Week 2 of the 2015 NFL season produced another win for the Dallas Cowboys, but not without a tremendous cost. Truly the statement “Win At All Cost” was applied to the Cowboys’ team Sunday.
The Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 20-10, a game in which they lost their starting quarterback, Tony Romo, for at least 8 weeks due to a broken left collarbone, which he suffered in the 3rd quarter of the game (He is scheduled to return November 22, just in time to take on the Miami Dolphins).
Luckily for the Cowboys they were able to acquire Matt Cassel from the Buffalo Bills, in a trade that involve the Cowboys trading their 2017 fifth-round pick in exchange for the Bills’ 2017 seventh-round draft pick as well. The trade came on Tuesday after the Cowboys brought up practice squad quarterback Kellan Moore to the 53-man roster. During the first half of the game, there was not much offense going forth by either team.
The half time score was only 6-0 due to only two field goals by the Cowboys. Dallas got a commanding lead in the 4th quarter, when linebacker Kyle Wilber scooped up a blocked punt and took it to the house to expand the lead to 13-0. Later in the quarter Cowboys’ backup quarterback Brandon Weeden connected on a touchdown pass to wide receiver Terrance Williams, which widen the margin to 20-3. With time running out, and the game pretty much over, the Eagles score a touchdown on a 2 yards run by wide receiver Jordan Matthews making the score 20-10.
The Cowboys’ defense held Murray to only 2 yards rushing on 13 carries and caused the Eagles’ quarterback Sam Bradford to turn the ball over three times. The Cowboys lifted their record to 2-0, while the Eagles fell to 0-2. Next Sunday backup quarterback Brandon Weeden will led the Cowboys against the 2-0 Atlanta Falcons.
On a side note, former LSU Tigers’ offensive lineman La’el Collins came into the game early and remained in the game for the rest of the contest at left guard. Also, it appears that with each passing week, the Cowboys lose one or more of its superstar players. Last week Dez Bryant went down with a foot injury which required a bone graph, leaving the Cowboys without their star wide receiver for 10-12 weeks. And this week’s the injury bug hit as I mention earlier in this article, Tony Romo and now the Cowboys’ star tight end Jason Witten. 
Witten sustained two sprained ankles and a sprained knee. He has been receiving treatment since Sunday’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles for his hampering injuries. Witten is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the 2-0 Atlanta Falcons, but he just might play because of the veteran’s high tolerance for pain. Besides, Witten has not missed a game since 2010, when he suffered a broken jaw.
Romo, now on the injury reserve (IR) list, saw his NFL-record streak of 41 consecutive road games with a touchdown pass come to an end Sunday as he left the game. The Cowboys has owned the Eagles on their home turf, with the Cowboys the last four times that they have played in Philadelphia. Now, as the Cowboys prepare to take on the Atlanta Falcons at noon this coming Sunday, the Cowboys will look quite different on offense than when the season started. Most notable will be the quarterback position, which will be occupied by Romo’s backup Brandon Weeden.
This will be Weeden’s first start for the Cowboys since his only start last season where he threw two interceptions in the 28-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Weeden expressed that he knows it will be a challenge, but will try not to put any extra pressure on himself. Also, Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones stayed positive concerning Romo’s eight week departure, by stating that a key thing is that Romo should be back at the close of the regular season, and be ready if there should be a playoff run for the Cowboys.
One last note worth mentioning, if the Cowboys intend to extend their consecutive road wins to eleven, they will have to clean up on committing so many penalties. The Cowboys were truly fortunate to come away with the victory after setting a franchise record with 18 penalties. We will just have to wait and see just how resilience these rowdy Cowboys are come Sunday.
