Romo, Cowboys, Ride Into Carolina

Oct 27, 2006, 18:25 GMT

- Tony Romo, meet Julius Peppers. Expect to get to know him pretty well on Sunday night, when your Dallas Cowboys visit Peppers' Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.

Romo will make the first start of his NFL career against the Panthers, as the fourth-year-pro gets the nod over inconsistent and immobile veteran Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe was benched at halftime of Monday night's eventual 36-22 loss to the Giants, with Romo throwing three interceptions and failing to rally the Cowboys, but also providing a spark in the form of two touchdown passes.

The Eastern Illinois product will be charged with making plays and avoiding mistakes for a Dallas team already behind the eight-ball in the contentious NFC East. Sunday night's loss dropped Bill Parcells and company into third place in the division, a game back of the Giants and a half-game behind the Eagles.

Romo becomes the ninth quarterback to start for Dallas since Troy Aikman retired prior to the 2001 season, and his entry into the starting world could be painful due in large part to the presence of Peppers.

Peppers leads the NFL with eight sacks as Week 8 begins, and figures to win his share of battles against Dallas' much-maligned offensive line. The former North Carolina gridiron and hoops standout saw his streak of consecutive games with a sack snapped at five in last Sunday's 17-14 loss to the Bengals, a defeat that also put a halt to Carolina's four-game winning streak. The defensive end and his team will seek to avenge those indignities on Sunday, as they attempt to keep the pressure on the Saints and Falcons in a crowded NFC South picture.

SERIES HISTORY

Dallas leads the all-time regular season series with Carolina, 5-1, winning five straight since the Panthers notched their only such win against the Cowboys at Texas Stadium in 1997. Dallas has won the last two regular season meetings by identical 24-20 scores, in 2003 at home and 2005 in Charlotte.

In addition to the regular season series, the teams have met twice in the postseason, with the Panthers winning both. Carolina was a 26-17 home victor in a 1997 NFC Divisional Playoff, and took a 29-10 decision in a 2003 NFC First-Round Playoff.

Parcells is 3-2 in his career against Carolina, including the 2003 playoff loss for his Dallas club. The Panthers' John Fox is 2-2 in his career against Dallas, and 1-2 head-to-head versus Parcells.

COWBOYS OFFENSE VS. PANTHERS DEFENSE

Romo (262 passing yards, 3 TD, 3 INT) has actually played in each the Cowboys' last two games, appearing in the final stages of the team's Week 6 blowout of the Texans before starting the second half last Sunday. The 2002 Walter Payton Award winner carries a solid 89.4 passer rating into Week 8, albeit in limited action. When he looks downfield, Romo will be attempting to locate wideouts Terrell Owens (28 receptions, 5 TD) and Terry Glenn (29 receptions, 3 TD) along with tight end Jason Witten (20 receptions). Owens caught six passes for a season-high 98 yards and a touchdown against the Giants, while Glenn and Witten caught four balls each. Romo's second scoring strike of the night went to Patrick Crayton (12 receptions, 2 TD) on a 53-yard play late in the going. The major hurdle for Romo, as mentioned, will be avoiding the pass rush while playing behind a line that has allowed 18 sacks through six games.

Peppers was dominant against the Cowboys last season, posting three of Carolina's five sacks of Bledsoe, and will look to enable the continuation of the hit parade against Romo. Peppers and reserve defensive tackle Damione Lewis (3 sacks) have combined for 11 of the Panthers' 15 sacks on the year. Lewis had a sack of Carson Palmer last week. The job of handling Owens and Glenn will fall to cornerbacks Ken Lucas (33 tackles, 1 INT) and Chris Gamble (39 tackles, 1 INT), with safeties Shaun Williams (26 tackles) and Mike Minter (36 tackles, 1 INT) lending support. Rookie nickel back Richard Marshall leads the Panthers in INTs in 2006 with two. Lucas had a pick of Bledsoe in last year's game with Dallas.

Romo's development will be rendered easier if the Cowboys are able to establish a running game with Julius Jones (524 rushing yards, 2 TD) on Sunday night. With Dallas playing from behind for most of the night against the Giants, Jones saw a personal streak of three consecutive 100-yard games fall by the wayside, finishing with just 30 yards on 13 carries in the contest. Jones also added a 25-yard catch in the defeat. Change-of-pace Marion Barber III (215 rushing yards, 4 TD, 8 receptions) equaled Jones' production on half the attempts, carrying six times for 29 yards and catching a 17-yard pass out of the backfield. Dallas ranks fifth in NFL rushing offense (138 yards per game) as Week 8 begins.

The Panthers remember well the damage that Jones did to them last season, when the running back piled up 194 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries in a Week 16 win for Dallas. Jones will be facing a different-looking run-stopping unit than the one he saw last season, as ex-Packer Na'il Diggs (22 tackles) and rookie James Anderson (12 tackles) have been placed in prominent roles within the linebacking corps while tackles Kris Jenkins (19 tackles, 1 sack) and Ma'ake Kemoeatu (14 tackles) now occupy the interior line. Anderson, a third-round draft choice out of Virginia Tech, saw extensive action last week in the absence of Thomas Davis (ribs), who is listed as questionable for Sunday night. Middle linebacker Chris Draft (49 tackles, 1.5 sacks) leads a unit that is ranked 20th in the league against the run (114.6 yards per game).

PANTHERS OFFENSE VS. COWBOYS DEFENSE

The major storylines for Carolina this week involve receivers Steve Smith (39 receptions, 2 TD) and Keyshawn Johnson (36 receptions, 2 TD), both of whom will have major incentive to play well against the Cowboys. Smith was ejected in the third quarter of last year's game with Dallas after making contact with an official, prior to which he had been shut down to the tune of one catch for 18 yards. Johnson, meanwhile, will be facing the team for which he played every game in 2004 and 2005, but for which he was rendered expendable following the Terrell Owens signing. Johnson had 141 catches for 1,820 yards and 12 touchdowns as a Cowboy. Smith posted his third 100-yard outing in five games last week, hauling in eight receptions for 126 yards. Johnson had four catches, which matched his season-low. Jake Delhomme (1581 passing yards, 8 TD, 4 INT) threw for 238 yards against Cincinnati, including touchdowns to tight end Kris Mangum (12 receptions, 1 TD) and running back Nick Goings, but his day will be best-remembered for the pass he had intercepted by Bengals safety Kevin Kaesviharn to thwart a potential Carolina rally.

Seeking to avoid getting torched by Smith will be a Dallas secondary that has given up its fair share of big plays this season. Cornerback Anthony Henry (33 tackles, 1 INT) and rookie free safety Pat Watkins (22 tackles) have been the biggest culprits in the deficiency against aerial attacks, though strong safety Roy Williams (26 tackles, 2 INT) and cornerback Terence Newman (24 tackles, 1 INT) have had their shaky moments as well. Newman had the team's only interception of Eli Manning on Monday. In order to help the secondary, the Cowboys need more push from a pass rush that has managed just 14 sacks on the year thus far. Outside linebacker Demarcus Ware (24 tackles, 3 sacks) moved into a tie along with reserve end Jay Ratliff for the team lead in sacks on Monday, posting a sack to go along with a team-high eight tackles and a forced fumble. End Kenyon Coleman also notched his second sack of the season in the loss. Ware had three sacks and three forced fumbles in last year's loss to Dallas.

The Panthers could get a boost this week in the form of rookie running back DeAngelo Williams (139 rushing yards, 1 TD), who practiced on Wednesday after missing the team's past two games with a high ankle sprain. The Memphis product was averaging 5.3 yards per carry before getting hurt early in a win over Cleveland in Week 5. DeShaun Foster (490 rushing yards, 1 TD, 17 receptions) has carried most of the rushing load in Williams' absence, but with mixed results. After posting his second straight 100-yard game against the Browns, Foster has been held to a combined 117 yards on 40 carries (2.9 yards per carry) in his last two outings. The Panthers rank just 25th in NFL rushing offense (96.7 yards per game).

The Cowboys slipped from No. 1 to No. 4 in the NFL against the run (81.7 yards per game) on Monday, sliding from their perch on a night that saw the Giants' Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs combine for 154 yards on the ground. Seeking to avoid a repeat of that scenario will be inside linebackers Akin Ayodele (32 tackles) and Bradie James (28 tackles, 1 INT) along with Dallas' three-man line of Jason Ferguson (16 tackles) at nose tackle and Chris Canty (13 tackles, 1 sack) and Marcus Spears (20 tackles, 1 sack) on the ends. Ayodele was second on the team in tackles with seven last week. The Cowboys held Foster to 68 yards on 22 carries in their matchup with the Panthers last season.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Romo's first assignment is a tough one, as he faces a Carolina defense that should ravage Dallas' woeful tackles in pursuit of him, and also features a secondary that is especially adept at capitalizing on the hurried throws of quarterbacks. Romo won't get much help from the Cowboys defense either. There is no one in the Dallas secondary that can handle Steve Smith (unless Roy Williams tries to break his leg with a horse-collar, that is), and the Cowboys' concentration on him figures to mean plenty of big-play opportunities for Keyshawn and Drew Carter as well.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Panthers 31, Cowboys 21

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