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Dallas
Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware sacks Green Bay Packers quaterback
Aaron Rodgers during the third quarter of an NFL football
game at Lambeau Field on Sunday in
Green Bay
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GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers had
a plan to stop Terrell Owens — and did it ever work.
Unfortunately for them, just about
everyone else on the Dallas Cowboys' offense had a big night in a
27-16 victory at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Even unheralded backup
receiver Miles Austin got into the act with a pair of big catches.
Austin said all the attention the
Packers paid to Owens opened things for everyone else.
"Him having two catches, 17
yards doesn't explain what he did," Austin said. "He's
attracting double coverage, triple coverage all the time. So for him
to do that, it's almost bigger than him making the play."
With Owens uncharacteristically
silent on and off the field — he didn't talk after the game —
Marion Barber ran for a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown, and
rookie Felix Jones added a 60-yard touchdown run in the second
quarter.
Then Austin, who plays mostly on
special teams and came into Sunday's game with seven career
receptions, sealed the win with a 52-yard touchdown catch in the
fourth quarter. Dallas (3-0) joined the reigning Super Bowl champion
New York Giants as the NFC's only undefeated teams.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who
grew up in Burlington, Wis., was 17-of-30 for 260 yards. He said it
was fun to play at Lambeau — it was the Cowboys' first victory
there — but wasn't talking like a tourist after the game.
"We've got a good football team,
I know that," Romo said. "But it doesn't matter whether
you're the favorite now or the least favorite. The reality of it is
you've got to keep playing games and you're not trying to be the
favorite in Week 3, you're trying to be it at the end of the
year."
Coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged that
the Packers (2-1) didn't measure up in an early matchup of NFC
powers, and seemed more displeased with his unproductive offense
than his defense.
"It was a big game, it was a
great measuring stick for our football team," McCarthy said.
"And I'll tell you exactly what I told them, the Dallas Cowboys
are farther ahead than we are right now, and that's the facts, and
it's Week 3. How much farther ahead, we'll answer that question. We
have work to do."
It was a bump in the road for new
Packers starter Aaron Rodgers, who completed 22 of 39 passes for 290
yards. He spent much of the night on the run — he was sacked five
times — and wasn't able to put together consistent scoring drives
after standout performances in his first two games this season.
"It's disappointing,"
Rodgers said. "You'd like to win them all, obviously, but
Dallas is a very good football team and we unfortunately didn't play
our best. We're going to have to watch some film, be very critical
of ourselves and get better."
With Green Bay trailing 13-6, Rodgers
connected with Donald Driver on a 50-yard pass early in the third
quarter — but the Packers settled for a field goal.
"You've got to finish that drive
off, get the momentum back, get the crowd back," Rodgers said.
Romo answered with a 63-yard pass to
Austin to set up first-and-goal at the Green Bay 3. Barber found the
end zone two plays later for a 2-yard touchdown run that put Dallas
ahead 20-9.
Romo again turned to Austin to put
the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, tossing a 52-yard
touchdown into double coverage down the right sideline to give
Dallas a 27-9 lead with 9:17 remaining.
Rodgers scored on a sneak to cut the
lead to 27-16 with 2:11 remaining, but the ensuing onside kick was
touched by the Packers before it traveled 10 yards.
The long passes to Austin were two of
the Cowboys' few downfield plays all night. The Packers held Romo to
nine completions for 75 yards at halftime.
Owens caught two passes in the first
half, then was silenced in the second. Packers cornerback Charles
Woodson stuck to Owens all night, with significant help from the
safeties.
"He's going to have games where
he's going to have 200 yards, and he's going to have games where he
has not as many yards," Austin said. "He did a great job
staying with it, he was involved in the game the whole time."
The Packers' pass defense played most
of the game without star cornerback Al Harris, who went to the
locker room with cramps in the first half.
But with Green Bay's defensive
backfield preoccupied by Owens, Dallas got consistent production
from Barber and a big play from Jones. With the Cowboys trailing 6-3
midway through the second quarter, Jones broke free for a 60-yard
touchdown run that gave Dallas a 10-6 lead.
Notes:@ Cowboys CB Adam Jones
stripped the ball from RB Ryan Grant on the Packers' second play
from scrimmage and returned it to the Green Bay 14. That set up the
Cowboys' first field goal. ... Packers receiver Greg Jennings had
eight catches for 115 yards.
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