The running back corps of the Cowboys has been ransacked by injuries this season but somehow they are still averaging 153.3 yards rushing per game this year.  That’s because they have awesome depth at running back.  Marion Barber is the muscle man of this bunch as he loves to try to run over defenders.  He has carried the ball 72 times for 344 yards (4.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he has also caught 5 passes for 59 yards (11.8 avg).  Felix Jones is the speedster of this bunch as he can score from anywhere on the field.  He has carried the ball 29 times for 249 yards (8.6 ypc) and he has 1 TD run.  Jones has also caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg) this year.  Jones is a tad injury prone but no one questions his talent.  Tashard Choice is a combination of Barber and Jones as he is the most complete running back that the Cowboys have.  He has carried the ball 44 times for 225 yards (5.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has also caught 13 passes for 115 yards (8.8 avg) this year.  The Cowboys’ offense is purring right now as the running game has made things a lot easier for QB Tony Romo when he drops back to throw the ball.

The Dallas Cowboys are at home against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday and are going for their third win in a row.  Tony Romo finally has gotten out of the funk he was in early in the season and has had two excellent games in a row.  A lot of the credit goes to the Cowboys new number one receiver, Miles Austin.  Austin has been putting up some ridiculous receiving numbers and he and Romo seem to have great chemistry on the field.  In only two starts, Austin has 16 catches for 421 yards and four touchdowns.  The Seahawks are coming off a 27-3 loss, so the Cowboys should be able to put some points on the board.

Seahawk’s quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has been battling a rib injury this year, but after missing two games he returned two games ago to lead them to a 41-0 win over Jacksonville.  So, the Seahawks are capable of putting a lot of points on the board, but the Cowboys are a better team than the Jaguars and should be able to contain Hasselbeck.  Former Cowboys’ running back Julius Jones will be looking to stick it to his old team, but he has only rushed for 64 yards in his last three games so the Cowboys should be able to handle him.  I think the Cowboys are a much better team, especially since Romo and the offense have been playing so well lately.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Seattle Seahawks 14, Dallas Cowboys 31

The Cowboys will be without PR/KR Allen Rossum indefinately due to a hamstring strain.  He only lasted 1 game before getting injured in which he returned 1 kickoff for 16 yards.  Rossum’s injury will allow Patrick Crayton to regain his job as the punt returner.  He has returned 13 punts for 167 yards (12.3 avg) with a TD.  Don’t look for Rossum to get that job back when he returns.  Felix Jones or Miles Austin will likely return kickoffs while Rossum is out of action.  My money is on Felix Jones getting the job.  He has returned 8 kickoffs for 184 yards (23.0 avg) so far this season.  Miles Austin is to important now on offense to risk using him returning kickoffs.  He has returned 6 kickoffs for 148 yards (24.7 avg) so far this season.  The Cowboys shouldn’t miss Rossum too much as they have more than capable replacements for him.  He might even lose his roster spot if the Cowboys excel in the return game while he is out of action.

Going into this season, the Dallas Cowboys had no idea how big of a weapon wide-receiver Miles Austin was.  Austin has now been in the league four years, but was used mostly on special teams and as a back-up receiver.  Austin had zero career starts and 18 career receptions heading into this season.  He made his first start against the Kansas City Chiefs, where he racked up a team-record 250 yards receiving on 10 catches and had two touchdowns.

In his second career start on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, Austin caught six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns.  That means in two career starts, Austin has 421 yards on 16 catches and four touchdowns.  In six games this year, Austin has 21 catches for 502 yards (23.9 avg) and five touchdowns.  Ten of those catches have been for 20 yards or more.  What is even more impressive is that this guy was undrafted out of Monmouth College and seemingly came out of nowhere.

After a slow start in the first quarter where quarterback Tony Romo has zero passing yards, the Dallas Cowboys’ (4-2) offense exploded and easily defeated a good Atlanta Falcons (4-2) team.  Romo has found his new favorite target, as reciever Miles Austin proved his first start last game, where he had 250 receiving yards and two touchdowns, was not luck.  In his second career start Sunday, Austin caught six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns.  That is 421 yards on 16 catches and four touchdowns in two starts for the undrafted fourth year player from Monmouth College.  Those are incredible stats for any receiver, let alone a guy who before his big game against the Chiefs was mainly a special teams guy.  Romo did a good job finding Austin for some big plays, avoiding pressure and allowing the speedy receiver to get open down field.  Romo finished the game with three touchdowns and 311 yards on 21/29 passes and also had 31 yards rushing on six carries (5.2 avg).

The Cowboys defense had a pretty good game themselves.  The big offensive numbers overshadowed the defense, as they did a great job pressuring the Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan.  They sacked Ryan four times, which is great considering the QB was only sacked two times all season heading into this contest.  They forced him into two fumbles (recovered one) and picked him twice.  The fumble the Cowboys did recover off Ryan was huge since Romo came out the next play and hit Austin for a 22-yard touchdown.  The Cowboys got some more insurance in the 4th quarter when Patrick Crayton returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown.  This is exactly the type of game the Cowboys needed out of Romo, as it was a big, turnover free game for the inconsistent quarterback.  This should build his confidence, especially now that Miles Austin has proven he is one of the most dangerous receivers in the league.  The Cowboys are at home against the Seattle Seahawks next game.

The Dallas Cowboys (3-2) are coming off a bye week and are facing off against a talented and improving Atlanta Falcons (4-1) squad.  Tony Romo finally had a good game in their last game against the Kansas City Chiefs, throwing for 351 yards and two touchdowns.  The Chiefs are not a good team though and Romo has not been able to perform well against the better teams this year.  He either is too aggressive forcing the ball or isn’t aggressive enough and plays timid.  Romo needs to find a good medium and take what the defense gives him and he can’t be afraid to make a mistake.  The Cowboys should give it to Marion Barber and Tashard Choice as often as possible to take the pressure off of Romo.  They should be able to wear down a Falcons’ defense that gives up 118 rushing yards per game.

The Cowboys defense needs to be ready for Matt Ryan and his passing attack.  Ryan has had some big games for the Falcons this year and has proven himself as a good leader.  The second year quarterback does make mistakes from time to time though and has thrown three interceptions in the past two games, so the Cowboys should try and force him into some turnovers.  Tight end Tony Gonzalez has turned into one of Ryan’s favorite targets, so the Cowboys need to be aware of him.  They also need to be ready for the running attack too.  Atlantas’ Michael Turner is averaging 3.5 yards per carry and has six touchdowns. This should be a close and high scoring game, but I think the Cowboys should pull out the victory at home.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 34, Atlanta Falcons 31

With Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Roy Williams all banged up the bye comes at the right week.  Barber has a nagging quad injury that just won’t seem to go away.  He still leads the Cowboys in rushing with 297 yards on 58 carries (5.1 ypc) and he has caught 4 passes for 58 yards (14.5 avg) this season.  The Cowboys need Barber because of the power he brings to the running game.  Jones is a flat out speedster who can go the distance any time he touches the football.  He has carried the ball 21 times for 212 yards (10.1 ypc) with 1 TD run this season.  WR Roy Williams needs to get back into action or Miles Austin might just steal his job.  He has caught 11 passes for 214 yards (19.5 avg) so far this season with 1 TD grab.  The Cowboys will be more potent when they get all of these guys back healthy.

The Cowboys have signed 32-year old special teams ace Allen Rossum.  Rossum will likely replace Patrick Crayton on punt returns.  Crayton has returned 10 punts for 80 yards (8.0 avg) for the Cowboys this season.  Rossum played in 3 games for the 49ers this season and he made 2 tackles.  He also returned 12 punts for 84 yards (7.0 avg) and 7 kickoffs for 152 yards (21.7 avg) for the Niners.  Rossum has now played in 156 games in his NFL career and he has made 136 tackles, defensed 14 passes, has 2 sacks and 2 interceptions.  He has also returned 307 punts for 3,056 yards (10.0 avg) with 3 TD returns and 513 kickoffs for 11,931 yards (23.3 avg) with 5 TD returns.  The Cowboys have released CB Cletis Gordon who was only a Cowboy for 1 week and he didn’t do anything.

The Dallas Cowboys (3-2) got a ridiculously good game from the undrafted receiver Miles Austin, who led the Cowboys to an overtime win over the Kansas City Chiefs (0-5).  To say Austin had a breakout game would be putting it lightly to say the least, as the receiver had a franchise record 250 receiving yards.  Austin was filling in for the injured Roy Williams and had two touchdowns and ten catches for 250 yards (25 yard avg).  He could have had even more, as he dropped a touchdown in the first quarter.  Tony Romo finally broke out of his funk and did a great job finding the nearly unknown receiver, finishing with two touchdowns and 351 yards on 20/34 attempts (59%).

The Cowboys got a big game from their running backs as well.  Tashard Choice did a great job filling in for Felix Jones with a touchdown and 92 yards on only 8 carries (11.5 avg).  Marion Barber added 53 yards on 15 carries (3.5 avg).  The Cowboys still did not look very sharp at times though, despite the eye-popping statistics.  There were times were Romo and his receivers were out of synch with a few drops and and a few erratic throws.  Romo did not throw a pick though and got his first touchdown pass since week two.

The Cowboys defense did a great job stopping the run, holding the Chiefs’ Larry Johnson to 37 yards on 21 carries (1.8 avg).  They did not do a very good job with Matt Cassel and the Chiefs’ passing game though.  Cassel had two touchdowns with 253 yards on 23/41 attempts (56%).  Now those aren’t the best quarterback numbers, but the Cowboys defense let Cassel take the Chiefs to a 13-3 lead late in the 3rd quarter and then let him lead a game-tying drive late in the 4th quarter after the Cowboys had scored 17 straight points.  The Cowboys had a few big plays up their sleeve though, and Tony Romo found Miles Austin for a 60-yard touchdown in overtime to win the game.

The Dallas Cowboys (2-2) have been having an up and down season so far this year, and have not looked very good lately.  Good thing they are facing a winless team, as they are on the road this week taking on the Kansas City Chiefs (0-4).  The Chiefs don’t really do anything well, but their running game can be effective.  Chiefs’ running back Larry Johnson has gotten off to a slow start this season, as he is only averaging 2.6 yards per carry.  Their second string running back Jamaal Charles has shown some good things in his limited carries, as he has 68 yards on 12 carries (5.7 avg), so he may get a few more attempts against the Cowboys.  The Cowboys can’t let the Chiefs running game get too much, as their quarterback Matt Cassel can be very effective when he has a good running game going for him.

The Cowboys offense should be able to do a lot of damage against the Chiefs defense.  Tony Romo really needs to have a good game to get the Cowboys’ offense going again.  Romo has been playing terrible ever since his great game in week one.  The Chiefs are giving up 129 rushing yards per game though, so expect Marion Barber to rack up a lot of yards on the ground.  Felix Jones is still out with a knee injury, so Tashard Choice will get a chance to show more than his 2.4 yards per carry last week.  The Cowboys should not have a problem against the Chiefs and should win this one pretty easily.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 31, Kansas City Chiefs 17