Click here to see if the Cowboys are favored

The Cowboys are going to be a power offense.  By this I mean most of their running and passing plays will be north-south, instead of east-west.  This will be an interesting match-up because the Jags defense is also very physical at the point of attack.  It’s almost impossible to run between the tackles against the Jags, but Parcells will try it out anyway.  The Cowboys will probably try to throw early in the game to soften up the run defense.  If the Jags double Terrell Owens (which they probably will), Terry Glenn and Jason Witten will have big games against the Jags.

The Jags will spread the football around to their wide-outs as not one of them has stood up to be “The Man”.  The Cowboys defense is very tough, but “Fragile” Fred Taylor still has the skills to get outside and rip off big chunks of yardage.  If rookie TE Mercedes Lewis can play, he will add a dimension to the Jags offense that hasn’t been there in a long time……a tight end that can stretch a defense.

I like the Cowboys in a low-scoring game.

Coach Parcells has a career record of 163-123-1 (57% wins) and is 11-7 in the post-season.  Parcells has won 5 division titles and 2 Super Bowl Championships.  Parcells is 25-23 (52.1% wins) in three seasons with the Cowboys.

Drew Bledsoe’s career record as a starting QB is 95-92 (50.8% wins) and 3-3 in the post-season.  Bledsoe’s career QB rating is 77.3.

The Cowboys out-gained the Vikings 521-289, but turnovers killed them.  Drew Bledsoe completed 9 of 11 passes (81.8%) for 69 yards and an interception.  Tony Romo completed 30 of 45 passes (66.7%) for 349 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions.

Julius Jones carried the ball eight times and lost 2 yards, he also caught 3 passes for 27 yards.  Marion Barber ran the ball 7 times for 37 yards (5.3 ypc) and caught 4 passes for 7 yards.  Tyson Thompson ran the ball 10 times for 56 yards and caught 4 passes for 16 yards and a TD.

WR Jamaica Rector caught 8 passes for 93 yards (11.6 avg).  Rookie WR Sam Hurd caught 6 passes for 110 yards (18.3 avg).

The Cowboys held the Vikings to 86 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.0 ypc).  The Vikings completed 63.3% of their passes for 203 net yards thru the air.