Dallas 25, Buffalo 24: Oh, My God
By Matt Cordon (kh). Filed in Game Blog |
Words simply cannot describe this game. The Cowboys did everything they possibly could to lose, including five interceptions by Tony Romo and a fumble by Tony Romo. Terrell Owens had problems with drops again. The special teams gave up a long kickoff return.
But in the end…
* With Buffalo leading 24-16, Terence Newman grabbed an interception with 6:21 left in the fourth quarter that killed a Buffalo scoring drive that could have put the game away. Why Trent Edwards was throwing is of no concern… at least as far as I am concerned.
* Romo threw his final interception on the next drive (and it was a BAD interception), but the defense held. Dallas got the ball back at its own 20, and in 12 plays, scored a touchdown to cut the Buffalo lead to 24-22. However, the two-point conversion attempt bounced off of Terrell Owens’ hands.
* Nick Folk nailed a good onside kick, and Sam Hurd reached out and knocked it forward. Tony Curtis recovered with 18 second remaining.
* Romo appeared to hit Owens on a 22-yard play, followed by a spike. However, the official overturned the call, concluding that Owens dropped the catch.
* Romo hit Marion Barber and Patrick Crayton on back-to-back plays to get the ball into field goal range at the Buffalo 35.
* Folk made the first attempt, but Buffalo called a timeout right before the play. The rookie kicker came through anyway, nailing the 52-yarder to give the Cowboys a 25-24 win.
Key Plays
1st Quarter
3-10-DAL 2 (9:31) 9-T.Romo pass deep middle intended for 82-J.Witten INTERCEPTED by 37-G.Wilson at DAL 25. 37-G.Wilson for 25 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Receiver overthrown.
Result: Buffalo 7, Dallas 0
When this play occurred, NFL.com had a headline calling Romo “Mr. Perfect.”
4-1-DAL 35 (5:56) 23-M.Lynch left guard to DAL 35 for no gain (99-C.Canty, 56-B.James).
Result: The score remained Buffalo 7, Dallas 0.
The Cowboys could have found themselves in worst shape after Romo’s second interception. However, the defense came up with a stop on fourth down to hold the Buffalo lead to 7.
2nd Quarter
3-5-BUF 31 (12:49) (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo pass short left to 81-T.Owens to BUF 17 for 14 yards (33-J.Greer) [90-C.Kelsay]. Caught in flat at BUF 17. PENALTY on DAL-81-T.Owens, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced between downs.
1-10-BUF 22 (12:15) 9-T.Romo pass deep left to 82-J.Witten for 22 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught on run, 4 yds. into end zone.
Result: Dallas 7, Buffalo 7
Owens once again came up huge when it mattered most, hauling in the third down catch. We’ll gladly forget the penalty, because on the next play, Romo lofted a pass to Witten to tie the game.
1-10-DAL 11 (3:21) 9-T.Romo pass INTERCEPTED by 90-C.Kelsay at DAL -5. TOUCHDOWN. Pass batted upon throw at DAL 4, then intercepted in end zone.
Result: Buffalo 17, Dallas 7
This was about as ugly as it could get. The touchdown occurred off the screen, so it wasn’t clear where it went until after the play.
4-3-DAL 36 (:41) 9-R.Lindell 54 yard field goal is No Good, Wide Right, Center-72-R.Neill, Holder-8-B.Moorman.
Result: The score remained Buffalo 17, Dallas 7
The Bills decided to try for a field goal from 54 yards near the end of the half, rather than punt the ball. The miss set up the Cowboys’ field goal at the end of the half.
2-10-BUF 29 (:03) 6-N.Folk 47 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-91-L.Ladouceur, Holder-14-B.Johnson.
Result: Buffalo 17, Dallas 10
Folk has been the best draft pick (Spencer has been very good, though).
3rd Quarter
6-N.Folk kicks 73 yards from DAL 30 to BUF -3. 24-T.McGee for 103 yards, TOUCHDOWN. 9-R.Lindell extra point is GOOD, Center-72-R.Neill, Holder-8-B.Moorman.
Result: Buffalo 24, Dallas 13
After the Cowboys cut the lead to 17-13, McGee became the second player in two weeks to return a kick for a touchdown against Dallas.
4th Quarter
2-6-DAL 46 (9:58) (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo scrambles up the middle to DAL 49 for 3 yards (94-A.Schobel). FUMBLES (94-A.Schobel), RECOVERED by BUF-95-K.Williams at DAL 48.
Result: The score remained Buffalo 24, Dallas 16
After the Cowboys cut the lead to 24-16, they held on defense at got the ball back. However, Romo fumbled the ball right back. Things looked bad, until…
3-8-DAL 11 (6:21) (Shotgun) 5-T.Edwards pass short left intended for 83-L.Evans INTERCEPTED by 41-T.Newman (94-D.Ware) at DAL 5. 41-T.Newman to BUF 25 for 70 yards (83-L.Evans). FUMBLES (83-L.Evans), recovered by DAL-90-J.Ratliff at BUF 17. 90-J.Ratliff to BUF 17 for no gain (5-T.Edwards).
Result: The score remained Buffalo 24, Dallas 16. Dallas could tie with a touchdown and an two-point conversion.
Lots of ifs here: IF Buffalo just kicked the field goal, it would have been an 11-point game; IF Newman had outrun Lee Evans and scored, who knows what would have happened.
2-9-BUF 16 (5:33) 9-T.Romo pass intended for 82-J.Witten INTERCEPTED by 52-J.DiGiorgio at BUF 0. 52-J.DiGiorgio pushed ob at BUF 38 for 38 yards (81-T.Owens). Coverage over middle.
Result: The score remained Buffalo 24, Dallas 16.
This was an awful interception. Owens was open over the middle, but Romo tried to throw the ball to Witten in triple coverage.
1-4-BUF 4 (:24) (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo pass short right to 84-P.Crayton for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at goal line.
(Pass formation) TWO-POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT. 9-T.Romo pass to 81-T.Owens is incomplete. ATTEMPT FAILS. J.Greer defended pass in rear left corner of end zone.
Result: Dallas cut the lead to 24-22 but failed to tie the game.
The Cowboys at least made a game of it, right? The touchdown cut the lead to 24-22, but things looked bleak with the missed conversion.
The last 20 seconds were agonizing:
(Onside Kick formation) 6-N.Folk kicks onside 23 yards from DAL 30 to BUF 47, impetus ends at DAL 41. RECOVERED by DAL-89-T.Curtis. Ball traveled more than 10 yds. before first touch. The Replay Assistant challenged the kick touched ruling, and the play was Upheld.
1-10-BUF 47 (:18) (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo pass deep right to 81-T.Owens to BUF 25 for 22 yards (37-G.Wilson). Caught in flat at BUF 25. The Replay Assistant challenged the pass completion ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo pass incomplete deep right to 81-T.Owens. Pass hit ground before catch in flat at BUF 25.
2-10-BUF 47 (:13) (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo pass short right to 24-M.Barber pushed ob at BUF 43 for 4 yards (24-T.McGee). Caught in flat at BUF 44, receiver went directly to sideline.
3-6-BUF 43 (:07) (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo pass short right to 84-P.Crayton ran ob at BUF 35 for 8 yards. Caught along sideline at BUF 35.
1-10-BUF 35 (:02) 6-N.Folk 53 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-91-L.Ladouceur, Holder-14-B.Johnson. Penalty on BUF, Defensive Offside, declined.
Our Hero
With all due respect to Marion Barber, Terence Newman, Bradie James, Jason Witten, and Patrick Crayton… Folk is the hero.
Stay Tuned…
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Tuesday, October 9th 2007 at 10:20 pm
wow
Wednesday, October 17th 2007 at 11:52 am
To be fair though, on that conversion attempt, the ball didn’t bounce off of Owens’ hands. The ball was ripped out by Jabari Greer, who really made a great defensive play, although the pass was also underthrown by Romo.