The injured and beleaguered secondary of the Cowboys stepped up in the second half of Sunday's game against the Lions. (Pictured left: Corner Terence Newman and safety Gerald Sensabaugh celebrate after Newman's interception late in the game. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)The much-maligned defensive backfield for the Dallas Cowboys didn't do itself any favors through the first half against the Detroit Lions. Through two quarters Sunday afternoon, the Cowboys' secondary made journeyman quarterback Shaun Hill look like an elite NFL QB.
Hill completed as many passes (20) as the Cowboys offense total plays in the first half, as the Lions appeared poised to steal a record-breaking roadie going into the locker room up 12-7.
Dallas made some adjustments at halftime and cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman (both questionable to start against Detroit due to injury) stepped-up their game the rest of the way.
Hill completed only 12 of 20 passes in the second half, notching another touchdown late in the third, but Newman came up with an excellent interception to seal the game late.
Newman beat Lions' receiver Calvin Johnson on his own route, back-peddled to gain possession, and snatched the ball away from the 6-5, 235 lb All-Pro; giving Dallas possession up 35-19 with under 3 minutes remaining in the contest.
"It certainly wasn't pretty in all areas," interim head coach Jason Garrett said. "What we're finding out about our football team is that it has a lot of fight."
In two games since Garrett took over as head coach, Dallas has allowed 20 points or less - this after allowing totals of 45, 35, and 41 in three straight losses with Wade Phillips at the helm. It's a small sample size, but a secondary that was either too injured or uninterested to play hard for the majority of the season seems to have regained some of the effort and intensity they had last season, when Dallas fielded one of the top defenses (statistically) in the NFL.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
No comments:
Post a Comment