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Cowboys move to head of NFC class

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09/25/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a pair of very impressive victories to begin their 2007 campaign, the Dallas Cowboys had clearly staked a claim for early-season superiority in the NFC. But the only way a team can legitimately call itself the best is by knocking off the undisputed champ.

The Cowboys had their shot at the prize when they stepped into the ring with the defending conference champion Chicago Bears on Sunday, and made believers of just about anyone with an authoritative 34-10 victory over last year's Super Bowl runners-up on Chicago's home turf.

This title fight could be characterized as more of a late-round knockout than a controversial split decision, with Dallas flooring the Bears for good with a surge of 24 unanswered points over the game's final 17 minutes.

The Cowboys displayed all the ingredients of a legitimate championship contender on Sunday. The offense piled up an eye-opening 431 yards, 300 of which came through the air, on one of the NFL's most highly-regarded stop units. On the other side of the ball, Dallas forced four Chicago turnovers, including three picks of frazzled quarterback Rex Grossman, and limited the Bears to a miniscule 239 total yards.

Dallas' special teams made its mark as well by limiting the game's most dangerous return man, Devin Hester, to a pedestrian average of 17.2 yards on kickoff runbacks and a mere one yard on two punt returns. He also fumbled twice.

Most importantly, the Cowboys were able to answer the challenge and notch a victory in one of the league's toughest home environs. Chicago had won 15 of its last 18 games at Soldier Field prior to Sunday's setback.

The game wasn't as easy as the final score or statistics indicated, and momentum appeared to be clearly on the Bears' side after the team marched 86 yards in just six plays to force a 10-10 tie midway through the third quarter. Dallas would start the ensuing drive on its own nine-yard line after a holding penalty on the kickoff.

Quarterback Tony Romo then calmly engineered a 10-play, 91-yard series capped by a 10-yard scoring delivery to running back Marion Barber which put the visitors back in front. Chicago turned the ball over on the following two possessions, and was effectively down for the count the rest of the way.

"To get 34 points against the Bears, who are giving up 11.8 points per game at home, is pretty significant," said Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, who became the first man in team history to win his first three games with the franchise. "I liked our mentality, we kept grinding, we kept going. It didn't seem like we were fazed. I think that's the mark of a good football team."

Romo went 5-of-7 for 86 yards on the tide-turning drive, including a 35-yard strike to top target Terrell Owens on a 3rd-and-11 play, while putting forth another outstanding early-season performance. The second-year starter threw for 329 yards along a pair of scores, and now has an excellent 8-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio through the first three games.

"I think he made a statement, for sure, that Tony can compete against the top defenses in the league," Phillips said. "That was a question coming in, and I think he made a statement there."

TANK BROUGHT IN TO FORTIFY LINE

The Cowboys made some additional headlines earlier in the week, when the team signed troubled defensive tackle Tank Johnson to a two-year contract last Tuesday. The talented lineman was a valued starter on Chicago's NFC champion squad of a year ago, but was cut loose by the Bears in June because of a string of off-field incidents. Johnson served a two-month jail sentence during the offseason for a probation violation of an earlier weapons charge.

Although Dallas will have to wait a while until their new acquisition can take the field, Johnson's signing does add needed depth to the interior of a defensive line that lost starting nose tackle Jason Ferguson to a season- ending biceps tear in Week 1. Jay Ratliff has played well in Ferguson's absence over the last two games, but is better suited to play end in Phillips' 3-4 scheme.

Johnson is currently serving a league-issued eight-game suspension for violating the NFL's new personal conduct policy, meaning the 25-year-old won't be eligible for game action until the Cowboys visit the New York Giants on November 11. Commissioner Roger Goodell can reduce the penalty to six games, but that's unlikely to happen after Johnson was stopped for suspicion of DUI shortly before his release by the Bears.

The Cowboys have been no strangers to bringing in players with checkered pasts under the tenure of owner Jerry Jones. The last such gamble was taken on Owens, a noted locker-room disruptor, prior to the start of last season. The move has paid off handsomely so far, as the five-time All-Pro has racked up 329 receiving yards through Dallas' first three games of 2007, the fourth- highest total in the NFL at the moment. Owens burned the Bears for 145 yards on eight catches in Sunday's victory.

WELCOME BACK

The Cowboys' secondary received a lift from the return of Terence Newman, the team's best cover cornerback, on Sunday. The former first-round draft choice had sat out the first two games because of a plantar fascia tear in his right heel, saw action in about 20 plays during the Chicago game.

The defensive backfield has managed to hold up pretty well without Newman in the lineup, as Dallas has intercepted seven passes in its two most recent wins. Four of those picks have been snared by Newman's counterpart Anthony Henry, who had his second straight big game on Sunday. The veteran corner helped put the contest out of reach when he returned a Grossman interception 28 yards for a touchdown with just under 12 minutes left to play.

JONES SHAKEN UP

Running back Julius Jones suffered a slight concussion following a collision with Chicago's Brian Urlacher early in the fourth quarter and sat out the remainder of the contest. Although the fourth-year pro is expected to be fine for this Sunday's matchup with St. Louis, it's a strong possibility he could lose carries to backfield mate Barber, who's outplayed Jones so far this season. Barber rushed for 102 yards on just 15 attempts against the Bears and is averaging an excellent 6.4 yards per carry on the year. Jones has averaged just 3.3 yards per rush thus far.

NEXT UP: THE BATTERED RAMS

The Cowboys will shoot for their first 4-0 start since their Super Bowl- winning 1995 season when they return home this Sunday to face a reeling St. Louis squad. The Rams have been outscored by a 68-32 margin in losses to Carolina, San Francisco and Tampa Bay in their first three games and will be without star running back Steven Jackson, who is hampered by a partial tear in his left groin, for this week's contest.

St. Louis earned a victory in its most recent visit to Texas Stadium, a 20-10 decision during the 2005 regular-season finale.

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