Dallas Cowboys Blogger

Way Too Much Information Wednesday, Week 4

Milestone in Passing, Rushing, and Receiving

Back in July, I posed the following trivia question and answer:

[Question:]

In which game (year and opponent) did the Cowboys first have a 300-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher, and a 100-yard receiver?

The answer:

Dallas had several games with multiple 100-yard receivers but did not have the trifecta until the 52-10 win over Houston on Dec. 20, 1970.

Craig Morton went 13 of 17 for 349 yards and 5 touchdowns. Bob Hayes caught six passes for 187 yards. Duane Thomas had 115 yards rushing.

The Triplets– Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin– accomplished this feat twice during the ten years they were together. Here are those two games:

October 8, 1995: Dallas 34, Green Bay 24

Smith: 106 rushing yards; Irvin: 150 receiving yards; Aikman: 316 passing yards.

September 22, 1999: Dallas 41, Washington 35

Smith: 109 rushing yards; Irvin: 122 receiving yards; Aikman: 362 passing yards.

Rocket Ismail, who caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime, also had 149 yards receiving.

Add a fourth entry to this list: September 23, 2007, when Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, and Marion Barber achieved this feat.

A History of 3-0 Starts

The Cowboys have started with a 3-0 record in fourteen seasons, including 2007. Here is a look at how the Cowboys have finished thirteen previous times:

Statistical Rankings

The Cowboys are near the top of the NFL in nearly every significant offensive category. The only big concern involves the penalties. Here is a look at these rankings.

Offense (NFL rank in parenthesis)

Yards per Game: 420.3 (2)
Yards per Play: 6.9 (1)
1st Downs per Game: 20.3 (6t)
3rd Downs Made: 15 (20)
3rd Downs Attempted: 38 (22)
4th Downs Made: 4 (1)
4th Downs Attempted: 5 (2)
Penalties: 30 (32)
Penalty Yards: 256 (32)
Time of Possession: 98:21 (6)
Fumbles: 2 (2t)
Fumbles Lost: 1 (2t)

Defense

Points per Game: 21.7 (18)
Yards per Game: 337.0 (21)
Yards per Play: 5.3 (20)
1st Downs per Game: 19.2 (22t)
3rd Downs Made: 18 (18t)
3rd Downs Attempted: 38 (9t)
4th Downs Made: 0 (1t)
4th Downs Attempted: 4 (3t)
Penalties: 16 (17t)
Penalty Yards: 130 (16)
Time of Possession: 81:39 (5)
Fumbles: 6 (7t)
Fumbles Lost: 2 (19t)

Individual

I will have more on individual stats next week, but here are a few notes:

* Tony Romo is tied for third in the NFL with a 111.9 passer rating. He is sixth in passing yards per game with 286.7.
* Marion Barber is tied for the league lead in touchdowns with five. He ranks twelfth in the NFL in rushing with 256 yards.
* Julius Jones ranks 34 in the NFL with 124 rushing yards.
* Terrell Owens ranks fourth in the NFL with 329 yards on 16 receptions.

Pigskin Pick’em: 8/16

I improved with Pick’em this week, but I still can’t break .500. Arizona and Green Bay came through this week, but my picks of Detroit and San Francisco weren’t so bright. Same with New Orleans. Dallas is now 3-0 against the spread.

Fantasy Football: Thurman’s Thieves (2-1)

I should be much happier about my fantasy results this week. However, my quarterback play has become comical.

I had a pretty big lead heading into Monday night’s New Orleans-Tennessee game. I had Drew Brees and Marques Colston, while my opponent was left only with Tennessee linebacker Keith Bulluck. No way I could give up a 15-point lead? Sure! Bulluck picked off three of Brees’ passes. Brees ended up with -0.1 points. I escaped with a 7.9 point win, but Brees has to get better.

New Orleans has a bye this week, which leaves me with Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson. It’s a cold day in hell, but I have to start Anderson.