21-0 lead. The Cowboys finally score to make it 21-7 going into the second and in the second the Cowboys finally get it going again, but get nothing more than a field goal to make it 21-10. The Cowboys comeback would be short lived, as the Colts score once more before halftime. At the half, it is Indianapolis 28, Dallas 10. In the third, the Colts add a field goal to their score to lead 31-10, but the Cowboys do not lie down yet, scoring again to make it 31-17 Indy. In the fourth, we score again to make it 31-24 Colts and just when we were on the verge of coming back, the Colts score one last touchdown to put an end to the game at 38-24. Normally losing three consecutive games would cost you a division lead but after beating the Cowboys, the Redskins dropped back-to-back games as well so the Cowboys still maintain a 2 game lead in the NFC East.
IND 21 7 3 7 38 DAL 7 3 7 7 24
v.s. Tampa Bay
The Cowboys are now angry after losing three consecutive games and they take it out on Tampa Bay. Both teams are 7-3 going into the game and both look like they will be a force in the NFC Playoffs. Tampa Bay is the favorite since Dallas has lost three straight games, but the Cowboys aren't about to lose on Thanksgiving again. The Cowboys offense looks less than great early on, having to settle for a field goal that gives them a 3-0 lead but their defense made up for the blunder, intercepting Tampa Bay and returning it for a touchdown to take a 10-0 lead after 1. In the second, the Cowboys offense scores a touchdown to give Dallas a commanding 17-0 lead. It was apparent that the Cowboys would not lose a fourth straight game. Tampa Bay would score a touchdown of their own before the end of the half though and it was 17-7 Cowboys at halftime. In the second half, Dallas closed the deal. The Cowboys kicked a field goal in the third to take a 20-7 lead and they would score another touchdown in the fourth to end a Turkey Day of domination as a 27-7 Cowboys win. The victory moves us to 8-3.
TB 0 7 0 0 7 DAL 10 7 3 7 27
@ NY Giants
Now at 8-3 we get the Giants at the Meadowlands to try and sweep them. The Giants would be 4-7 at this point and just about out of the playoff picture. The G-Men do score first to take a 7-0 lead but their heart just isn't in this game. I see us scoring three straight touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead in the second before they kick a field goal before halftime to cut the score to 21-10 at halftime. In the second half we add a touchdown and field goal to make it 31-10 before they scored a touchdown near the end of the game to make the score more respectable at 31-17. The win puts us at 9-3.
DAL 7 14 3 7 31 NYG 7 3 0 7 17
v.s. New Orleans
New Orleans has dominated us the past few years but I dont see them beating us in this game. However, I do think that they grab an early lead. I think the Saints take a 7-0 lead in the first and then after we tie the game at 7 they score again on a field goal to make it 10-7 at halftime. They then would add another touchdown in the third to take a 17-7 lead before we score a touchdown of our own to make it 17-14. After a Saints field goal that made it 20-14, we finally take the lead on a touchdown that makes it 21-20 Cowboys at the end of the third quarter. Then in the fourth we pull away with a couple touchdowns to make it a 35-20 win. The win puts us at 10-3 and ensures that we will at least tie this year for Bill Parcells' best record while in Dallas.
NO 7 3 10 0 20 DAL 0 7 14 14 35
@ Atlanta
Playing at Atlanta, the Cowboys could clinch a playoff berth with a win and with a loss the Falcons would be eliminated from the playoff picture. Early on the teams feel each other out with it just being a 3-3 tie before Terrell Owens shows off in front of his home town, scoring a touchdown to give us a 10-3 lead after 1. The Falcons tie the game again in the second at 10 but then we are forced to kick just a field goal and take a 13-10 lead. The Falcons answer right back with a touchdown and then we kick a field goal before halftime so it is 17-16 Falcons at halftime, then we pull away from yet another team. After Atlanta kicks a field goal to take a 20-16 lead we score to make it 23-20 Cowboys after 3, then in the fourth we score to take a 30-20 lead. After Atlanta cuts the lead to 30-27 we ice the game with a touchdown and a 37-27 win that puts us at 11-3 and in the playoffs.
DAL 10 6 7 14 37 ATL 3 14 3 7 27
v.s. Philadelphia
Now at 11-3 we can clinch the NFC East over the 9-5 Redskins with a win in this game. We are not to be denied. Philly gets torched in a 27-0 beating that clinches us the NFC East division title and a first round bye. We now stand at 12-3.
PHI 0 0 0 0 0 DAL 7 13 0 7 27
v.s. Detroit
In this game we would be playing for homefield advantage. If we won and Seattle lost then we would have homefield throughout the playoffs but if we won and Seattle won then they would have homefield throughout. Since we think we might have a shot, we end up taking a 16-0 lead and cruising to victory but in the end, Seattle wins and claims homefield throughout.
