[ratings]

[tags]Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Green Bay Packers[/tags]

Terrell Owens had two receptions for 17 yards. Tony Romo threw an interception in the end zone, thus killing a drive. Romo was also flagged twice for intentional grounding. And the offensive line gave up three sacks in the first half.

But thanks to some huge plays by a couple of reserves named Miles and Felix, along with hard running by the starter named Marion, the Cowboys pulled away from Green Bay to improve to 3-0 on the season. Since the other three NFC East teams also won today, tonight’s victory was even more important.

Pacman Jones still doesn’t have an interception, but he recovered a Ryan Grant fumble early and returned the ball to the Green Bay 14. The Cowboys couldn’t manage a first down and settled for a field goal.

Green Bay responded with a long drive that set up a field goal to tie the game. In response, the Cowboys moved deep into Packer territory and faced a 3rd-and-13. Romo made a bad pass over the middle, and it was picked off by Nick Collins, who returned it from the end zone all the way to the Dallas 43. The play led to another field goal.

Dallas struggled on its next possession, but the defense held the Packers. The Cowboys got the ball back with 7:53 left in the half and quickly moved the ball to the 40 thanks to two Barber runs and a pass to Owens. From the Dallas 40, Felix Jones found an opening on the left sideline and outran the Packer secondary for a 60-yard touchdown run. Dallas took a 10-6 lead with the play, and the Cowboys did not trail for the rest of the game. Another field goal before the half gave Dallas a 13-6 lead.

Green Bay cut the lead to 13-9 on the Packers’ first drive of the second half. On the next drive, the Cowboys had a 1st-and-10 from the Cowboy 34. Romo found Miles Austin on a post pattern that resulted in a 63-yard gain down to the Packer 3. The Cowboys scored two plays later to take a 20-9 lead.

Austin scored again a 52-yard touchdown pass with just over nine minutes left to blow the game open. The Cowboys’ offensive line wore down the Packer line, allowing Barber to eat up yards in the second half.

Stats and Such

* Barber had his first 100-yard game of the season, gaining 142 yards on 28 carries.
* Austin entered the game with 7 receptions for 88 yards during his career. He had two receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown against Green Bay.
* Before Patrick Crayton attempted a pass on an end-around in the first quarter of tonight’s game, the last non-quarterback to attempt a pass was Keyshawn Johnson in 2005.
* The last non-quarterback to complete a pass was Richie Anderson in 2004.
* Felix Jones’ 60-yard touchdown run was the team’s longest since 2006, when Julius Jones broke a 77-yarder against New Orleans.
* Barber’s longest career run: 54 yards vs. Chicago in 2007. It was not a touchdown.
* Patrick Crayton was shut out tonight and now has fewer yards this season (108) than Austin.