Dallas finally gets it's first home win of the season thanks to some timely defense, Bryan McCann, and an outstanding game from Jon Kitna (3). (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)The Dallas Cowboys (3-7), two-and-a-half months into the season, have won their first game at Cowboys Stadium, prolonging the Detroit Lions (2-8) record-breaking futility on the road in the process.
In a battle of the win-less (Cowboys at home this season, and the Lions' NFL-record (now 26) on the road), Dallas showed some tenacity and smarts, battling back from down 12-7 with 11:24 in a dominant second half.
Jon Kitna led the team from under center, accounting for all four of the Cowboys' offensive touchdowns (three in the second half), including a career-best 29-yard touchdown run - tying the franchise record for a quarterback set by Roger Staubach.
"The people I'm playing with allow me to play at this level," Kitna said. "When they're playing like that, the quarterback position becomes easy."
The comeback started after the Lions tried to pin Dallas inside the 5-yard line for the fourth time in the game with 9:16 left in the third quarter. Rookie kick-returner Bryan McCann made a heads up play on a punt after the Lions' gunner tried to bat the ball back into play out of the end zone. McCann had other ideas, scooping up the football and racing 97 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
"I saw the edge and kept running," McCann said. ..."I was tired of seeing the offense start out at the 5 all day, so really I just wanted to make something happen."
McCann ran back a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown that broke open the game last week against the Giants, and proved his worth again this week against the Lions.
"Everybody wants to be the guy to make that play and it just felt good to be able to do it two weeks in a row," he said.
Dallas went up 14-7 on the play and would not trail the rest of the game, thanks to a resurgent effort by the Cowboys' defense in the second half. The defense allowed only one touchdown in the second half and forced two turnovers, including a fumble recovery that set up the Cowboys' next touchdown.
"When you are looking for crumbs, it doesn't take but a little piece to get you to smile, and these (wins) have been a couple of nice little pieces," Cowboys' owner and general manager Jerry Jones said.
The Cowboys have now won two straight games with Jason Garrett at the helm, and the increase in player accountability and up-tempo practice habits seem to have made a huge impact on this team. Things will get dicey in just a few days, however, as the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints visit Cowboys Stadium for a Thanksgiving day match-up.
Expect more on this game in the next few days and a preview of the Thanksgiving day showdown before game day.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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