IRVING, Texas - We've said it and heard it countless times - all three of the Cowboys victories came against teams who at the time were winless, and both of their losses were to undefeated teams, making it hard to tell just where the team is. That may be about to change.
What's Up?
The season just started six weeks ago, but some things are already apparent, one of which being that last year's 12-4 record for the Atlanta Falcons was no joke. Led by a poised young quarterback who has weapons in the passing game and with a strong ground attack at their disposal, the Falcons are a solid, solid team coming into Sunday's 3:15 p.m. (CDT) kickoff at 4-1. Atlanta's only loss to this point came at New England, and they've beaten other teams who are playing well in San Francisco and Chicago. All four of the team's wins have come by at least a touchdown.
What all that means is the Cowboys can't mess around this week. Playing as sloppily as they did in the overtime win against Kansas City just before the bye will get them beat this time. So which Cowboys team is going to show up? The one that has showed flashes of dominance, or the one that will let down in crucial moments of the game or make the mistakes real contenders simply don't make?
Statistical View
After going a couple weeks without a sack to start the season, the Cowboys have come back for 10 in the last three games. Well, Atlanta's Matt Ryan has only been sacked twice in 156 passing attempts this year, both in the season-opener.
Part of what makes Ryan tough to sack is Atlanta's offensive balance. Even when they run the ball poorly, they run it a lot. The Falcons are ninth in the NFL in rushes per game (28.8), even though they rank just 26th in yards per carry (3.4).
The Falcons have the league's third-best red zone defense, allowing touchdowns only 37.5 percent of the time, and on only 57.14 percent of goal-to-go situations, ninth-best in the league. The Cowboys' offense is tied for 21st in the red zone, and is just 26th in goal-to-go opportunities.
Going to a new team hasn't hurt Tony Gonzalez's production much. Through the first five games he has 267 yards and three touchdowns. Of his 23 catches, 17 have been good for first downs.
Chalk Talk
It's not that the Falcons are a more talented team than the Cowboys, necessarily, but they do seem to be doing the things winning teams do more consistently, most noticeably in winning the turnover battle. Atlanta is +5 in turnover differential, while the Cowboys are -4. The Falcons have only lost the turnover battle in one game this season, while the Cowboys have come up on the short end of that critical statistic three times already. The teams are nearly inseparable in terms of scoring, so it's easy to imagine the difference in the game being key mistakes. The Cowboys will score if they hang onto the ball and avoid minus plays.
Defensively, the main goal, as in most games, will be shutting down Atlanta's ground attack, which they aren't likely to abandon. The big play is a threat as well, as Ryan's deep ball is as good as that of any quarterback in the league, and he has a really big, athletic downfield threat in receiver Roddy White. Gonzalez is a threat in any third down situation. The Cowboys will have to be better against him than they were versus Kansas City's Sean Ryan.
Connections
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips served as Atlanta's defensive coordinator in 2002 and 2003, and relieved Dan Reeves late in the '03 season to lead the Falcons to a 2-1 finish as the interim head coach . . . Cowboys special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis served in the same capacity in Atlanta from 1997-06 . . . Cowboys safeties coach Brett Maxie played the position for Atlanta in 1994, and coached the secondary there from 2004-06 . . . Cowboys receivers coach Ray Sherman spent a year in the same job with Atlanta, 1990 . . . Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson was the Falcons backup in 1992, starting three games . . . Now in his first season with the Cowboys, linebacker Keith Brooking played for the Falcons from 1999-2008. He grew up in Senoia, Ga. and played collegiately at Georgia Tech . . . recently-signed Cowboys return specialist Allen Rossum was with the Falcons from 2002-06 . . . Falcons guard Harvey Dahl began his career with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He was released by Dallas before training camp, but has started the last 21 games for Atlanta.
Miscellaneous
The Cowboys are 15-8 all-time against the Falcons, including a 38-28 win at the Georgia Dome the last time the teams met, Dec. 16, 2006 . . . The Cowboys have the chance to win back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 12 and 13 of last season . . . The Cowboys are 16-5 coming out of the bye week in their history . . . Over the last two seasons under Wade Phillips the Cowboys have played some of their best football after the bye week. They won six in a row after the weekend off in 2007, and three straight following the break last year . . . The Falcons lost cornerback Brian Williams (torn ACL) for the season on Sunday night.
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Josh Ellis - 
