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PHILADELPHIA - The last time the Cowboys came to Lincoln Financial Field, the misconnection between Tony Romo and Roy Williams was highlighted by a Romo interception, when he and the receiver failed to make the same read.
How different things were on Sunday. Romo and Williams have their issues, sure, but for one night anyway, they were as much farther along as the whole team since last December's 44-6 embarrassment. In the 20-16 Cowboys win the two connected five times - the most catches Williams has had in a game since he got to Dallas - for 75 yards, leading the team in receiving just a matter of days after saying he and Romo weren't even close to being on the same page, comments which elicited national headlines.
"We're just working. We're just going to continue to work and we can only get better," Williams said after the win. "Every player goes through something. I didn't really think this was a big deal. I knew what I said and I knew how everybody took it. But I knew how me and Romo took it. I knew how this football team took it and it wasn't a big deal to us."
After catching just 19 balls after the deadline trade brought him over from Detroit last season, Williams was off to a slow start to the 2009 season, with 14 catches in six appearances heading into Philadelphia. Halfway through the season now, Williams has equaled his catch total from the first go-round with the Cowboys, and the Cowboys have already won more games than they did after acquiring Williams last season.
While Williams did say last week he hoped things would improve for himself, he also stressed how much he was enjoying the chance to play on a winning team. With six wins already this season, the Cowboys are just one more victory away from tying the most Williams ever experienced with the Lions.
The improved cohesion Sunday simply gave the Cowboys more confidence Williams and Romo can be everything they hoped.
"It's a long season, and it's going to get worked out," receivers coach Ray Sherman said. "I've been in this league long enough to know it's going to get itself worked out. People get on this roll about this guy hasn't done this and hasn't done that - it just takes time. And Roy and Tony are working to get on the same page, they're spending extra time in the week to work on that, and it's helped. It's going to help during the season."
On a night when budding weapon Miles Austin was held without a catch for three and a half quarters, Williams was Romo's most consistent target. They executed two first-quarter slant routes perfectly, both for first downs, giving Romo confidence to try the same throw twice near the goal line as time was running out in the first half.
The first pass whizzed a couple of yards behind Williams, and the second might have gone for a touchdown if not for a handsy play by Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel. Williams, who was targeted eight times, said he was encouraged by Romo continuing to look his way so often. With the Eagles giving up the middle of the field for much of the game, Romo had no second thoughts about throwing to his biggest wide receiver target.
"Whatever the defense dictates, that's where we're going to go with the ball," Romo said. "And I think if you watch enough of our games, you'll see that that predominantly happens. I'm happy for Roy, he's been working hard."
Romo went back to Williams three times in the final 4:15 of the third quarter, including two passes for 30 yards on the drive which led to Nick Folk's field goal to tie the game at 13.
Probably the most scrutinized aspect of what has been a very good offense through half of the season, the Cowboys are expecting more payoff in the connection between Romo and Williams. Owner Jerry Jones said he was most impressed by the way Williams responded to the hard times.
"All it has done is just really make me more comfortable about having made the trade for him, because of just how he handles adversity," Jones said. "We all can do it when we're feeling good and all can do it when everybody's patting you on the back and writing good things about you.
"And it's going to get better between him and Romo. He's the kind of receiver that their coordination will really benefit our team."
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Josh Ellis - 
