National Football League

Skid stopped, Cowboys looking for long playoff run

Published Jan. 10, 2010 2:35 p.m. ET

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Their embarrassingly long wait between playoff wins is history, shredded to pieces alongside their December jinx. Now it's time to consider something a lot more meaningful about the Dallas Cowboys, like how long this playoff run might last.

A 34-14 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday night guarantees Dallas will play at least once more, in Minnesota on Sunday. Yet the way the Cowboys dominated the Eagles, and the way they've won their last four games, suggest they are the team to beat in the NFC.

``If we beat Minnesota, something special can happen here,'' team owner Jerry Jones said. ``I don't know that we will, but there's no reason why we can't.''

Dallas hasn't trailed during its four-game surge and hasn't been tied other than 0-0. The Cowboys are doing it with the basic formula for playoff success: a solid quarterback and a stingy defense.

Tony Romo is putting up points early and often without making the careless mistakes that fueled those now-erased hexes. He has six touchdowns and two interceptions over the last four outings, putting up 24.8 points per game. He guided Dallas to a franchise playoff-record 27 points in the second quarter Saturday night, putting the Cowboys well on the way to their NFL-record 33rd playoff win, but first since Dec. 28, 1996.

Earlier this season, the offense piled up yards but not points. Lately, they've been getting the most out of their drives, a testament to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett having figured out how to blend the pass and run, and how to mix up his stable of running backs to keep defenses guessing.

Meanwhile, DeMarcus Ware and the defense are keeping offenses frustrated.

Dallas has given up only 31 points the last 16 quarters, just four touchdowns in four games. And three of those games were against New Orleans and Philadelphia, the teams that scored the most and fifth-most points in the NFL this season. The Eagles had just 18 snaps in the decisive first half Saturday night, and they finished 2 of 11 on third downs.

``There's no miraculous answer,'' nose tackle Jay Ratliff said. ``It's just people doing their job and everybody playing together.''

Coach Wade Phillips is also the defensive coordinator and he's drawing lots of praise for his unit's performance. What he hasn't drawn is Jones' guarantee of sticking around next season. That seems pretty moot, though, especially with Jones joking about it.

``I'm superstitious,'' he said, ``and I wouldn't want to touch anything that's going pretty good.''

Another key to postseason success is being healthy, and the Cowboys have that going for them, too.

The only banged-up starter is running back Marion Barber, who lasted just three carries against Philadelphia because he aggravated a knee injury. It wasn't much of a problem, though, because running back might be Dallas' deepest position.

Felix Jones turned his increased workload into a career-high 146 yards, half coming on a 73-yard touchdown run that was the longest in franchise playoff history. Third-stringer Tashard Choice added another 42 yards and a touchdown. But he got knocked around pretty good one week after suffering a mild concussion, so his and Barber's status will be worth watching over the coming days.

Otherwise, what is the Cowboys' biggest weakness?

They're still not certain about recently signed kicker Shaun Suisham, although he did make field goals of 48 and 25 yards against the Eagles.

They're still hurting themselves with penalties, especially the pre-snap kind, but the Cowboys are 4-1 when drawing at least 10 flags, so it's apparently not hurting too badly.

The biggest fear might be that they're due for a bad break, or for some sort of off-field distraction. Then again, Terrell Owens and Jessica Simpson are long gone.

``We believe in each other, no matter what the situation is,'' tight end Jason Witten said. ``You can't say enough about that.''

If the Saints win their game Saturday, the NFC championship will be in the Superdome. If they lose, the Dallas-Minnesota winner will host the Super Bowl play-in game.

That's why Jones feels so good about his team's chances if it can get past the Vikings.

The Cowboys already have won at New Orleans; in fact, that's the game that sent both teams in opposite directions. Dallas hasn't lost since, and the Saints haven't won since.

New Orleans still landed the No. 1 seed in the NFC because Minnesota lost two of its last three games, which indicates that Brett Favre and the Vikings are also vulnerable.

The Cowboys have flaws, too, of course. They just aren't readily apparent right now.

``The critical thing is when (this team) got in tight situations, it would drop the ball or shy away. I think now we see that it won't,'' Jerry Jones said. ``It has sound fundamentals and has substance and that it will compete. This stage isn't too big for it.''