NFL leading rusher DeMarco Murray is questionable for Sunday’s game after undergoing surgery on his left hand earlier in the week. (Getty)
Final Score
Colts 0-0-0-0 — 7
Cowboys 14-14-7-0 — 42
With a win, the Dallas Cowboys moved to 11-4 and clinched their 1st NFC East Division Championship since 2009. Under a specific set of circumstances — should Seattle defeat Arizona on Sunday Night Football, yet Arizona still wins the NFC West — the Cowboys would earn the NFC’s No. 2 seed and a 1st-round bye in the postseason. the Colts dropped to 10-5, and now may end up dropping to the AFC’s No. 4 seed if the Pittsburgh Steelers or Cincinnati Bengals win out.
Tony Romo was as close to perfect as a quarterback can be. Romo finished 18-for-20 for 218 yards and four touchdowns in his best December start of his career. Andrew Luck did nothing to help the Colts, who couldn’t stop a nosebleed all day. Luck finished 15-for-22 for 109 yards and two interceptions — his yardage total was a career low, and several drops by his receivers did not do any favors.
Romo’s December 2014 numbers improved to: 61-77, 688 yds, 10 TD and no INTs. He and the Cowboys are 3-0.
The Cowboys close the season in Washington while the Colts close the season in Tennessee.
The Rout Continued in the 3rd Quarter
Jerry Jones looks like a happy owner from his press box.
Romo is defiantly having one of the most important games of his career. After years of criticism and doubts about winning big December games, Romo has answered the call so far, throwing four touchdown passes to four different Cowboys recipients.
A 25-yard TD pass to Jason Witten capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive that put the nail in the Colts’ coffin.
DeMarco Murray’s 12th Put Cowboys Up By 4 TDs
the Colts’ defense did not come out to play in the 1st half. The Cowboys marched 67 yards in 10 plays in over six minutes. Murray’s 1-yard TD run gave them a 28-0 lead with 6:32 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
Cowboys Offense Continues to Roll in the 1st Half
51 seconds into the 2nd quarter Romo threw his 3rd TD pass of the game to Cole Beasley to give the Cowboys a 21-0 lead. Romo is 9-for-10 for 107 yards and 3 TDs in the 1st 16 minutes in the game.
The Colts 1st three drives? Three 3-and-outs.
Colts Attempt Fake-Punt Pass, Which Was Dropped…
Fake punt calls are rarely made in the NFL, but Colts head coach Chuck Pagano is known for trickery, and “go for it” type plays — they lead the NFL in onside kicks attempted.
The Cowboys offense made the Colts pay for it on the next play, and after their first connection was wiped away because of a penalty, Romo connected to Bryant on a 19-yard TD Pass that gave the Cowboys a 14-0 lead.
Cowboys Offense Sets Team Record On Opening Drive
8:24. The 1st Cowboys’ possession of the game lasted 15 plays, 80 yards and took over eight minutes off the clock — setting a new franchise record.
It looked like Tony Rompo connected with Dez Bryant on a short touchdown pass, but a flag was thrown and it was taken off the board. Romo connected on the next play to his other wide receiver Terrance Williams on a 9-yard strike and the Cowboys took the 1st lead of the game 7-0.
Dallas Can Win the NFC East With a Win Against the Colts
The 10-4 Indianapolis Colts clinched the AFC South last week with a victory over the Houston Texans. The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Eagles last week 38-27 on Sunday Night Football, and with the Eagles 27-24 loss to the Redskins on Saturday, with a win, the Cowboys can clinch their first NFC East division title with Tony Romo at the helm since 2010.
Romo has had a spectacular season, but the fuel that has made the Cowboys offense go all season is running back DeMarco Murray who is questionable with a hand injury. Murray has 1,687 rushing yards this season, and although Eric Dickerson’s all-time season record of 2,105 yards seems distant and lofty, he is just 87 yards shy of breaking Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith’s all-time single-season Cowboys rushing record of 1,773 rushing yards, which he accomplished in 1995.
The Colts don’t have much to play for, except pride and playoff seeding, but in order to help their playoff seeding, they’ll need a bunch of help. Mainly, they would both the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots to lose out and drop to 11-5 each to have any chance at overtaking either team for a first-round bye, or even more out there, home-field advantage.
Andrew Luck leads all quarterbacks in passing yards with 4,492 and if he averages 254 over his final two games, he will have his first 5,000-yard passing season as a pro.
Comments