The Dallas Cowboys' suffered a shock to their systems in the first half, as mistakes by Tony Romo and DeMarco Murray cost the team 14 points en route to trailing the St. Louis Rams 21-10 at the half.
Our Cowboys/Rams Halftime Quick Hitters
The Dallas Cowboys weren't done yet, as they put together five straight scoring drives to take the lead to stay, shocking the home-standing Rams 34-31 at the Edward Jones Dome.
Here's 5 things we learned...
5. Tony Romo Can Turn It On In A Hurry
The Romo jokes were in full force after a first-half pick six seemingly handed full control of the game over to the Cowboys. Romo responded in a big way in the second half, taking full command of the offense while utilizing his weapons (namely a 63-yard opening salvo of a TD to Dez Bryant) to help the Cowboys claw back into the game.
There's always going to be some bad with Romo, but there's also going to be a world of good.
4. Austin Davis Is The Rams' QB In 2014
And, if he somehow continues to electrify over the next 13 games, there's even a (albeit slight) chance that he could challenge Sam Bradford for the job at some point down the road. The St. Louis Rams believe in Davis and he believes in himself - regardless of what looked to be a backbreaking pick six to Dallas' Bruce Carter that turned a 27-24 deficit into a 34-24 disadvantage at the blink of an eye.
His never-say-die attitude, however, helped the Rams crawl back to within 3 thanks to a gutsy 11-play, 80 yard TD drive (capped with a 4-yard Davis-to-Austin Pettis connection). The Rams would come up short in the end, thanks to a humongous pick by Morris Claiborne, but St. Louis is still on to something.
3. The Cowboys Have Balance On Offense
After an embarassing opening-week home loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys went back to the well. Taking Troy Aikman's advice, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has been dialing up the running game more and more (with DeMarco Murray the benefactor), and the Cowboys' balanced attack did wonders for them in the first half.
Romo was also efficient in his own right. Despite the aforementioned pick six, he went 18-for-23 for 217 yards and 2 TDs. Not a bad day's work for the Cowboys' signal caller.
2. The Rams' Defense Didn't Quite Live Up To The Hype
A retooled Rams D was supposed to be the team's strong suit in 2014, helping to make up for the loss of Bradford with a suffocating pass rush. However, they barely touched Romo on Sunday. That proved troublesome as the Rams' secondary missed crucial assignments in the last 30 minutes (re: Bryant's TD, Terrance Williams' 12-yard score to give Dallas a 27-24 lead) that proved their end.
1. The Cowboys Could Be 6-2 At The Season's Halfway Point
If the Cowboys can either beat the suddenly human Saints at home next week or somehow off the Seahawks in Seattle on October 12th, there are three other winnable games in the season's first half (Texans, Redskins, Giants all at home) that could vault the Dallas Cowboys near the top of the NFC before the start of 2014's second half.
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