Sunday, December 21, 2008

Baltimore Ravens 33, Dallas Cowboys 24

By Erin Rice

In its final game, the 37-season-old Texas Stadium played host to a host of emotions as the Dallas Cowboys faced the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night. As the temperature dropped, the fans' patience with their team did as well, and the "boos" flew out from the stands as the Cowboys tried to pull it together for the farewell game.

Out with the "hole"...

Dallas was first on the scoreboard, when Tashard Choice ran in a two-yard touchdown, but it would his side's only score of the first half. Tony Romo threw two interceptions and by halftime had a QB rating of 7.8. Kicker Matt Stover nailed three field goals in the first half to put the Ravens up 9-7 going into the locker rooms.

With so much at stake one would have thought the Cowboys would come out charging in the second half, but the Ravens' defense befuddled the 'Boys offense at almost every turn. With a touchdown in the third quarter and yet another field goal in the fourth, Baltimore began to run away with the game, leading 19-10 with six and a half minutes left on the clock. But a moment of clarity and a spark of life led Dallas up field, and after a great catch in the middle from Jason Witten, and a seven-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens, the Cowboys were within two points of the Ravens with 3:50 left in play.

...and in with the retractable roof and god-like interior lighting.

Not so fast. The high was dashed when in the first return play Willis McGahee broke a number of tackles and rushed up the center 77 yards for the touchdown. It was the longest rush of McGahee's career and beat his previous run this season by 60 yards. With the game all but done, Dallas scored once again on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Witten with 1:36 left. But again, the Cowboys defense was asleep at the wheel and allowed Baltimore to score on their first play of the return run, with an 83-yard touchdown run from Le'Ron McClain. It was the longest run from an opposing back in Texas Stadium history, finalizing the game at 33-24 in Baltimore's favor.

While the Cowboys aren't out of the playoff hunt, their options are lessened quite a bit. A win in Philadelphia on December 28 is a must. The Ravens remain in the running for AFC's sixth seed.

Following the 313th and final game at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys organization held a celebration, honoring decades of players from the franchise's storied history.

Related stories

• Dallas Cowboys 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21 (Sept. 14, 2009)
• Dallas Cowboys sign linebacker Keith Brooking to three-year, $6 million deal (Feb. 28, 2009)
• Pegasus News week in view: ‘Twas the night edition (Dec. 24, 2008)

See more stories in:

• Football > NFL > Cowboys

Comments

Travis Bush Verified

Cowboy's offense still sucks a$$! Not sure what the problem is, but you can't depend on the defense the whole game. Romo needs to step up or go away..oh and stop smiling like some goddam retard all the time..losing is not a good reason for the sh*t eating grin..Same thing for T.O. and the rest. Step up or sit on the bench. Sure, they have lots of talent, but something just isn't clicking and this is getting pretty old. How long has it been now since we have been to a Super Bowl or even had home field advantage in the playoffs?

10 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

DC Anonymous

This is all part of the "Dallas Professional Sports Team Mediocrity Initiative" John Wiley Price started in hopes of derailing the inland port until he gets better consulting fees or hey what's this red dot that's following me around??!!

10 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )