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Here's the lowdown on the Giants offense this afternoon/evening ...

2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ pers.): 37 of 81 snaps (13 1st half/23 2nd half/1 OT)
1 RB/0 TE/4 WR (‘10’ personnel): 21 of 81 snaps (11/8/2)
1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 13 of 81 snaps (7/6/0)
1 RB/2 TE/2 WR (‘12’ personnel): 5 of 81 snaps (3/2/0)
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 2 of 81 snaps (2/0/0)
2 RB/3 TE/0 WR (‘23’ personnel): 2 of 81 snaps (0/2/0)
2 RB/0 TE/3 WR (‘20’ personnel): 1 of 81 snaps (1/0/0)

ANALYSIS: The Giants basically decided what would work, and stuck to it. On early and running downs, it was trotting fullback Madison Hedgecock out their to lead for Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, and to pass protect. In long-yardage situations, they spread the Packers secondary out. This benefited them in a couple ways. First, it got Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress singled up on the outside in running situations, which allowed them to work over Charles Woodson and Al Harris. And it exploited the Packers secondary by forcing more defensive backs on the field to cover guys like Steve Smith and even Toomer some, when he was in the slot. If it wasn’t clear enough last week, this Giants team looks supremely coached right now.

Here it is, from Packers-Giants. Interesting philosophical shift from first half to second half by the Packers:

1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 17 of 48 snaps (7 1st half/9 2nd half/1 OT)
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 6 of 48 snaps (4/2/0)
2 RB/0 TE/3 WR (‘20’ personnel): 5 of 48 snaps (4/1/0)
2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ personnel): 11 of 48 snaps (4/6/1)
3 RB/1 TE/1 WR (‘31’ personnel): 2 of 48 snaps (2/0/0)
0 RB/0 TE/5 WR (‘00’ personnel): 3 of 48 snaps (2/1/0)
3 RB/0 TE/2 WR (‘30’ personnel): 1 of 48 snaps (1/0/0)
1 RB/0 TE/4 WR (‘10’ personnel): 1 of 48 snaps (1/0/0)
0 RB/1 TE/4 WR (‘01’ personnel): 1 of 48 snaps (0/1/0)
0 RB/2 TE/4 WR (‘02’ personnel): 1 of 48 snaps (0/1/0)

ANALYSIS: For some reason, and I can’t figure it out right now, the Packers closed up shop on substituting in the second half. After varying wildly in the first half with their personnel groupings, they ran 17 of their 23 second-half/overtime snaps out of either ‘11’ or ‘21’. This offense has thrived on running guys on and off the field, and getting matchups in both the passing and running games by doing so. Normally, I’d think that the change-up was to help in pass protection, but the blocking actually seemed to get worse in the second half, and that probably has to do with the three-and-outs. The Packers coaches may just have got tight in a tough spot.

Just got off the phone with Calvin "Lucky" Watkins, who wanted to pass along a heartfelt message on how right he was back in November.

He'll be on Ch. 11 with Babe Laufenberg shortly, if any of you want to see just how giddy he is.

The two cities separated by less than 200 miles will battle for NFL supremacy in Super Bowl XLII.

Just what everyone wanted, right? Another I-95 corridor war, for all of you that haven't had enough of Sox-Yankees, Pats-Jets, etc.

Love to know how a native Texan like Timmy Tabloid feels about that.

It's really hard for me to hand it to LSU alums right now, but Corey Webster has been a rock for the Giants in the playoffs, and now -- assuming the Giants win here -- he has his capper.

Finally, we have our goat: Brett Favre.

Although that one's on the long snapper -- Jay Alford.

They should've had Zach DeOssie, an ace snapper and all-Ivy linebacker at Brown, take care of that one. He's a Massachusetts native, which means he can handle the cold.

Got my wish for overtime. Packers just got the ball, although the way the legendary No. 4 is playing, I don't know that it's a good thing for Green Bay.

And Timmy, lay off A.J. Hawk. It's slippery out there! I'm still looking for North Texas alums that played in either of today's games. Let me know if you find one.

Can't recall the last time I saw a defensive player have two fumbles in a game, but somehow, former first-round pick/journeyman R.W. McQuarters has pulled it off.

He should be thanking everything that's holy that a teammate was there to keep him from having "Goat" stamped across his foreword for eternity, by gathering the fumble he just had on that punt return.

That's what I'm going to do. You?

This really has been interesting to watch, if for no other reason than it's something to see Eli Manning outplay the NFL's all-time leading passer.

They just showed the Pepsi commercial, starring Wade Phillips and Jerry Jones.

You know, the one where an assistant coach yawns into the headset, Phillips fails to get the play to Tony Romo, and the Cowboys offense gets blown up, followed by Jones grabbing the headset from the assistant.

Pretty bad timing there. For one thing, in the commercial, they're playing the Giants. And it comes a week after Jones found himself inside the coaching box, perched on Wade's hip, for the final drive of the Cowboys season.

RT Mark Tauscher's head's up play there on R.W. McQuarters just took a potential "goat" play off of Brett Favre. Ridiculous, ridiculous throw.

As an update, it now looks like Tom Coughlin's frost bite has frost bite.

Marshall's finest, Mr. Bradshaw read his blocks well and got into the end zone. Giants take 20-17 edge late in the third.

We might have a shootout in the fourth quarter.

One thing this game tells me is that Eli Manning has grown up. He's won two playoff games, both on the road, and he's got his team in good position here.

Good presence of mind by Eli Manning there to get the ball snapped, even it wasn't quite in time. And I doubt this one's getting overturned anyway.

I don't know about you, but I'm having trouble adjusting to a poised Eli. Just doesn't seem right. Shouldn't he be immensely rattled by now? Where did that guy go?

Despite mediocre numbers, he's playing a top-notch game right now.

I'm genuinely concerned about Tom Coughlin. He looks like he's got about four forms of frost bite right now.

On another note, the Packers just reclaimed the lead. Appeared to be a busted coverage -- that was one lay-up of a touchdown pass for Brett Favre.

For a guy who loves the antics of several free-talking Cowboys, Timmy Tabloid sure seemed to have a problem with Brandon "Big Mouth" Jacobs' personality over the last few months.

Well, the big man's telling the man of sensationalization where to stick it now. The guy's running with purpose, and letting everyone know about it.

A week after he nearly blew up a Texas Stadium play clock, Jacobs ran up to the crowd in Green Bay and did a mock Lambeau Leap to rub in his latest visit to the end zone. I'm telling you, Timmy would love this guy if he was a Cowboy! What a homer.

These two teams don't seem to like each other anymore. Which seems to be the case with everyone who plays the Giants.

The latest blow was Nick Collins' haymaker -- landed a second late -- on Eli Manning.

The pushing and shoving's going on in earnest out there, with Plaxico Burress and Al Harris serving as prime instigators.

Good job of wrapping up and getting Plaxico Burress to the ground there by Al Harris, to set up his pick.

Too bad it's not legal.

Here's how the Giants deployed personnel in the first half:

2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ personnel): 13 of 37 snaps
1 RB/0 TE/4 WR (‘10’ personnel): 11 of 37 snaps
1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 7 of 37 snaps
1 RB/2 TE/2 WR (‘12’ personnel): 3 of 37 snaps
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 2 of 37 snaps
2 RB/0 TE/3 WR (‘20’ personnel): 1 of 37 snaps

ANALYSIS: It’s hard to look at anything here without considering the weather. The Giants have been able to get the ball out on the edges by getting Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer isolated on the perimeter, with tight ends and backs filling in the other skill-position spots. The ’10’ personnel was used more heavily down the stretch, when the Giants were in a two-minute spot.

Here's the Packers personnel breakdown for the first half:

1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 7 of 26 snaps
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 4 of 26 snaps
2 RB/0 TE/3 WR (‘20’ personnel): 4 of 26 snaps
2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ personnel): 4 of 26 snaps
3 RB/1 TE/1 WR (‘31’ personnel): 2 of 26 snaps
0 RB/0 TE/5 WR (‘00’ personnel): 2 of 26 snaps
3 RB/0 TE/2 WR (‘30’ personnel): 1 of 26 snaps
1 RB/0 TE/4 WR (‘10’ personnel): 1 of 26 snaps

ANALYSIS: The Packers are living up to their rep of being a multiple offense that has enormous depth, but one thing that’s interesting is that they’ve only really cleared out and gone with four or five receivers three times. That’s probably weather related, since it’s easier to throw it to bigger targets in close.

What are the odds that the name "Bob Sanders" would have this big an impact on defensive football in 2007?

On one end, you have the Colts safety, defensive player of the year. On the other, you have the Packers defensive coordinator -- no one will ever mistake one Bob Sanders for the other -- who could be leading his team into the Super Bowl.

Big stop by Bob Sanders, the overweight white coach, and his players there.

This is not the Atari Bigby I remember from late November. That Bigby was lit on fire by Terrell Owens and Co.

This one's leaving bodies in his wake.

Unbelievable job of tight-roping the sideline there by Donald Driver, and we have a 7-6 Packer lead.

Think it's a coincidence that a big player there involves a 16-year vet of the Green Bay cold, and one who's played nine seasons there?

To answer Lucky's question: Yes, it does make a difference. I'd say it probably feels to the kickers and punters like they're booting a brick right now. I can recall talking to Adam Vinatieri about that back in the day (two years ago), and him saying that it hurts your foot to kick in extreme cold.

And he dealt with a lot of snow, but never cold like this.

Through three drives, in the bitter, bitter cold, here's the play selection for both teams put together:

Pass: 16
Run: 5

My guess is that the coaches are trying to get their quarterbacks comfortable with the conditions. Again, Eli Manning -- for some strange reason -- looks more ready for them.

That was my initial thought -- that Eli Manning could be spoiling the NFL's dream Super Bowl.

But then I thought about it. And two words came to mind. New. York.

Bet the network execs wouldn't be too disappointed. The only team they figured to rooting against this weekend had to be those Super Chargers.

The Giants are using backup center Grey Ruegamer as a second tight end. Take note.

So we can see the footing's gonna be an issue up there in Green Bay.

Two straight passes, in fact, went incomplete because of it. On the first one, a '9' route to Greg Jennings, the receiver couldn't come back to the ball quick enough because he couldn't change direction. On the second one, Donald Driver slipped into his out-cut and fell as the ball flew into the turf.

Usually, bad footing gives the offense an edge, since they don't have to react as much as the defense does. But when the game-time temp is minus-1, I guess it works both ways.

More knee-jerk instant analysis, before we switch gears over to Packers-Giants. Enjoy the big purple dinosaur, Timmy Tabloid ...

1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 18 of 64 snaps (7/11)
1 RB/2 TE/2 WR (‘12’ personnel): 12 of 64 snaps (7/5)
1 RB/0 TE/4 WR (‘10’ personnel): 10 of 64 snaps (10/0)
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 10 of 64 snaps (0/10)
1 RB/3 TE/1 WR (‘13’ personnel): 7 of 64 snaps (0/7)
2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ personnel): 4 of 64 snaps (2/2)
2 RB/3 TE/0 WR (‘23’ personnel): 3 of 64 snaps (2/1)
* -- excludes two kneeldowns to end game

ANALYSIS: The stark change in approach is a credit to the Patriots coaches. Look at two personnel sets for proof. The Patriots employed ‘10’ personnel 10 times in the first half, and not at all after halftime. And in the second half, they employed ‘22’ personnel 10 times, after not using it all in the first half. Clearly, there was an emphasis on getting bigger, stronger players on the field, so the Chargers couldn’t play as physical on the perimeter as they did in the first half. And it also helped them lead Laurence Maroney to one of the best performance of his career, and some of the most valuable yards he’s ever gained down the stretch on the clock-killing drive to finish things off.

Here's the final count for the Chargers ...

2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ personnel): 26 of 60 snaps (16 first half/10 second half)
1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 15 of 60 snaps (12/3)
1 RB/2 TE/2 WR (‘12’ personnel): 13 of 60 snaps (7/6)
2 RB/0 TE/3 WR (‘20’ personnel): 3 of 60 snaps (3/0)
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 2 of 60 snaps (2/0)
2 RB/3 TE/0 WR (‘23’ personnel): 1 of 60 snaps (0/1)

ANALYSIS: Not a lot changed from the first half to the second half, the Chargers stuck to their I-formation roots and moved the ball in the air both with two wide, and through spreading tight end Antonio Gates out. One question would be why there wasn’t more of an effort to play in tight formations, and challenge the Patriots physically with power-back Michael Turner near the goal line.

Guess that drive debunks the theory the Patriots are a finesse offense.

They just went 67 yards in 13 plays to lead to these kneeldowns, and killed nine-plus minutes. Pretty impressive, all the way around.

And I think now, it's pretty much official. These Patriots are to this decade what the Cowboys were to the '90s, the 49ers were to the '80s, the Steelers were to the '70s and the Packers to the '60s.

Plus, Belichick and Brady are building serious arguments for being the best coach and quarterback of all-time.

That's what we're left with, now.

Can the Patriots score a touchdown and cover? There are some sweaty palms nation-wide.

Not here, though, of course.

Norv Turner's done a real good job to this point, but there's just no way you can burn that timeout in that situation.

And it's probably hard to blame it on him. More likely, it's Ted Cotrell's fault.

But those things usually fall at the feet of the head coach, right or wrong. This one's starting to feel like it's over.

The Chargers defense has been superb to this point. But how much longer can they be expected to hold down the Patriots offense?

They cracked on the last New England possession, and I'd expect a lot of the same things coming up here -- Laurence Maroney, Laurence Maroney, more of those bunch formations that lead to Wes Welker screen, and short, controlled passes to split-out jack-back Kevin Faulk.

That's what it boils down to. The Patriots have scored touchdowns on three of their four trips to the Red Zone, and the Chargers have kicked field goals on their three ventures inside the 20.

Like I said earlier, I really like Michael Turner. But this is where you really, really miss LaDainian Tomlinson.

It's a two-score game now. Tough to see the Chargers coming back from this one.

So since everyone around here was Cabo-obsessed, I think the question has to be asked: Did Tom Brady's bye-week getaway with Giselle lead to this?

Probably not.

But the Patriots clearly aren't operating right out of their lighter personnel groupings. Like the trouble on that Cromartie pick. They were most effective there with multiple tight ends, and God only knows why they didn't try to just shove it in the end zone.

Here's a number for you. In the first half, the Patriots went with multiple tight ends nine times. On their first two drives of the second half? Ten times.

What a gutsy performance here by Phil, who's clearly got a bum wheel.

He's having trouble planting, and he looks pretty ugly rolling out. But somehow, someway, he's getting the job done -- going 16-of-27 for 167 to this point, and playing a smart, efficient ballgame.

By the way, in case you missed, LT doesn't look like he's coming back, per Steve Tasker.

Chargers need a touchdown here. Not a field goal. If they get another field goal, Pats are still in control.

Good play by Drayton Florence there.

The Chargers need to start taking advantage of these. Now.

The Chargers defense is the reason this game is playing out the way it is, and it's because finally someone has had the cojones to press the receivers at the line, throwing off the timing of the Patriots offense.

You have to give the Charger corners a lot of credit, especially Quinton Jammer. Jammer was victimized in last year's playoffs, on a long toss to Reche Caldwell that set up the game-winning field goal, and the Patriots seem intent on picking him. The ex-Longhorn ain't letting it happen, and is a big reason for the defense playing the way it has.

I don't think there's been a tremendous amount of pressure from San Diego, but they've done enough with four to collapse the pocket to help the seven they're dropping into coverage.

Now, it'll be a matter of the Chargers adjusting to the Patriots adjustments offensively, which figure to be a higher reliance on the running game and play-action passing. Oh, and how about the Chargers take advantage of one of those long drives by punching it in? Think Mr. Red Zone, LT, could help?

The total yardage, by the way, reads like this: Chargers 204; Patriots 139.

Here's the Chargers side ...

2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ personnel): 16 of 40 snaps
1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 12 of 40 snaps
1 RB/2 TE/2 WR (‘12’ personnel): 7 of 40 snaps
2 RB/0 TE/3 WR (‘20’ personnel): 3 of 40 snaps
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 2 of 40 snaps

ANALYSIS: This can be misleading, because the Chargers used Antonio Gates, in effect, as a wide receiver in plenty of their spread sets. And we’re counting tackle Jeromey Clery as a tight end when he’s been used as one, for the purpose of these charts. The Chargers’ effort to run the ball has kept them with plenty of two-back looks, and they’ve been intent on protecting Rivers, which led to tight formations early. Of late, the coaches seem more comfortable going three-wide.

Because I'm crazy, I've been charting things. Here's a very unofficial look at how the Patriots have deployed their offensive personnel:

1 RB/0 TE/4 WR (‘10’ personnel): 10 of 28 snaps
1 RB/2 TE/2 WR (‘12’ personnel): 7 of 28 snaps
1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 7 of 28 snaps
2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ personnel): 2 of 28 snaps
2 RB/3 TE/0 WR (‘23’ personnel): 2 of 28 snaps

ANALYSIS: The Patriots are consistently going empty, and splitting out their tight ends and backs in what looks like an effort to spread the San Diego front out and get the outside linebackers away from the line. They’ve also split Kevin Faulk way wide, to get him isolated in the open field, where he excels. Watch for more bunch formations in the second half, to prevent the Chargers from getting a jam on the receivers, something San Diego’s been very effective with to this point.

To me, this game has been even. But it's playing out a lot like the Giants-Cowboys game.

When the Chargers have had opportunities, they haven't taken advantage of them, either kicking field goals or punting in short areas. The Patriots, on the other hand, are scoring touchdowns.

The Patriots have a pretty fair set of corners, but both of them are small and mammoth receiver Vincent Jackson's having his way with them.

For those of you that may want the Cowboys to make a run at Asante Samuel (one of the league's best corners, for my money), this may give you pause. The Cowboys' chief rival in the division has Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress, who don't exactly evoke memories of the old Redskin Smurfs.

Thanks to one of my favorite players of all-time, Steve Tasker, for providing that update on LT.

A coach's decision? I love Michael Turner as a player, and think he's got 1,300-yard potential when he bolts San Diego. But Norv's really putting himself out there on this one.

Quinton Jammer looked like he was levitating off the ground there, great play on the ball and great job in not letting Tom Brady bait him.

And that's just what the doctor ordered for San Diego's ball-hawking defense.

Wendy's 1 and McDonald's 2 is a good call by our own Calvin Watkins, and I also agree with Burger King at the bottom. A lot of the other places, to be honest, I haven't frequented, because where I'm from, we don't have Whataburger or Sonic. And I've never heard of Braum's.

By the way, keep an eye on Michael "The Burner" Turner, scheduled for unrestricted free agency. The Chargers don't lose as much as you think when he takes LT's place.

The Chargers are using RT Jeromey Clery as a tight end some here, an interesting tactic that could help the team in the running game, and to protect Phil Rivers.

The Chargers got Philip Rivers a manageable third down there, and it didn't look like Rivers could push off his plant leg, landing one at the feet of his intended receiver.

Can't question Phil's guts right now. But the coaches will have to make a decision on whether he's hurting the team by being in there before too long.

The final stock report for the '07 season starts ... now:

MOVING UP

RB Marion “The Barbarian” Barber: He may not have been great in the second half, like he was in the first, but this guy proved to be a big-time difference-maker. And that calls to the front this question: Why didn’t this happen earlier? Why in the world would you hold Barber, who had a 5.0-yard per carry average after 15 games, to a split role? Are you trying not to hurt Julius Jones’ feelings? Look, I like Jones in a zone-heavy system like Denver or Houston. But in Dallas, it’s Barber’s show. He should’ve had this job long ago.

Patrick Crayton filled Big Blue bulletin boards up this week, but he didn't provide the New York media any more sensational material today.

Crayton kept his mouth shut after his poor performance in the loss to the Giants. He had three catches for 27 yards, dropping a critical third-down pass and appearing to slow down on a throw in the end zone during the final minute.

"Hey, I'm not talking," Crayton said as reporters approached him at his locker. "Good luck to New York. That's it."

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

The Cowboys' playoff drought continues. R.W. McQuarters made sure of that by intercepting a fourth-down pass to Terry Glenn.

Why didn't the Cowboys get the ball to T.O. with the game on the line?

That's just one of many questions that will be asked in a locker room full of heartbroken Pro Bowlers.

Giants 21, Cowboys 17

Wade Phillips falls to 0-4 in the playoffs. Tony Romo is 0-2.

And the Giants are headed to Green Bay.

Feel free to rant, rave and console each other while I'm downstairs.

Tony Romo and Jason Witten worked on that on-the-run flip while on the beach last weekend. Paid off big.

Romo is 22 yards away from being on top of the world.

Can't ask for much better than a three-and-out, punctuated by DeMarcus Ware's second sack of the day.

Tony Romo will have a little less than two minutes to work with. That should be plenty of time against an injury-riddled secondary -- similar to Seattle last season -- if the Cowboys can keep the Giants' front seven from getting to him.

Sure is quiet at Texas Stadium, other than some hooting and hollering on the Giants sideline.

Tony Romo, who was hit as he threw by Justin Tuck, just couldn't get enough on that deep ball to T.O., who was open.

Cowboys are down to one timeout, so the defense can't give up more than one first down for Romo to have much of a chance to work his magic.

The Cowboys' offense looked pretty good in the first half but has reverted to its late-season ways in the second.

The Cowboys have produced 111 total yards and three points in the half. That's put their backs against the wall with 4:03 to go.

The Giants want to rough up T.O. near the line of scrimmage, but it cost them on a critical third-down play.

CB Corey Webster smacked T.O. in the facemask and got called for it.

T.O., by the way, has yet to make a catch this half.

Tony Romo's gunslinging style was to blame for that sack. Once he got flushed from the pocket and didn't see an open receiver, he should have thrown the ball away.

Of course, it's tough to criticize Romo's style, since that's what makes him great.

Marion "The Barbarian" Barber has 130 yards on 26 carries, surpassing his previous career high of 127 vs. Arizona as a rookie.

You've gotta wonder if he's wearing down with the heavy workload, though. He has 29 yards on 10 carries this half.

Julius Jones has 8 yards on three carries.

Wish I could say more about that stuff of Brandon Jacobs on third-and-1, but Fox never showed a replay.

I was watching DeMarcus Ware, who got crackback blocked on the play. Was it Anthony Henry who sacrificed his body to stop the 260-pound Jacobs?

Tony Sparano isn't ready to join Bill Parcells in Miami quite yet. He's hollering at his offensive line, fired up that they're not giving Tony Romo any time to operate.

You can't ask for a better-timed 58-yard punt than the one that just came off Mat McBriar's foot.

Bobby Carpenter downed it at the 3, making it real tough on Eli Manning and Co.

The Giants are making it tough on Tony Romo by blitzing the heck out of him. He's having to make almost every throw off his back foot.

That was an unbelievable throw by Tony Romo, hitting Jason Witten in stride on an out route despite getting drilled by Michael Strahan. Not a bad catch by the Hawaii-bound tight end, either.

Ohh! The Cowboys came inches away from taking the lead the next play on an improv deep ball to T.O. Give Corey Webster credit for getting a finger on the ball.

Eli Manning has lived up to all the hype coming out of New York this week. He's outplaying Tony Romo at this point.

Not coincidentally, the Giants have a 21-17 lead after Brandon Jacobs' 1-yard TD run.

Romo hasn't been bad, but he hasn't played up to his Pro Bowl standards. That needs to change real soon, or the Cowboys can all take a vacation next weekend.

The Giants have a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver in Plaxico Burress and a very good veteran in Amani Toomer.

Why would they throw to rookie Steve Smith on a crucial third down? Because he was covered by Jacques Reeves.

Will teams ever learn? RT Kareem McKenzie had zero chance to block Ware without any help, resulting in a sack.

Give Wade Phillips some credit. The Giants might have been confused because Ware lined up on the opposite side.

The Cowboys have more than 25 minutes on possession, and the Giants are about to start their first possession of the third quarter with 6:44 showing.

This is a pretty good way, it turns out, to cover up defensive deficiencies. And I will say this: None of it happens without Marion Barber carrying the load.

Tony Romo must have had some leftover suntan lotion on his hand. No other explanation for such a funky throw on third down, missing a wide-open T.O. for what would have been a touchdown.

This is the first time all game that I think the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta has affected Romo.

Cowboys settle for field goal to take a 17-14 lead.

We're seeing Tony Romo at his freelancing finest right now.

The 19-yard pass to Terry Glenn on third down was a bullet on the run after he bought himself some extra time. The 11-yard scramble was a typical Romo how'd-he-get-out-of-that run.

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

Eli Manning looked like an MVP on that drive, and the Cowboys' secondary looked like they should be playing for my alma mater (North Texas).

Manning completed four of seven passes for 56 yards and a TD to Amani Toomer. The Giants didn't even need a minute to march down the field and tie the game.

It is worth noting that the Giants took momentum at the end of the first half in the season opener, kicking a field goal to pull within a point.

The Cowboys should have taken a whole bunch of momentum into halftime after a 20-play TD drive. But the secondary (Jacques Reeves in particular) has allowed Eli Manning and Co. to march right into field goal range.

Giants CB Aaron Ross is headed into the locker room for X-rays on his shoulder.

Hey, a catch for Jason Witten!! He's back from Cabo, baby!!

Corey Webster practically had a pick gift wrapped for him after Terry Glenn slipped. He turned it into a PBU by letting it bounce off his chest.

Giants safety Gibril Wilson is looking for his jock after Terry Glenn's first catch of the season.

Glenn made a spectacular side-stepping juke to pick up the first down. Pretty impressive for an old dude coming back from two knee surgeries.

A couple of Tony Romo's bodyguards took offense to Antonio Pierce pouncing on their QB after his slide.

No flags were thrown, so Wade Phillips' no post-play pledge wasn't violated. But Leonard Davis and Andre Gurode seem ready to brawl with Pierce after what the Cowboys probably consider a cheap shot.

Rookie CB Aaron Ross took a ride on the Barbarian Express and has a sore shoulder to show for it. He's getting checked out by trainers now.

That's a major issue for the Giants, who have cornerbacks Sam Madison and Kevin Dockery on the inactive list. If Ross can't go, some dude named Geoffrey Pope becomes the Giants' third cornerback.

DeMarcus Ware put Chris Canty in postion to pick up that sack.

Ware got double-teamed by LT David Diehl and RB Brandon Jacobs and still knocked them both back. That's a 250-pound dude winning a battle against almost 600 pounds worth of Big Blue.

Canty was left alone with LG Rich Seubert and went right around him.

DeMarcus Ware might not have been offsides when he was flagged for it in the first quarter. There's no doubt that Greg Ellis jumped to extend this drive, though.

Cowboys have put precious little pressure on Eli Manning so far. They might want to change that.

TOM FOX / DMN

The TD stands, so I'll point out that T.O. got great separation from Corey Webster. That's tough to do on a fade route for a 5-yard TD.

You might recall Webster as the young fella who was flapping his jaws this week about getting physical with T.O.

That might be sound strategy, but it's not a wise move to tell the world about it. T.O. tends to use things like that as motivation.

That 5-yard fade route to T.O. gives him five touchdowns in nine quarters and four seconds against the Giants this season.

That is, if it stands up after review.

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

You can feel the buzz after Marion "The Barbarian" Barber's 36-yard run. There's just a different kind of energy at Texas Stadium with Barber in the backfield and Julius Jones on the sideline.

He has 58 yards on five carries after an 11-yarder. I'd say it was a smart move to start him.

T.O.'s hands still work. He made a great, twisting grab on a ball thrown intentionally behind him for his first catch of the day.

The Cowboys should thank their lucky stars that they're not down two touchdowns.

The Giants got the exact matchup they want: Plaxico Burress vs. Roy Williams downfield. Burress beat Williams on a corner route, but Eli Manning overthrew him.

The Cowboys, who have been getting manhandled up front, buckled down to force a punt when Bradie James and Chris Canty stopped Ahmad Bradshaw a couple feet short of the sticks.

Some in the press box are chastising Tom Coughlin for not going for it there.

You can't blame Tony Romo for going 0-for-2 on the Cowboys' first series.

T.O. dropped the first pass. DB Michael Johnson got a paw on the second one to send it fluttering up in the air. Cowboys were lucky it wasn't picked off.

The Giants aren't just going to sit back and let Romo sit in the pocket. They're blitzing like madmen. Romo burned them when they did that in New York.

Told you it was a bad idea to play the video of Jackie Smith's Super Bowl drop on the big screen before the game.

The first pass to T.O. went right through his hands.

DE Osi Umenyiora, one of the Giants' leading woofers, got to Tony Romo on the play and let him hear about it afterward.

Marion "The Barbarian" Barber might ask to come off the bench if the first snap of every game is that rough.

LB Kawika Mitchell tried to rip Barber's head off with one of the most violent facemasks in recent memory. Barber might have broken a big one if Mitchell didn't do that.

The Cowboys will take the 15 yards.

Getty Images

It's been a couple weeks since the Cowboys had to tackle anybody, and they're apparently pretty rusty.

Greg Ellis and Anthony Henry let Amani Toomer go right through their arms on the 52-yard catch and run.

Tackling didn't look too good while Brandon Jacobs racked up 20 yards on three carries.

If it makes you feel better, the Giants scored on a long pass on the first possession of the seaosn opener, too.

Sorry about the delay. Apparently the internet's a puzzling thing for those who run Texas Stadium. Here's keys for the home team ...

1. Get pressure with four or less: Last week, Eli Manning was damn near perfect against any blitzing the Bucs did. And he’s got a slew of receivers who are smart, recognize the pressure quickly and adjust accordingly. If the Cowboys send extra guys constantly, Eli’s got the ability to beat them. If they can pressure with just four, and drop seven, things will be a whole lot more difficult. Look for the 3-3 “Cowboy” front in nickel looks more often, in an effort to disguise some of the four-man pressure. But remember too that the Giants line is doing a good job of dealing with the rush right now, and that it’ll take a good effort in coverage to win.

2. Tackle in the secondary: I wouldn’t expect the Cowboys to roll their corners way up on the Giant receivers constantly, because that’s not just not who they’ve been all year. That means there probably will be some room for the pass-catchers to operate underneath, and some screens to try and catch the Cowboys front seven in overpursuit. The Giants receivers, their tight end and their backs are all capable of breaking tackles after the catch. So the key: Make the tackle. Limit yards on the screen. Limit yards underneath. You can’t take everything away. And I’d expect the Cowboys will play their corners a little tighter to the line. But I think the Giants will get the ball in short areas to their skill guys, and bringing those guys to the turf will be important.

3. Get Witten/Barber airborne: Steve Spagnuolo figures to bring an assortment of pressure package at Tony Romo with a slew of strong pass rushers. And he figures to protect the defense deep. So getting Jason Witten and Marion Barber matched up on linebackers, and putting them in space, could set up big plays for the offense deep into the game, and will work to move the chains. This can also help in the running game, and there should be room to run between the tackles, with Barry Cofield and Pierce a little suspect against the run if you go straight at them.

Three for New York ...

1. Minimize the Damage: If Terrell Owens is close to 100 percent, and I think he is, the Giants are going to be hard pressed to stop T.O. and Jason Witten completely. In fact, they won’t be able to. But what they can do is prevent the big plays that plagued them. If it means playing corners and safeties back, so be it. If they have to play in more 2-shell looks, so be it. The Giants must – must – force the Cowboys to earn their points. By doing this, they’ll limit Dallas’ possessions. Good as Eli Manning has been, these guys don’t want a shootout.

2. Create short yardage. One big thing the Giants did in Tampa was produce on first down, making the offense less predictable and keeping the Bucs from really getting to the quarterback with their rush. This doesn’t just mean getting the running game going, though that would help. It means getting in second-and-5 by any means necessary, and the Giants did that with sight adjustments last week, with receiver breaking off routes to take advantage of corners lining up a zip code off the ball. Those kinds of things figure to be very effective on first down, against the Cowboys base defensive personnel.

3. Avoid mental mistakes. First and foremost, this regards Eli Manning and his penchant for make the late mistake. If behind late, that scepter always rests just above the Giants heads. But more than just that, it’ll be a young secondary that’s come together of late playing good, disciplined ball. Antonio Pierce said this week that five 20-plus pass plays in two games against the Cowboys were a result of busted coverage. That can’t happen again. Tony Romo’s too field aware, and his skill players too good. Those ones are the lay-ups for the Cowboy offense.

They just showed several clips of Cowboys playoff history on the Jumbotron. For some strange reason, The Catch and Jackie Smith's drop in Super Bowl XIII were included.

Showing Smith's drop is an especially questionable decision. I've long been convinced that the Curse of No. 81 is the reason T.O. has had such trouble with drops as a Cowboy. (Same with Alexander Wright.)

In a shocking development, the Morning News has learned that Terrell Owens will dress for today's game. Multiple sources say that the whole idea of his status being decided at game-time was simply a poorly-executed, week-long charade.

Here's the inactives:

COWBOYS: CB Alan Ball, CB Evan Oglesby, S Courtney Brown, RB Tyson Thompson, G Joe Berger, OT Doug Free, OT James Marten, WR Isaiah Stanback

GIANTS: 3QB Jared Lorenzen, RB Danny Ware, CB Sam Madison, CB Kevin Dockery, OT Adam Koets, DT Manny Wright, WR Sinorice Moss, TE Jerome Collins

To wrap up coverage from DC ...

MOVING UP

WR Sam Hurd: He proved himself a weapon on a day when he might've started to been nudged out of the rotation, with Terry Glenn playing. Finished up with three catches for 64 yards. Hurd showed today he could be an impact player in a playoff situation.

After a game in which five runs produced negative yardage, quarterbacks were sacked twice, and the offense produced all of 1 yard on the ground -- a franchise worst -- the Cowboys offensive lineman shouldered their share of the blame. And they aren't going to try and stamp sunshine on the team's 27-6 loss.

"They deserve (the win)," Pro Bowler Flozell Adams said. "We’re concentrating on who we’re playing next. It definitely won’t look like it did today, I promise you that."

The problem? Well, no Andre Gurode didn't help anything, that's for sure. But a bigger problem was that a wavering focus led to uneven play across the board.

"We didn’t execute, we didn’t play with emotion, energy, enthusiasm, we didn’t play with any of that," another Pro Bowler, Leonard Davis, said. "When you go out and play against a team like that, desperate for a win, it’s kind of hard to beat a team (when you’re) playing like that. They played with all three of those better than we did."

The Cowboys pinpointed their problem during today's game. They really didn't give a hoot what happened as long as they didn't suffer any more injuries.

Of course, the Redskins played with the passion expected of a team fighting for a playoff berth. The result: The Redskins kicked the Cowboys' butt up and down the field.

"The word for us was uninspired," Wade Phillips said. "It shows you when one team is fired up and the other one isn't. Basically, I didn't get our team ready to play."

Added Tony Romo: "You saw what happens out there when one team plays with that much emotion and the other one really doesn’t. Obviously, we didn't match their intensity level, and that's the story."

The motivation mismatch was most evident in the Cowboys' running game. Dallas gained a franchise-record-low 1 yard on 16 carries. That's 0.06 yards per carry.

"We didn't play with intensity, and they did," Pro Bowl RG Leonard "Bigg" Davis said. "And it showed."

I'm headed downstairs for postgame duties after this disaster that didn't mean anything for the Cowboys.

Feel free to rant and overreact while I'm gone. Suggest some headlines, too.

Clinton Portis became the first back to rush for over 100 yards against the Cowboys all season.

On the bright side, Bobby Carpenter is getting some playing time at inside linebacker.

Seven more field goals by Nick Folk, and we'll be headed to OT.

On another positive note, the Cowboys no longer have negative rushing yards for the game. They have gained a grand total of 1 yard on 13 carries.

Seven more field goals by Nick Folk, and we'll be headed to OT.

On another positive note, the Cowboys no longer have negative rushing yards for the game. They have gained a grand total of 1 yard on 13 carries.

Noted Cowboys killer Santana Moss beat Jacques Reeves for a 42-yard TD, putting the game out of even the great Brad Johnson's reach.

Redskins 27, Cowboys 3, and the folks at FedEx Field are having a grand old time.

The team record for fewest rushing yards in a game is 8, set against the Saints in 1998.

The Cowboys have minus-4 right now. As in negative.

Kyle Kosier is the only starting OL still in the game, so the Cowboys appear well on their way to breaking that record.

Hey, crazier things have happened in this rivalry!!

Remember Clint Longley on Thanksgiving Day?! How about the 1999 season opener?!

Have some faith, folks!!!!

Hey, what happened to Bobby Carpenter getting significant playing time on defense today?

Wade Phillips said this week that would happen. It hasn't yet. Bradie James is still in there.

Cowboys are in danger of allowing a 100-yard rusher for the first time all season. Clinton Portis has 89 yards and two TDs on 20 carries.

Had a nice halftime chat with the Hogettes, those dudes who wear pig snouts, dresses and wigs to every Redskins home game.

They were tickled pink that the Redskins would clinch a playoff berth by kicking the Cowboys' behinds. Matter of fact, they're already looking forward to the rematch.

"You can tell 'em we plan to be there in another two weeks for another butt kicking," Big Georgette said.

Bottom line: Cowboys don't look like they came to play today, and the Redskins have.

So, by my count, the Cowboys are going to go into the divisional playoffs having played four games in the previous 46 days. One of them (Panthers) will have been pretty good, one very average (Lions), and two bad (Eagles, Redskins).

If you're not convinced by the Redskins' 20-3 lead after Clinton Portis' TD run, check out the total yardage.

The Redskins have racked up 275 total yards. The Cowboys have a grand total of 80.

Can Brad Johnson rally the troops?!

I thought the refs were right not to call pass interference on Shawn Springs' pick, because the DB has as much right to the ball as the receiver.

Anthony Henry got a great read on a similar slant route, jumped the route and broke it up. But the contact he made drew a flag.

Judging by the dour look on Wade Phillips' face, he was puzzled by the call, too.

OK, that's a cheap shot. The Original 81's drops are way down this season.

But Miles Austin just had a big one clank off his hands. He might have scored if he caught the deep crossing route. Looked like a classic case of a guy trying to sneak a peek at the defenders before catching the ball.

It came a little later than expected, but Tony Romo just broke Danny White's all-time single-season completion record on that 16-yard hook-up with Jason Witten.

Witten still needs six catches to match Tony Gonzalez' tight-end record for receptions.

Tony Romo started the second half, hitting Jason Witten for a 16-yard gain on the first play. That was Romo's 335th completion of the season, breaking Danny White's team record.

Some will dismiss this, the final regular season game of 2007, as a worth-nothing mail-in for the Cowboys.

The truth? I think there are things to worry about. This team hasn’t been clicking, and I mean really clicking, since beating the Packers at the end of November. And this looks like another clunker in a month full of them.

Tony Romo has been really, really average for the second time in three games. What’s bothersome about it is that he’s just flat missing guys, wide, high, short and long. This was one of the most accurate passers in the league over the season’s first three months. Now, he’s having trouble hitting the side of a barn. Something seems to be at work here.

Wade Phillips made it clear this week that the Cowboys were playing to win this game.

Sure didn't look like it during the first half. The Cowboys seem to lack focus and fire, which isn't surprising since this game means nothing to their playoff picture. But forget about the Cowboys clicking entering the "sweepstakes," as Phillips referred to the playoffs the other day.

Redskins 13, Cowboys 3 at the half. I'm gonna try to go chat up those fat guys who wear wigs and pig snouts.

This isn't as awful as his performance in the loss to the Eagles, but Tony Romo certainly hasn't looked like the NFC's best QB today.

He's 6-of-13 for 70 yards with one interception and another ball that should have been picked off. Thought he'd get it going after the back-to-back completions to Sam Hurd, but that didn't happen.

You folks want to see Romo in the second half?

Marion "The Barbarian" Barber needed 19 yards entering the day to hit the 1,000-yard milestone. After four carries, he needs 22 yards to hit a grand.

On an unrelated note, good job by Roy Williams to keep Chris Cooley from picking up a first down.

Tony Romo is very fortunate that MLB London Fletcher didn't pick off that third-down pass to Jason Witten. Fletcher would have easily taken it to the house.

Cowboys settle for a field goal after an unimpressive drive that gained minus-1 yard.

Looked like if Tony Romo threw the ball about a foot further outside that Jason Witten would have caught it in the end zone. As it was, safety Reed Doughty was able to break it up.

Romo might have been able to run for the first down, but no sense in him taking that kind of risk today.

So much for a foolproof scoring opportunity. Nick Folk's chip-shot field goal was dropped.

Had some postplay scrapping, but I couldn't see who was in the middle of the fracas.

Tony Romo's 36-yard pass to Sam Hurd was the Cowboys' first first down today that didn't come from a Redskins penalty.

Didn't take long for the second one, with Romo hitting Hurd for 16 yards the next play. Tony Romo has settled into a nice rhythm.

Terry Glenn took a frightening shot from safety LaRon Landry after a deep ball fell incomplete (Fred Smoot called for illegal contact).

Landry hit Glenn right in the lower right leg. That's the knee that has been operated twice since the beginning of training camp.

Don't want to accuse Landry of taking a cheap shot, but I'm sure the Cowboys aren't real pleased with that hit. A colleague believes that Landry simply kept sliding after trying to intercept the pass.

Glenn limped off the field, but he's back out there now.

The Cowboys, down 10-0 after Shaun Suisham's field goal, have managed to gain a whopping total of 14 total yards so far today.

Reckon we'll see Tony Romo and Co. for the rest of the first half. It's not the end of the world if the starting offense (minus two Pro Bowlers) keeps sputtering against the Redskins, but you'd like to see the league's second-highest scoring unit get something going.

The Redskins may be marching toward their second score, but it's starting look like all of this is unnecessary.

The Saints already lost today, and the Vikings just fell behind the Broncos (And if you've seen Tarvaris Jackson play, you know that if get too far back, it's curtains.) So there's a good chance that this game will go from being half-relevant to completely irrelevant by afternoon's end.

The Cowboys were fortunate that a deep ball slipped through Santana Moss' hands. He got open later in the drive for a 21-yard gain.

Jacques Reeves was left alone on Moss on both plays. That's asking for trouble.

And here comes the rain. Don't know if you can tell on TV, but it's dropping from the sky in buckets right now, and you can see the field getting nicked up between the hashmarks.

That, of course, could affect Terry Glenn's status.

Everybody knows that DeMarcus Ware ranks among the league leaders with 13 sacks. That's the primary reason he's headed to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year.

But Wade Phillips will tell you that Ware's dominating play against the run makes him a legit candidate to be Defensive Player of the Year.

Ware just provided another example, lowering the boom on Clinton Portis and popping the ball loose for Bradie James to recover.

Tony Romo tried to go right to Terry Glenn, but CB Shawn Springs jumped a slant route and picked the ball off.

Romo wanted an interference call, and Springs did make contact with Glenn before the ball arrived. But Springs has the right to fight for the ball.

If you're looking for a silver lining, looks like the slant-and-go to Glenn might be open.

That pick aside, I always think it's funny when lazy analysts call the Big 10 "slow." Funnier, too, when you look at matchups like we just saw.

If the conference lumbers like people say it does, then why the heck is Terry Glenn being covered by fellow Buckeye Shawn Springs? And how did both of them get to be Top 10 picks? By being too slow for the SEC?

Explain it to me, Southern geniuses.

The Cowboys will begin their second possession in a three-WR package, getting Terry Glenn on the field for the first time this season.

The Redskins found fresh-off-suspension SS Roy Williams a couple times on that drive, completing two passes to TE Chris Cooley for 27 yards.

Wade Phillips adjusted by taking Williams off the field and going with a three-CB package. That didn't work so well, either, with rookie CB Alan Ball committing an obvious pass-interference penalty to negate Ken Hamlin's pick.

Clinton Portis bounced off Williams en route to a 23-yard TD the following play.

Seems like the Cowboys are taking this game halfway serious. For most of the drive, Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher and Alan Ball were among the buried-on-the-depth-chart set to be on the field.

Yet, when Ball was flagged for P.I., those three were shuffled off the field in favor starters.

So how are going to have it here? Is this a rest 'em game, or not? Right now, it's kinda hard to tell what the Cowboys are doing philosophically.

Terry Glenn is still waiting to see his first game action of the season. He didn't leave the sideline on the Cowboys' three-and-out series.

The Cowboys went with two tight ends and two receivers (Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton) on all three plays.

Here's the lineup:

QB Tony Romo
TB Julius Jones
SL Sam Hurd
LT Flozell Adams
LG Kyle Kosier
C Andre Gurode
RG Leonard Davis
RT Marc Colombo
TE Anthony Fasano
H-back Jason Witten
FL Patrick Crayton

Marcus Spears doesn't make many sacks, so he makes the most of it when he gets one. He did some serious strutting after putting Todd Collins on the turf, helping kill the Redskins' drives.

Spears got his second sack of the season with a nice swim move against RT Stephon Heyer, who hardly got a hand on No. 96.

The Cowboys are locked into the NFC's top playoff seed, but Ken Hamlin seems plenty motivated for the regular-season finale.

Hamlin, a first-time Pro Bowler, celebrated a pass breakup with a few ferocious fist pumps. That's the last thing the Cowboys have had reason to be excited about.

Redskins quickly moved into Dallas territory with a couple completions by Todd Collins and a nice run by Clinton Portis.

Cowboys came out in their base 3-4, like this:

LE Marcus Spears
NT Tank Johnson
RE Chris Canty
SOLB Greg Ellis
SILB Bradie James
WILB Akin Ayodele
WOLB DeMarcus Ware
LCB Jacques Reeves
SS Roy Williams
FS Ken Hamlin
RCB Anthony Henry

Tony Romo is wearing gloves on both hands, something you rarely see on a quarterback. I assume he did it in anticipation of a drizzly day here.

In unrelated news, there was quite a pyrotechnic display in the end zone near where the press box is located at FedEx Field. Superstar columnist Tim Cowlishaw was caught off guard by the first blast and jumped about four feet out of his seat.

I'm getting the feeling that a lot of coaches, management types, and people on the Cowboys roster really do want to get this win and secure the best regular season record in club history.

And I think that's why I see Dallas controlling play early, and taking a lead of 17-10 into the break. That's when the air comes out of the balloon.

I see subsitution being more free in the second half on the Cowboys side, and a desperate Redskin team to turning it up at that. It'll be just enough for a 24-20 Washington win.

You don't want to root for teams, that's not what we do.

But today when you sit here in this press box and look around and see the names of Doug Williams, Sam Huff, Joe Jacoby and other great Washington Redskins with special markers for everybody to see, you see the biggest marker: Sean Taylor, the Redskins safety who was killed.

Check out David Moore's story today, it's very good about how the Redskins have battled through everything this season.

As one, who lived in Baltimore, years and years ago, and one who attended D.C. to have a good time and watch some sporting events, you kind of root for the Redskins to win today. It makes for a great story. So, while I believe the Cowboys are the better team, and on most days should beatup the Redskins, a little piece of me wouldn't mind seeing Washington win today. It's such a nice story and a reminder, that this is only sports and life and death means so much more.

I think if the Redskins win today, it helps in their recovery of losing their teammates and friend in Sean Taylor and it also gives some peace to Shawn Springs in someways, whose dad, Ron, a former Cowboys' player, is in a coma in a hospital back home.

We're not rooting for the Redskins, but a nice story could unfold today.

I doubt the Cowboys planned for Terry Glenn to hit the turf during pregame warmups, but that's what happened.

Glenn was running a post route when he got tripped up by Jacques Reeves. That's was Glenn's last route during warmups, but he didn't appear to be limping as he jogged off the field.

And for the Cowboys ...

1) Build a lead: This will allow the Cowboys to lean on their defense and running game, taking the ball out of the air and working to prevent serious injuries to their playmakers. Look for shots early, maybe to Terry Glenn, to try and test an injury-riddled Redskins secondary. And if they hit them, it’ll only help the defense against Todd Collins.

2) Slow down Portis: The hub of the Redskins offense probably saw tape of the Lions and Eagles games, and drooled just a little bit. The run defense has shown cracks, though it did show progress in Carolina. It’ll be imperative that the Cowboys make it happen in this phase.

3) Don’t take risks: I’m a big proponent in having your starters play at least a half, and even three quarters in a game like this. The bye’s there, and three weeks with minimal real football can be damaging (see: 2005 Colts). So you get your guys reps. But even the slightest of bumps and bruises should be treated with kid gloves.

Here's what the 'Skins need to do:

1) Stop the run: Just a hunch – Keeping Tony Romo’s jersey clean will be important in the Maryland much. So expect, at least while Romo’s in the game, and probably for the duration, a steady dose of Julius Jones and Marion Barber. Slow them down, you’ll likely get an earlier exit for Tony Romo and, thus, an easier path to the playoffs.

2) Mix formations: This means getting Chris Cooley on the perimeter and isolating him on Roy Williams. It means forcing more DBs on to the field with Terence Newman and Nate Jones shelved. It means throw, throw, throw behind Todd Collins against what should be a fairly basic offense.

3) Bust a big return: The Redskins can help an inconsistent offense out with returns to flip field position. Look to Antwaan Randle El on punts, with the Cowboys coverage unit having had its problems, for a big one.

Several Cowboys who haven't seen much (or any) action since preseason are expected to see extensive playing time today. Some of the key ones to watch:

*WR Terry Glenn -- The Cowboys say Glenn is back to being able to stretch the field. We'll see how well he can get in and out of his cuts. He's chipping off four months of rust, so you can't draw any conclusions based on his performance today. But Glenn might give us a feel of how much he can help the Cowboys during the playoffs.

*OTs Pat McQuistan and Doug Free -- These guys will probably be the bookends for much of the time after Brad Johnson takes over for Tony Romo. While the Cowboys would like to re-sign Flozell Adams, they need at least one of these guys to develop into a starting-caliber tackle.

LB Bobby Carpenter -- You can count the number of defensive plays Carpenter has been on the field for this season without using your toes. Last year's first-round pick will get a chance to prove to the coaches that they made a mistake by not finding ways to utilize him.

Looks to me like WR Terry Glenn still looks a little uneasy with his knee.

He's plenty quick, and he's catching the ball well in warmups. But it seems like, at least now, he's lacking some confidence in its health.

Of course, you don't need this update to tell you it's worth keeping an eye on.

No big surprises here, with Massachusetts native Todd Collins again the QB. QB Jason Campbell, S Omar Stoutmire, TE Brian Kozlowski, DT Ryan Boschetti, OL Kevin Sampson, WR Keenan McCardell, and DE Alex Buzbee didn't dress, and Sam Hollenbach is in the "3rd QB" spot.

We won't see WR Isaiah Stanback today, despite Wade Phillips indicating earlier this week that the fourth-round pick could see some action in the regular-season finale. Stanback, OT James Marten and CB Nate Jones are the three healthy Cowboys on the inactive list.

They're joined by five key players nursing injuries -- WR Terrell Owens (ankle), CB Terence Newman (knee), NT Jay Ratliff (knee), FS Pat Watkins (ankle) and C Andre Gurode (knee).

Terry Glenn will dress for the first time this season, but Sam Hurd will start opposite Patrick Crayton.

Ex-QB Doug Williams, the Super Bowl hero who has a spot in the Redskins' version of the Ring of Honor, is sitting in the second row of the FedEx Field press box.

Williams is reminiscing with folks about his days in D.C., but this is a business trip for him. He's here to scout for the Bucs.

We got a steady rain in Landover, Maryland. I'm not sure if Terry Glenn will play today because the conditions might be slick. But expect Marc Colombo, Jason Witten, Even Oglesby, Tony Romo and Courtney Brown to play.

Why do I give you these games, because they are stretching and running right now on the field.

Tom Brady just threw his 46th touchdown pass, and that put him two behind Dan Marino (1984) and three behind Peyton Manning (2004) for the all-time single-season touchdown pass record.

Your own Tony Romo, by the way, isn't far off. He's got 36.

Here's the stock report to wrap up our blogging for the night ...

MOVING UP

RB Marion Barber: His numbers aren't startling, but he broke the big 37-yarder, finished with 110 yards, and made one of the biggest plays of the game, showing a strong second effort to convert a fourth-and-1. When the running game needed a shot in the arm, he brought it big-time, and also contributed with three catches.

Not the prettiest win in the world, but the Cowboys tied a franchise record with their 13th win, joining the 1992 squad in an exclusive club.

Feel free to complain if you want, but that's a pretty sweet deal. Cowboy fans ought to put their energy into celebrating and worrying about key injuries.

Headed downstairs for postgame duties. Rant, rave, rip, praise and suggest headlines while I'm gone.

Marion "The Barbarian" Barber has 20 carries for 97 yards at the two-minute warning. That's the first time a Cowboy back has had 20 carries all season.

Every other team had at least one RB with a 20-carry game by mid-season.

Pretty vicious helmet-to-helmet hit by Tank Johnson on Matt Moore.

Good thing Tank got to be good buddies with Sheriff Goodell. Might save him some cash when the fine comes.

There'll be no questioning that catch by Steve Smith, good for 57 yards on fourth-and-long.

Smith, who got behind Terence Newman on the play, came down hard on his right shoulder. Didn't like Carolina's comeback chances with him, and it's pretty much impossible for the Panthers to win without him.

Panthers fans seemed to disagree, and so did the press box homer in the third row. Despite their protests, Carolina had to punt away.

Can the Cowboys please pound away with Marion "The Barbarian" Barber?

Steve Smith was so wide open that he managed to catch a ball that was way underthrown by Matt Moore.

Oops ... wait. Actually, he didn't catch the ball, the refs decided after a chat.

John Fox threw the red flag, so we'll wait a few minutes while they figure this one out. If the call is reversed, Smith will have his first 100-yard game since Week 6.

Nick Folk's 23-yard field goal gives the Cowboys a 20-10 lead with 8:17 to go. Go ahead and pencil in win No. 13, tying the 1992 team's franchise record.

If the Cowboys give up two scores to an undrafted rookie QB, Wade Phillips might as well retire at the end of the game.

It'll go down as an incompletion in the play-by-play, but Sam Hurd deserves major props for his performance on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Thomas Davis looked like he had an easy pick -- and a potential TD return -- but Hurd came back and battled for the ball. He morphed into a DB and broke up the pass.

And then Romo threw it to Thomas Davis, covering Patrick Crayton on a seam route, two plays later. Oh, well.

Marion "The Barbarian" Barber is right at 100 total yards at the end of the third quarter. That 12-yard gain on the third-down catch was a tackle-breaking thing of beauty.

Looking forward to counting his broken tackles while watching this game on TiVo.

Seems like this would be a great game for Barber to be used as a closer.

The Cowboys blitzed linebackers up the middle the last two plays.

Bradie James got flipped on second down. Kevin Burnett hit Moore and forced a bad throw on third down.

Moore has proven that he's good enough to dink and dunk if he's given time in the pocket. Wade Phillips has decided to stop giving him time and hurry up his decision-making process.

I can't believe it! Thought Wade Phillips' philosophy was to never punt on fourth-and-1.

Let's see if Matt Moore (10-of-16, 108 yards, 1 TD) continues to make the Cowboys look silly for cutting him.

Did Jerry not listen to Ron Jaworski gush about Moore during the draft?!

Steve Smith established himself as an elite receiver over the last few years but hadn't been much of a factor since Panthers QB Jake Delhomme went down.

Smith has gotten going again with Matt Moore in there. Smith had eight catches for 72 yards last week and has six catches for 71 yards and a TD tonight, breaking a seven-game scoreless streak.

In unrelated news, Jay Ratliff's knee looked OK on that sack. They gave DeMarcus Ware full credit, though.

Ouch! That's 12.5 sacks for Greg Ellis, regaining the team lead over DeMarcus Ware.

NT Jay Ratliff (right knee) started the second half.

In other injury news, X-rays on T.O.'s left ankle were negative. And the Cowboys, who gave up a 42-yard return on the kickoff, really miss Pat Watkins (ankle) on special teams.

This half really has been as costly as anything else. Don’t mix this up: Terrell Owens and Jay Ratliff would be huge losses if they’re shelved for any extended period of time, especially at positions that aren’t all that deep.

But outside of that which the Cowboys can’t control, they’ve turned in a stellar effort through the first 30 minutes of play. Someone had a cry for more of a commitment to the running game in today’s paper, and it’s almost like someone else was listening. The Cowboys have run the ball 18 times – more than in either of the last two games -- for 103 yards to this point.

And that’s even being a little bit disingenuous, because the Cowboys have thrown it 32 times, working all areas of the field and dispelling any concerns over Tony Romo’s thumb (he’s 21-of-32 for 188 yards and a score.) All of this has given the Cowboys balance they haven’t had offensively in weeks.

You'd figure that the Cowboys would come out with a conservative game plan tonight. Their franchise QB has a sore thumb and is facing a QB they didn't consider good enough to keep on the roster.

Tony Romo only threw the ball 32 times in the first half. Yes, 32 times!!

Not like the Cowboys' couldn't run the ball, either. Marion "The Barbarian" Barber has 11 carries for 80 yards.

Romo's thumb sure doesn't seem to be bothering him. He's completed 21 of those 32 passes for 188 yards and a TD.

Actually, I'm not sure you can consider that go-for-it decision gutsy. Crazy, maybe, but it worked when Miles Austin' made his third reception of the season.

Still, it was fourth-and-4 from around midfield with 42 seconds to go in the half. If it doesn't work, it easily could have turned into a field goal for the Panthers.

Rookie Nick Folk's 42-yard field goal extended the Cowboys' lead to 17-7 and gave you folks something to feel good about for a moment.

On the injury front, Jay Ratliff hurt his right knee.

T.O. had a big smile while walking out of the locker room. Agent Drew Rosenhaus, sensing an opportunity to get some airtime, was there to comfort his top client.

Jay Ratliff is going to the locker room a few minutes early to get evaluated. Still not sure exactly what his injury is.

DeAngelo Williams' 39-yard run was pretty much a disaster for Dallas.

NT Jay Ratliff limped off, appearing to favor his right knee or leg. CB Terence Newman is hobbling off, too.

Didn't take Matt Moore long to take advantage, hitting Steve Smith for an 11-yard TD over Newman replacement Jacques Reeves. Reckon Reeves was thinking slant and Smith ran a fade route.

We've got a 14-7 ballgame suddenly.

Total yardage: Cowboys 211, Panthers 36.

Cowboys seem particularly focused and fired up for some reason.

OK, so Flozell Adams gets a false start penalty or two per game. You can live with that if he blocks at a Pro Bowl level.

Plus, he did recover a fumble to keep the Cowboys' TD drive alive, so take it easy on the big guy.

Jay Ratliff managed to hit Matt Moore despite getting tripped by guard Mike Wahle.

That's $20.5 million well spent, Jerry.

Albert "Einstein" Breer wants me to note that Dallas ran the Cowboy front on third down again. Made it look like they were going to bring everybody but only brought five guys.

Matt Moore finally completed a pass beyond the line of scrimmage, hitting Steve Smith for a 13-yard gain on an out route.

Anthony Henry had the coverage on the play. Terence Newman shadowed Smith the last two times these teams met, but Wade Phillips didn't want to do that tonight.

First-round pick Anthony Spencer, again, is set to see more snaps. He's taken Greg Ellis' spot as the SOLB in the base defense for this series.

Spencer had his work cut to a series a game recently, before getting in for four series last week. He's opposite DeMarcus Ware right now.

Jason Garrett apparently listened to the Original 81's request to use him in motion more often.

T.O. motioned to the right slot on first down and got wide open on an out route for a 16-yard gain. He has three catches for 33 yards, which has been a game's worth of stats for him the last couple weeks.

Tony Romo sure was confident that he got that timeout called before the snap. He never even turned aroud to look at the shotgun snap that zipped behind him.

Starting to rethink my suggestion that Jerry should have cut Tony Romo, kept Matt Moore and saved $67 million. Stats after the first quarter:

Romo -- 9-for-13, 79 yards, 1 TD

Moore -- 3-for-6, 20 yards

The Cowboys just pulled out the defense that Wade Phillips says "looks like a highlight reel" in the film room. That would be the Cowboy front.

On that third-and-5, Greg Ellis lined up on the left edge, with Anthony Spencer opposite him. And DeMarcus Ware floated before the snap, then finally settled over Spencer's shoulder and got pressure on Matt Moore, forcing a rushed throw and, subsequently, another Panther punt.

Matt Moore is now 0-for-3 on balls thrown past the line of scrimmage, 3-for-3 on balls thrown behind the line. Tough to get too much going that way.

T.O.'s 10-yard TD broke a franchise record that had been standing for 45 years. It was his 15th touchdown catch of the season, one more than Frank Clarke had in 1962.

Classic T.O. run after the catch, taking a quick pass and making poor Richard Marshall look silly en route to the end zone.

Tony Romo looked pretty focused on that drive, completing six of eight passes for 53 yards.

You can't call Wade Phillips a wimpy coach. Not sure another NFL coach would go for it on fourth-and-more-than-a-yard instead of kicking a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter.

Marion "The Barbarian" Barber picked it up, so it's a gutsy call.