By Dwain Price, NDG Sports
ARLINGTON – While compiling a 3-0 record for the first time since 2008 thanks to Sunday’s 31-6 triumph over Miami at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys didn’t exactly overwhelm the listless Dolphins.
There was a totally disappearing act in the first half by the home team, which concluded with the Cowboys only nursing a 10-6 lead against a Dolphins team that had been outclassed and outscored by a massive 102-10 score in their first two games of the season. No doubt, whether they will admit it or not, the Cowboys spent the first half lollygagging around and playing way, way down to the competition.
But following some halftime adjustments, the Cowboys scored touchdowns on their opening two drives of the second half on a 19-yard strike from Dak Prescott to Amari Cooper and an eight-yard scamper by Prescott to go up 24-6. That gave them some breathing room and gave the fans a collective sigh of relief.
“We just had to keep banging away in all three phases of our team,” coach Jason Garrett said. “I thought we made some mistakes that short-circuited our offense a little bit. We turned the ball over a little bit, got behind the chains a couple of drives.
“We had to break away from that, but I thought we settled down in the second half and just came out and played more methodical. I thought the defense got better as the game wore on.”
The Dolphins racked up 12 first downs and 216 yards in the first half, yet only managed five first downs and 67 yards in the second half. Garrett said his halftime speech centered around telling his team to settle down and eliminate their mistakes.
“It didn’t require a big halftime speech,” Garrett said. “It didn’t require adjustments. It required us settling and playing snap after snap after snap, and all three phases of our team did a better job of that.”
Dak return to form in the second half
Prescott sure settled down after completing only 9-of-20 passes in the first half for 106 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. That interception, picked off by Bobby McCain, came after Prescott admitted he “got greedy’ when he inexplicably launched the ball some 50 yards downfield.
“I can’t necessarily say it was one particular thing that made me that way,” Prescott said. “But those guys are blocking, and I went through my reads three or four times.
“At that point, you just have to chuck it down or run the ball. If you’re going through it that many times and nobody’s open, something bad is probably going to happen, as it did.”
Dallas backfield offers a double threat now
Prescott made amends when he was 9-for-9 for 137 yards and a touchdown – in the third quarter alone. That performance helped offset a powerful running attack by Ezekiel Elliott and rookie Tony Pollard.
Elliott rushed 19 times for 125 yards, and Pollard added 103 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Thus, they became the first pair of Cowboys to total at least 100 yards rushing in the same game since Oct. 4, 1998, when Emmitt Smith (122) and Chris Warren (104) did the trick during a 31-10 road victory over the Washington Redskins.
“If you can hand it to two different guys, that just makes it that much more dangerous, but also allows you to keep Zeke fresh,” Garrett said. “Someone you have confidence into hand the ball to and play, Zeke’s going to be fresh throughout the game and that’s going to help him play better.”
It’s the second straight game where Elliott eclipsed the 100-yard rushing barrier. But he was just as proud of Pollard, whose 16-yard TD bolt around the left side with 3:50 remaining in the game helped the Cowboys cover the game’s 22-point spread.
“I knew ever since TP got here that he had juice, that he could run, that he could play ball, and he came out here and played a great game today,” Elliott said. “I’m proud of him. He went out there and did his thing.”
And in doing “his thing,” Pollard was like a kid in a proverbial candy store.
“It was fun being out there, making plays, showing that I belong,” he said. “You know, just hopping in right where we left off and having no drop off when (Elliott) comes out of the game.
“It just shows the hard work that we put in throughout the week, game-planning – you know, getting ready. The O-Line did a great job, making it easy for us.”
While Prescott passed for 246 yards, the Cowboys rushed for 235 yards on just 34 carries as they completely crushed the Dolphins at the point of attack. Also, on the defensive front, Robert Quinn – playing his first game for the Cowboys after the NFL suspended him for the first two games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy – recorded one of the team’s three sacks.
“I felt good, and I felt fresh,” Quinn said. “Just a little concern coming in on how my lungs were going to hold up.
“But as the game went on, I feel like I got stronger and stronger.”
After breezing by the Dolphins, it won’t get any easier for the Cowboys, who play the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday at 7:20 p.m. It’s a Saints’ team that will be without injured quarterback Drew Brees, but who, nonetheless, went on the road and shocked the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, 33-27.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys will be trying to forget about Sunday’s slow start against the lowly Dolphins in a game where Dallas committed eight penalties for 100 yards.
“It’s a great tape to learn from,” Prescott said. “To finish with (31) points, to finish the way we did, to play the way we did late in the second half with lots of energy and just finishing it off, I have a lot of confidence going into this next week.”
