If it weren’t for Terrell Owens having popcorn grease all over his hands, the Cowboys may have hung more than 40 points on their closest rival in the NFC. Owens bobbled a touchdown catch which ended up being picked off by Green Bay Packer’s CB Al Harris.

Probably the one play that gave Green Bay a shot at the Cowboys was Nate Jones knocking Brett Favre out of the game. Favre is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he wasn’t playing like it, pressing for the deep ball and often throwing into double coverage.

Aaron Rogers was able to come in and run the Packers offense well, but it wasn’t enough to come back on a Dallas team that was clicking on all cylinders for much of the game.

Romo continues to impress. He’s now shattered Danny White’s single season passing touchdown record for the Cowboys, and will likely take down another record or two before the year is out. The most impressive part of his game: consistency. He showed last year that he could be good, this year he is showing he can be consistently good, and it is that consistency that will play a key part in how well we do in January.

With the Green Bay Packers coming to town in a couple of days to create a meeting of the two best teams in the NFC, a game of two 10-1 teams facing off, and a game that may decide who has home field advantage for the playoffs, I thought it would be a good time to explore just how good these 2007 Dallas Cowboys are 11 games into the season.

So, lets start with the offense where the Cowboys boast the 2nd best team in the NFL with 388.8 yards per game and the 2nd in scoring with 358 points. The Cowboys have a balanced offense ranked 5th in passing with 265.9 yards per game, and while they are just 11th in rushing with 122.9 yards per game, they are also tied for 5th in rushing yards per attempt with 4.4.

There’s no surprises as to who the stars on offense are. Tony Romo has the 3rd best QB rating (105.3), is 4th in passing yards (3,043), 7th in completion percentage (66.2), and 2nd in yards per attempt with 8.6.

Who’s he throwing to? Terrell Owens is 2nd in yards (1,093) and 2nd in TD’s (13). Among tight ends, Jason Witten is 3rd in yards (750), 4th in catches (59), and tied for 4th in TD’s (6).

And rumbling, bumbling, stumbling towards the end zone is Marion Barber who is 13th in the league in yards (715) despite splitting time with Julius Jones. Barber is also 4th in yards per carry (4.9) among running backs with at least 100 attempts.

The defense isn’t too shabby either. They are ranked 7th overall giving up 299.1 yards per game and tied for 10th in total points allowed with 221. They are also 4rth against the run giving up only 82.1 yards per game.

Now, against the pass, it is a different story with the Cowboys ranked 21st having given up 2,387 yards. But, stats are strange things. While the Cowboys have given up a lot of yards against the pass, they have also been thrown against more than all but four other teams, and have the 4th lowest completion percentage of opposing quarterbacks. The defense is also ranked 6th in sacks with 30 and tied for 2nd in interceptions with 16.

Among the defensive stars are DeMarcus Ware who is tied for 7th in sacks with 9 and Greg Ellis who is 10th in sacks with 8.5. Anthony Henry is tied for 3rd in interceptions with 5, and Ken Hamlin is in a long list tied at 6th with 4.

The overall picture is a balanced team that can run the ball well, and pass the ball among the best. They can defend the run, and are good at getting to the quarterback and creating opportunities for interceptions, and while they force the quarterback to miss his receiver a fair amount, they do tend to give up some deep balls.

These stats will be tested on Thursday when the Green Bay Packers spread the Cowboys out and try to throw the ball around on them. Make no mistakes, the Packers are going to try to chunk it deep, which means Newman, Henry and Reese will have their hands full, but perhaps more pressure will be on Ellis and Ware who will need to keep Favre from having the time to throw it deep.

Thanksgiving weekend is almost over, but I hope it’s not too late to add one more item to my Thanksgiving list: Thank you New York Giants for losing to the Vikings and inching the Cowboys that much closer to the NFC East title.

The loss puts the Cowboys at two games needed to wrap up the division, either two wins, or a win and a Giant’s loss. How much more important does this make the Green Bay game? Probably not much at all, win or lose, Dallas looks destined to win their division, but home field advantage would still be sweet.

With Washington having lost to Tampa Bay, and Philly playing New England, the division certainly looks all but wrapped up at this point. Mathematically speaking, the Redskins and Eagles are still in the race, but the Redskins would need to win out while Dallas would need to lose the rest of their games, and the Eagles could suffer a loss to the Patriots but would need to win the rest of their games with (again) Dallas losing all of theirs.

As for the Giants, the NFC East may be slipping out of their hands, but they are still at the top of the list for a wildcard berth. But to do so, they will have to string together some wins, something they’ve had problems doing in December for the last few seasons.

It appeared to be one of those ugly games with Romo throwing a pick on his second possession and then almost throwing two other interceptions that were fortunately dropped by the defense.

But the Cowboys defense turned out to be just too much for the Jets, completely smothering their offense and erasing any attempts to take advantage when Dallas’s offense began sputtering around after their first possession.

And, for that reason, it was probably one of the most boring wins this year. The Cowboys took the opening drive for a touchdown, and that was enough to win the game right there. Two touchdown passes by Romo and an interception returned for a touchdown by Newman were just the icing on the cake.

Speaking of touchdowns, Romo is already scrawling his name into the record books. The touchdown pass to Owens tied him with Danny White for the most touchdown passes in a single season by a Dallas Cowboy. Before the end of the year, he will demolish that record.

It’s also good to see Terence Newman getting interceptions in back-to-back games. Newman is one of the best cornerbacks in the league, but doesn’t get the acclaim of other cornerbacks because he doesn’t get as many interceptions. On the flip side, he probably gives up fewer touchdowns than about any other cornerback, but those numbers aren’t tracked, so he goes a little unnoticed — at least by the media. No doubt, offensive coordinators know how good he is which is why quarterbacks often stay away from him.

Next up, the “next” biggest game of the year: The Green Bay Packers.

A win against the packers will give them a two game lead for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, so as much as everyone made about the Patriots game, this might very well be the key game this season. While home field advantage might be a little overrated considering the Cowboys haven’t had any real problems winning on the road this year, it’s always nice to have a slight advantage going into the playoffs.

I’ve been wanting to sit down with Tony Romo and give him a full-fledged interview now that he is comfortably positioned into the seat of franchise quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Unfortunately, T-Ro won’t return my calls. He even sent a strong man over with what he called a “restraining order” to keep me away.

Fortunately, after Tony leaves for work in the morning (if you want to call throwing a football around “work”), then his house is no longer within the 250 feet I’m supposed to stay away from.

Wanting to find out more about the guy who is responsible for Romo-mania, I snuck into his house and uncovered a piece of paper containing Tony Romo’s Thanksgiving list.

So, without further ado, Tony Romo’s Thanksgiving list:

1. Thank you Drew Bledsoe. If it weren’t for the fact that you couldn’t beat a statue in a race, I might never have had a chance to go out with Carrie Underwood.

2. Thank you Vinnie Testeverde. If you weren’t 90 years old, I might still be on the bench.

3. Thank you Drew Henson. It seems you play football even worse than you play baseball.

4. Thank you Quincy Carter. I hope you enjoy the bag of coke I sent you.

5. Thank you Chad Hutchinson. I still remember watching you play guitar on Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys. I hope you aren’t counting on that as a career now that football didn’t work out for you.

6. And thank you Clint Stoerner. I took your job before I took Drew’s, and while it was just a job holding a clipboard, I still think fondly of it.

There’s one thing to be said about this Dallas Cowboys team: They know how to win. Slow start? No problem, just blow up the points in the second half. Throw six picks? Not an issue if you can score 11 pts in a matter of seconds. Can’t seem to get the opposing team off the field? Easy. Just throw it to T.O.

This is what it means to be a championship caliber team. Not every game is going to be one where you dominate throughout the sixty minutes of play. There are going to be times of trouble, times when the chips are down, and it is in those times that championship teams come together and simply find a way to win.

And that’s what the Cowboys have been doing, this time turning to T.O. for touchdown pass after touchdown pass to keep ahead of a Redskins team that just wouldn’t quit. And let’s not forget Terence Newman who sealed the deal doing something he’s not shown to be especially good at — making the aggressive play.

Don’t get me wrong; Newman is one of the best cornerbacks in the league. In fact, as far as coverage skills go, I don’t think there are any better cornerbacks out there. Some just as good, maybe, but none better. What Newman lacks is the aggressiveness to jump routes and get interceptions. He may very well give up fewer touchdown passes than any other cornerback in the NFL, but he doesn’t seem to get many picks.

But, when push came to shove, and it looked like the Redskins might very well punch the ball into the end zone, he made a play.

As for T.O. and his four touchdowns, I’m not sure which was the best play, his scoring, or knocking that ball down at the end of the game. Because you just know T.O. wanted to catch it. What better way to end a career day than to get an interception? And it’s not like he has many opportunities. Maybe four chances to get a pick all year.

But he made the smart play, and that says something. Spout all you want about T.O. just being in it for himself, but that ball came right to him — an easy catch for a guy that had already scored four times — and he just raised his hands and knocked it down. Had to be at least a little tough for a guy who is used to going after the ball, but he did it. Gotta give him some credit for that one.

If I were to tell you before the Giants game that one running back would run 11 times for a 4.4 yards per carry average and the other back would run 12 times for a 2.8 yards per carry average, you probably wouldn’t be too surprised. If I were to add that it was Julius Jones running for the 4.4 yards per carry average, you probably wouldn’t believe me.

After all, the year started with Julius Jones trying to break three yards per carry and Barber making it look simple to run for five yards a carry. Not so against the Giants when Julius’s speed and quick feet served him better than Barber’s style of just running over people.

And this wasn’t a fluke. Against the Eagles, Julius ran 13 times for 57 yards while Barber ran 16 times for 56 yards. That put Jones again at 4.4 yards per carry and Barber at 3.5 yards per carry.

It seems the bye week must have been good for Jones who is not only getting out into the open where his speed can make a difference, but has also shown some power in breaking through tackles.

Barber still has a definite edge for the year having garnered 569 yards with a 5.1 average while Jones has 401 yards and a 3.9 average, but if Jones keeps running like he has over the course of the last two weeks, he might narrow that gap by season’s end.

I don’t know what Jones is doing differently. Maybe he’s eating a snickers before each game? Whatever it is, he needs to keep doing it. Only, I’d rather Marion keep running like Marion at the same time. For most of the year, Marion has been on while Jones has struggled, and now that Jones seems to be playing with more game, Marion is finding fewer holes to power through.

But that is the good thing about having two backs with different running styles and different strengths. A team good at stopping a power back might have more problems with a finesse runner, and vice-versa. The versatility makes the Cowboys running game that much harder to stop.

I know there has been a lot of clamor for Marion to get the start and Julius to fade into the background. Well-deserved clamor, if I must say so myself. I like Julius, and I like the potential he showed as a rookie, but we haven’t seen much of that potential since the first year. And Marion looks like he could be the next Steven Jackson.

But, no matter where you fall on the fence, the best thing for the Cowboys is for both backs to run up to their potential. The harder Julius makes it for Jerry Jones when it comes time to resign him, the better for the Cowboys. And the harder Marion makes it for the Cowboys not to put him in to start the game, the better it is for the Cowboys.

Lets just hope they can both start clicking at the same time. Then defenses would have some real problems on their hands.

Well, perhaps saying they wrapped up the NFC East is a little early, but Dallas all but wrapped up the division by sweeping the Giants, which gives them not only a two game lead on the Giants, but also the tie breaker.

That means Dallas would have to lose three games and New York win out. And I’m not sure which is more unlikely: Dallas actually losing three of its last seven, or New York winning all seven from here on out.

Dallas is starting to make a habit out of taking the opening drive for a touchdown. Sure, it was easier with the Eagles after McNabb had the ball stripped, but this time they actually had to drive all the way down and punch it into the end zone, which they did in true Romo fashion with the quarterback scrambling and then tossing a duck into the end zone where it was snagged by Tony Curtis.

After that possession, the Cowboys settled into their usual slow start, but it looked like they would end the half with the lead after a late surge got them into the end zone a second time. But an unsportsmanlike penalty on the ensuing drive helped the Giants get into position to kick a game-tying field goal to go into halftime.

But Dallas had the Giants right where they wanted them. A second half team all year, the Cowboys stopped the Giants and then took their first drive of the half into the end zone capping off the drive with the first of two touchdown passes to Owens. He’d also score on a long 50 yard pass at the start of the fourth quarter, but it would not be needed as the defense limited the Giants to only three points in the second half.

It was a big game and a big win. Dallas has a commanding lead in the division, and now we can start looking towards Green Bay and the chance to wrap up home field advantage.

I haven’t been too worried about the Packers this year. After all, while Brett Farve is playing like a man on fire, they’ve lacked a run game, which means Dallas could focus on stopping the pass. But here lately they seem to have found that run game, which will make them a little tougher to face.

But the Cowboys are slowly improving as well. After getting off to slow starts during the first half of the season, Dallas has been able to put up some first quarter points in recent game. Romo, who seemed to need a little time to settle down at the beginning of the season, is getting into a groove quicker, and being able to score quickly takes some pressure off the defense.

The Cowboys were also able to activate Tank Johnson for the game. While he had a relatively quiet night, he did register a sack, and helped limit the Giants running game by providing a big body in the middle.

Who would have thought the Cowboys would hit the halfway mark at 7-1 and tied for the lead in the NFC? There were a lot of high expectations heading into the season, and it’s safe to say the Cowboys have exceeded those expectations.

The Cowboys are heading into one of the biggest games this season, traveling to the Meadowlands to face a New York Giants team that is only one game back in the NFC East. The first meeting between these two teams fell in the Cowboys favor, but this match up should be very different considering the Cowboys went into that first game without their best cornerback and the Giants went into it without their best defensive end.

They also head into the game ranked second in total offense with an average of over 400 yards per game. They are also the second best scoring offense and the third best passing offense.

And let’s not forget the defense. After starting off a little shaky, the Cowboys defense has improved with each game. They are now ranked fifth in the NFL against the run and eighth in total defense. They are also tied for third in the NFL for most interceptions with 12 and eleventh in the NFL in sacks with 21.

When you factor in that the Cowboys are ranked tenth in rushing offense that makes for a pretty balanced team. They can kill you with the pass, but also run the ball effectively. They are one of the best at stopping the run, good at putting pressure on the quarterback, and great at intercepting the ball.

Ultimately, it is that balance that puts them at the top of the pack (and on top of the Pack) in the NFC.

And how are the stars doing? Let’s take a look at what the stars on offense and defense would do if we take their first half stats and project it out for the whole season:

Cowboys Offense:

QB Tony Romo, 4,600 passing yards, 38 TDs

WR Terrell Owens, 1,460 receiving yards, 12 TDs

WR Patrick Crayton, 800 receiving yards, 8 TDs

TE Jason Witten, 1,234 receiving yards, 10 TDs

RB Marion Barber, 1,070 rushing yards, 12 TDs

RB Julius Jones, 706 rushing yards, 4 TDs

Cowboys Defense:

OLB DeMarcus Ware, 14 sacks

OLB Greg Ellis, 11 sacks

CB Anthony Henry, 10 interceptions

FS Ken Hamlin, 6 interceptions

Also, bear in mind that Marion Barber is on pace to rush for over a thousand yards while splitting time at almost a 50-50 ratio with Julius Jones. And take into consideration the number of games Ellis missed in his projected 11 sacks. If he continues to perform as he has in the limited time he has been playing this year, he may very well top DeMarcus Ware in that category.

Also, Henry’s 10 interceptions come even though he has missed a few games to injury. And, while Terence Newman has never been the type of cornerback that amasses good statistics, I can’t recall him giving up a single touchdown pass this year. I could be wrong on that one since I am going off memory, but if there is one stat I really wish they tracked for the secondary, it would be TDs scored off of them. If they tracked that statistic then Newman would be mentioned in the same breath at the Champ Baileys of the NFL.

So, at the halfway point, what do we know about these Cowboys? We know that Romo is the real deal, something there were still question marks about at the beginning of the season. We know that Terrell Owens can be a good teammate, though we still may wonder what might happen if the Cowboys go on a losing streak. We know that Crayton is a solid number two receiver. We know that Witten continues to improve, and that Marion Barber is one of the toughest guys to bring down in all of football.

We also know that the Dallas defense makes this team Super Bowl caliber. They’ve been without key players for most of the season with Ellis and Newman both missing significant time, with Ferguson out since game one, and with Henry a little banged up these last few games, and yet they have gotten a little bit better and a little bit better as they get more comfortable in the Phillips 3-4.

And think on this: These Cowboys are not as good as they could be. They are starting to get healthy with Newman, Henry and Ellis all set to play against the Giants. And they are also going to start working Tank Johnson into the lineup to make up for the Ferguson injury and give the Cowboys a little more punch in the middle.

They are also waiting for Terry Glenn to make his debut. Glenn was a 1,000 yard receiver last year, and is a deep threat that not only helps take some pressure off of Terrell Owens, but will improve the running game by forcing safeties to stay deep more of the time.

Yes, that’s right, one of the best offenses might be getting better. And a defense that is great against the run, can put pressure on the quarterback, and is opportunistic in coverage might also be getting better.

At the halfway mark, there is one thing that is certain: It’s a good year to be a Cowboys fan.

Dallas may not be known for scoring quickly this year, but they did their best imitation of it Sunday Night. After Marcus Spears stripped Donovan McNabb, the Cowboys were quick to take advantage and punch the ball into the end zone on a Julius Jones run.

Philadelphia answered with a touchdown of their own after Reggie Brown caught a long pass over the middle. But, that drive would be the highlight of the game for the Eagles. The Cowboys returned the favor with a touchdown of their own, and they wouldn’t give up the lead again.

The game was still very much in contention with the final minutes of the half ticking down when Romo was intercepted in the red zone. But, a few player later, Ken Hamlin picked off Donovan McNabb leading to a Marion Barber touchdown.

The third quarter started out with a quick strike to Terrell Owens to put the game at 28-7, and the Cowboys coasted towards another win from there.

This was a big game for the Cowboys. They are facing a tough stretch in their schedule that may very well determine who wins the NFC east. Next week, they are going to New York to face a very good Giants team who is only one game back from the Cowboys. So, coming into Philadelphia and handling the Eagles so soundly is going to be a good confidence boost to build on when preparing for the Giants.

The players of the game were Romo, who had another 300+ yard passing game, Owens, who returned to the Eagles to hang 174 yards a touchdown on his former team, and the two-headed monster of Barber and Jones who accounted for 185 total yards and 2 touchdowns.

Julius Jones, who rushed for 57 yards on 13 carries, actually had a higher yards per carry average than Barber, who ran for 56 yards on 16 carries. But Barber also added 50 receiving yards on 3 catches.

Top three plays of the day:

1. Jason Witten gets sandwiched between two defenders, has his helmet ripped off, and then rumbled down field for a 53 yard gain.

2. Terrell Owens takes advantage of a mistake in the secondary and scores a 45 yard touchdown on the Cowboys fourth play of the second half.

3. Anthony Henry punctuates the Cowboys win with an interception.

Honorable Mention goes to Newman for running down Reggie Brown and keeping him from scoring. The Eagles may have scored on the same possession, but Newman was easily ten yards back and still caught Brown from behind, so he deserves a mention.

Next Week: The 6-2 New York Giants who will have two weeks to prepare for the Cowboys.