Arlington, Texas - Protection has been a large factor in Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's early-career success. The second-year quarterback had been sacked only twice in his first five games, and none in the previous four.
The Cowboys made him much more uncomfortable in Sunday's 37-21 win at Cowboys Stadium.
Ryan was sacked four times, tying a career high from the second game of his NFL career (Sept. 14, 2008 against Tampa Bay). He completed only 19 of 35 pass attempts for 198 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
After giving up a touchdown on the game's first possession, the defense sacked Ryan twice on the next series (DeMarcus Ware and Marcus Spears) to force a punt. Another Ware sack in the second quarter led to a fumble recovery and Tony Romo's 59-yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin on the next Cowboys play.
"After the first series we established that we were going to put a lot of pressure on him, and it was different individuals obviously, but that second series set the tone for us," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said. "After a quarter or so we felt like they couldn't run the ball inside on us, so those two things I thought were important for us defensively.
Sacks weren't the only source of Ryan's distress. Heavy pressure from defensive end Stephen Bowen forced him into an errant throw that cornerback Mike Jenkins intercepted in the second quarter.
Spears said the defense's solid coverage aided the pass rush because Ryan couldn't find open receivers. The defensive line also won its share of one-on-one match-ups.
"When that happens you get opportunities," Spears said. "Some they won and some we won, but the ones we won were big. Hopefully, they can continue like that."
After recording zero sacks in the first two games, the defense has 14 in its last four. The unit had an NFL-best 59 sacks in 2008.
Romo Recovers
Quarterback Tony Romo received medical and trainer attention in the first quarter when he took an apparent blow to the neck while attempting to scramble on third-and-18.
The Cowboys punted on the next play, and Romo returned on the next series. He finished 21-of-29 for 311 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 141.6 passer rating - the third-highest of his career.
"I don't have an injury," Romo said. "It's just part of football. You get banged up once in a while and you get back out and play."
The Cowboys are now 16-3 when Romo throws for at least 300 yards. Sunday marked his third 300-yard performance of the season, tying for the third-most 300-yard games in a season in club history. Romo holds the club record of 300-yard games in a season - seven in 2007.
Jones, Sensabaugh, Williams Return
Wearing a protective knee brace, running back Felix Jones played in his first game since injuring his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) on Sept. 28 against Carolina. He had eight carries for 37 yards and two catches for six yards.
Starting running back Marion Barber had a team-high 14 carries for 47 yards. Backup Tashard Choice didn't have a carry, but he caught a 23-yard pass on the Cowboys' touchdown drive at the end of the first half.
Starting strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh (thumb) and wide receiver Roy Williams (ribs) also returned after sitting out the pre-bye win over Kansas City.
Williams had one catch for 16 yards. Sensabaugh had seven tackles and two pass deflections in helping contain veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez. The multi-time Pro Bowl selection had only four catches for 37 yards.
Sensabaugh had surgery Oct. 5 to repair a fractured thumb.
"It's doing great," he said. "I had some times where it hurt a little bit, but the trainers did a great job giving me stability because my thumb didn't move."
Rossum Injured
Allen Rossum's first game in Cowboys uniform lasted only one play.
The veteran return specialist, signed during the bye week to return punts and kickoffs, suffered a hamstring injury on his first return and didn't play again.
Felix Jones and Patrick Crayton replaced him on kickoff and punt returns, respectively. Crayton had three returns for 87 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown.
To help make room for Rossum on the 45-man game-day roster, the Cowboys deactivated top draft pick Jason Williams.
Short Shots
Sunday's win gave the Cowboys their fifth consecutive victory following a bye, upping their record after a bye to 16-5 overall and 7-1 at home . . . The Cowboys amassed 414 yards of total offense to give them 2,516 through the first six games of the season - the second-most in team history through six games . . . Ware's two sacks marked the 11th multiple-sack game of his career. With his two sacks in the game at Kansas City (Oct. 11), it marked the first time in his career he had back-to-back games with multiple sacks. . . Tight end Jason Witten's 53 receiving yards upped his career total to 5,247 to move him past Frank Clarke (5,214) for fifth on the Cowboys' all-time receiving yards chart. His five catches gave him 462 for his career and moved him past Todd Christensen (461) to tie Mickey Shuler for ninth on the NFL's all-time tight ends receptions list . . . The players will receive a day off Monday and will return to practice Wednesday.
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Rob Phillips - 
