Cowboys 31, Rams 7: My Top 10 Whitty Observations

10. Obviously this was total domination of an inferior opponent by Dallas, but the first half in particular looked the big ‘Boys vs. the JV. In the first two quarters St. Louis managed only one first down and 18 yards. Cowboys’ 17-0 lead was their biggest at halftime since Week 15 of 2011 (28-0 at Tampa Bay). Last time Cowboys produced a bigger blowout than Sunday was their 44-7 dismantling of the Bills in November of 2011.

9. Can’t begin to explain it other than it’s just “one of those stats”, but 11 years in a row now the Cowboys have won their third game of the season. Last time they lost Week 3 was 2002. Weird. But wonderful.

8. If Jason Garrett has proven one thing as head coach of the Cowboys it’s that he can beat the Rams. Actually, that he can maul the Rams. In two games in Arlington the last three years, the Cowboys have out-scored St. Louis a combined 65-14.

7. Hey, what do you know? The lob to Dez Bryant in the Red Zone worked. For a touchdown. Should be an automatic call.

6. Don’t look now, but Doug Free is having a decent season. The right tackle had several key blocks to spring DeMarco Murray on long runs.

5. Wasn’t a totally perfect day. Dan Bailey missed his first NFL field goal under 39 yards and – stop me if you’ve heard this one before – Miles Austin left the game with a strained hamstring. One (Bailey) is a fixable hiccup. The other (Austin) is a maddening, chronic problem.

4. Seemed like a gorgeous day for an open roof at AT&T Stadium, though 83 degrees in the sun can be a tad uncomfy. Cowboys now 12-8 in games with the roof closed.

3. As inaccurate and iffy as he was in Kansas City, Tony Romo was remarkably on target Sunday afternoon against the Rams. His touchdown pass to Dwayne Harris was as precise as Picasso painting on a pin-head. When the guy’s on, he’s as good as any quarterback in the NFL. When he’s off, well, you know …

2. Murray in two games against the Rams: 428 rushing yards. A week after being criticized as a major part of Dallas’ running-game problems, he told his haters to stick a sock in it with jukes, spins, hurdles, cuts and physical finishes of runs. His 175 yards are the second-most of his career behind his franchise-record 253 against St. Louis in October 2011.

1. Doomsday III? Let’s not get carried away, but the Cowboys’ defense harassed and humiliated a Rams’ offensive line that hadn’t allowed a sack of Sam Bradford all season and limited them to 1 of 13 third-down conversions. DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher, George Selvie, Kyle Wilber and even Orlando Scandrick combined to sack the Rams six times. Ware had two, eclipsing Harvey Martin’s franchise record. I know sacks weren’t an official record until 1982, but Ware has long been the Cowboys’ best all-time pass-rusher.
 

A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently writes a sports/guy stuff blog at DFWSportatorium.com and lives in McKinney with his fiancee, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.

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