Cowboys roll-over for Rams, lose 34-14

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Dallas Cowboys rolled into the Edward Jones dome already singing the blues. After the 34-14 shellacking they suffered at the hands of the St. Louis Rams today, they are surely crying their weeping eyes out tonight.

With Tony Romo sidelined nursing a displaced pinkie injury suffered in last week's lost to the Cardinals. The Cowboys put their offense in the hands of 40-year old backup quarterback Brad Johnson. Being thrust into the spotlight was not new for Johnson and he seemed to have a good command of the offensive unit as Dallas rushed out to a quick, short-lived lead at 7-0. Their opening possession was a decent well-balanced attack. Then without provocation, the Cowboys seemed to enter the twilight zone and by the end of the first quarter the punch drunk Cowboys were down 21-7. The Rams defense was quicker and took full advantage of the many Cowboys mistakes.

"You thought you'd have a successful day," Johnson said. "As the day went on, we had miscues across the board. It kind of just got worse from there." (Dallascowboys.com)

Dallas had no rhythm to the offense and the defensive secondary was porous to put it light. Brian Stewart's unit looked puzzled and defeated for most of the game although there was one lone bright spot. Dallas' star defensive end DeMarcus Ware logged a sack for his 10th consecutive game tying a NFL record set by Denver's Simon Fletcher. He would rack up a total of three sacks and a forced fumble for the game. Although the team going down to it's third loss in four games soured any celebration about the record.












"It's not a big deal today," he said. "Maybe at another time. But right now, I'm focused on getting this team back to where we belong." (Dallascowboys.com)

Sure the injuries have transformed this team into a shell of its' former self. After going 13-3 and winning the NFC East Championship last year before being bounced from the playoffs by eventual Superbowl champion New York Giants. The Cowboys were odds on pick by many to hoist the Lombardi trophy at the end of this season. Now they are facing the reality of not making the playoffs at all if the recent losing trend continues.

A resilient Wade Phillips appeared to be stumped by his team's poor play but he wasn't throwing in the towel by any means after the game. "I don't have an answer for it," Phillips said. "If I did, we wouldn't have played like we did. But we're going to do something about it." (Dallascowboys.com)

The Cowboys (4-3) now have very little margin for error. Their next two games are going to be crucial for this team to remain in contention. A home game next week against a rejuvenated Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad (5-2) and then a tough road game against the defending Superbowl Champion New York Giants (5-1) before they get a much needed rest. Owner Jerry Jones whose thirst for winning is never quenched tried to remain optimistic about the immediate future of his banged up team.



"It is not the time to sit around and moan and feel sorry," Jones said. "Our fans are expecting more and they expect us all to get in there and come up with anything we can do to make us better." (Dallascowboys.com)