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IRVING, Texas - December awaits.
A month ago the Cowboys faced a critical crossroads in their season, having
lost three of four with Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo nursing a fractured right
pinkie finger. A month later they're entering the season's most critical month
with a three-game winning streak, including two in their annual five-day
Thanksgiving stretch.
The latest victory - a 34-9 dismantling of the Seattle Seahawks before a
sellout Texas Stadium crowd (63,253) on Thanksgiving Day - helps them maintain
solid position in the ever-fluid NFC playoff race.
"You can see how the climate can change pretty quickly," head coach Wade
Phillips said of his 8-4 team, which would pull into a tie for the top wild-card
spot if Tampa Bay (8-3) loses Sunday.
Phillips called Thursday's game a "must-win," and rightfully so, considering
the hapless Seahawks (2-10) were the last losing team left on their schedule.
His players responded with an all-around dominant performance, gaining 447 total
yards on offense and holding their opponent without a touchdown for only the
second time this season.
Now it's crunch time.
The extra three days' rest becomes more important because two more Pro Bowl
starters - linebacker DeMarcus Ware (hyper-extended left knee) and running back
Marion Barber (dislocated pinkie toe) - suffered injuries against Seattle. Both
will be reevaluated Friday, and both will be critical to the Cowboys' success
against a gauntlet of defensive-minded teams, starting with AFC North-leading
Pittsburgh (8-3) on Dec. 7.
The Cowboys are 4-5 in December since 2006, but history means little to a
team that can only afford to focus on its present position.
"This team never lost confidence," said Romo, who has averaged 290.0 passing
yards with seven touchdown passes and three interceptions during this three-game
stretch. "We went through a rough patch there and we are still not out of it. We
still have to keep going forward and putting together wins to get in the
playoffs, but I do know that our confidence level is where I feel like on any
given Sunday we can play with anybody."
The struggling Seahawks gave them little trouble.
The Cowboys needed only 2:24 to drive 71 yards for the game's opening
touchdown, a 16-yard pass from Romo to rookie tight end Martellus Bennett. The
offense scored on its next three possessions to take a 24-3 halftime lead.
The Seahawks tried to stay close in the third quarter by kicking a field goal
on their opening drive and intercepting Romo three plays later. But the Cowboys
forced them to punt, and Romo put the game away with two straight completions to
Terrell Owens - a 33-yard pass, then a 19-yard touchdown pass to make the score
31-9.
Owens' first catch, a leaping, twisting grab down the right sideline,
converted a key third-and-6 after Romo eluded heavy pressure from the Seattle
defense.
"It was one of those plays I'm familiar with," said Owens, who finished with
five catches for 98 yards. "When a play breaks down and the quarterback gets out
of the pocket it's sort of like a scramble situation. It's more or less me
getting open, trying to find a hole for Tony to throw it."
Romo (22-of-34, 331 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) completed
passes to seven different receivers. Tight end Jason Witten, who had four
catches in his previous four games, had a team-high nine for 115 yards and a TD.
Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck didn't have Romo's protection or passing
success. He threw for 287 yards but was sacked seven times, the Dallas defense's
highest total since 1997. The Cowboys also held their former teammate, running
back Julius Jones, to 37 yards on 11 carries.
Ware's three sacks - against arguably the NFL's most imposing left tackle,
Seattle's Walter Jones, no less - tied his single-game career high and
established a single-season career high of 15.0, the most ever by a Cowboys
linebacker.
"It's a shock," Jones said afterward.
Second-year linebacker Anthony Spencer
would assume a larger role if Ware misses any time. Rookie Tashard Choice is
currently the only other running back on the 53-man roster if Barber is
unavailable next week.
But the Cowboys have made injury adjustments across the
roster all season and withstood season-ending injuries to four players (running
back Felix Jones, safety Roy Williams, punter Mat McBriar, wide receiver Sam
Hurd) and perhaps a fifth in starting guard Kyle Kosier (foot)
There's no
looking back. December awaits.
"The next game's the most important," Phillips
said. "The Pittsburgh game is the one we're pointing toward. We try to win games
one at a time.
"This is a different team in a different year."
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Rob Phillips - 
