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.