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Colombo, offensive line botch the landing
BY CHAREAN WILLIAMS AND JAN HUBBARD JHUBBARD@STAR-TELEGRAM.COM
ARLINGTON -- The Dallas Cowboys' offensive linemen had a day to forget Sunday.
They combined for six penalties for 55 yards, including a false start on Doug Free on a point-after kick. They gave up six sacks. Right guard Leonard Davis was benched, and his replacement, Montrae Holland, was left with stitches in his nose and a right eye nearly swollen shut.
The most costly error the group made came on, of all things, a touchdown celebration.
After scoring on an 18-yard touchdown reception to tie the score 27-27, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten gave right tackle Marc Colombo the ball. Colombo spiked it, and the two chest-bumped. But Colombo lost his balance on the landing and fell to the ground. Officials penalized the Cowboys 15 yards for Colombo going to the ground.
"Do your homework and watch the television," Colombo said when asked about the penalty before refusing further comment.
The Cowboys were confused about the penalty and complained about it. But coach Wade Phillips said officials told him it didn't matter that Colombo ended up on the ground by accident. Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 (d) of the NFL Rule Book states that "players are prohibited from engaging in any celebrations while on the ground."
"We did the chest bump, and he kind of accidentally falls down," Witten said. "I don't think he was trying to do anything different, but it's a call, and it's disappointing for us."
The Cowboys' David Buehler kicked off from the 15 because of the penalty, and Marc Mariani returned the kickoff 73 yards before Buehler brought him down by the facemask, tacking on another 6 yards. The Titans started the game-winning drive at the Dallas 5.
Davis benched
Leonard Davis didn't make any excuses. He wasn't playing well in the first half, and the Cowboys benched him.
"I didn't play good. That's all it was," said Davis, who stayed and answered every question thrown at him. "I can't make any excuses. There's no way I can make excuses for what I do out on the field. There are expectations. They expect me to go out and execute plays and do a job, and I didn't do it. So it's time for somebody else to go out and do the job."
Davis was replaced by Montrae Holland until Holland was injured in the second half. His helmet was jammed down onto his face, leaving him with several stitches in his nose and a swollen right eye.
"I couldn't really see to my right," Holland said. "I felt like I would have handicapped the team. I didn't want anything bad to happen, and Leonard Davis is a great player."
Davis played better when he returned, but he said "playing better later isn't helping when you should be playing a certain way before."
Davis, the team's fifth-highest-paid player this season at $5.2 million, said he had never been benched before. He is expected to retain his starting job.
Perils of kicking
David Buehler hit field goals from 51 and 26 yards, but it was a 44-yard miss in the third quarter that frustrated him.
The ball sailed high over the uprights and the Cowboys thought it was good. But the official standing underneath the goalpost signaled the ball traveled outside the pole, ruling it wide right.
"I was hoping for it," Buehler said. "I've just got to put them right down the middle and leave it out of the officials' hands."
Buehler had three touchbacks on six kickoffs, but he had no chance to reach the end zone on his last one when he had to kick from the Dallas 15, leading to the game-deciding score.
"It was huge," Buehler said of the difficulty of kicking off from the 15. "My facemask penalty didn't help out, either, but I just had to get him [Marc Mariani] down any way possible. So I grabbed him.... It's a huge momentum swing."
Breaking 100 again
The Cowboys went 19 consecutive games not allowing opposing runners to gain 100 yards, but now have given up more than 100 in two consecutive games.
Houston's Arian Foster had 106 yards two weeks ago and Tennessee's Chris Johnson followed with 131 on Sunday.
The Cowboys did a decent job of containing him until the fourth quarter, when Johnson busted loose for a 42-yard run. Although that drive ended with a punt, it gave the Titans' defense good field position and Tennessee took advantage with an interception off Tony Romo that put the ball at the Dallas 1.
Johnson scored on the next play.
"We were able to keep him bottled up," linebacker Bradie James said. "But he found a way to kind of just run off the side of us. He couldn't run in between the tackles. But he's Chris Johnson, so he's going to get some yards."
Briefly
Tight end Martellus Bennett left the locker room with a walking boot on his right foot. He would not answer questions about his injury.
Miles Austin's 69-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was the longest of his career.
Romo's 406 yards tied him with Don Meredith for the third most in franchise history. Troy Aikman had 455 in a 1998 game against the Vikings and Meredith had 450 in a 1963 game against the 49ers.
Jason Witten caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown to give him 543 career receptions. He passed Kellen Winslow (541) for the fourth-most receptions by a tight end in league history.
BY CHAREAN WILLIAMS AND JAN HUBBARD JHUBBARD@STAR-TELEGRAM.COM
ARLINGTON -- The Dallas Cowboys' offensive linemen had a day to forget Sunday.
They combined for six penalties for 55 yards, including a false start on Doug Free on a point-after kick. They gave up six sacks. Right guard Leonard Davis was benched, and his replacement, Montrae Holland, was left with stitches in his nose and a right eye nearly swollen shut.
The most costly error the group made came on, of all things, a touchdown celebration.
After scoring on an 18-yard touchdown reception to tie the score 27-27, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten gave right tackle Marc Colombo the ball. Colombo spiked it, and the two chest-bumped. But Colombo lost his balance on the landing and fell to the ground. Officials penalized the Cowboys 15 yards for Colombo going to the ground.
"Do your homework and watch the television," Colombo said when asked about the penalty before refusing further comment.
The Cowboys were confused about the penalty and complained about it. But coach Wade Phillips said officials told him it didn't matter that Colombo ended up on the ground by accident. Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 (d) of the NFL Rule Book states that "players are prohibited from engaging in any celebrations while on the ground."
"We did the chest bump, and he kind of accidentally falls down," Witten said. "I don't think he was trying to do anything different, but it's a call, and it's disappointing for us."
The Cowboys' David Buehler kicked off from the 15 because of the penalty, and Marc Mariani returned the kickoff 73 yards before Buehler brought him down by the facemask, tacking on another 6 yards. The Titans started the game-winning drive at the Dallas 5.
Davis benched
Leonard Davis didn't make any excuses. He wasn't playing well in the first half, and the Cowboys benched him.
"I didn't play good. That's all it was," said Davis, who stayed and answered every question thrown at him. "I can't make any excuses. There's no way I can make excuses for what I do out on the field. There are expectations. They expect me to go out and execute plays and do a job, and I didn't do it. So it's time for somebody else to go out and do the job."
Davis was replaced by Montrae Holland until Holland was injured in the second half. His helmet was jammed down onto his face, leaving him with several stitches in his nose and a swollen right eye.
"I couldn't really see to my right," Holland said. "I felt like I would have handicapped the team. I didn't want anything bad to happen, and Leonard Davis is a great player."
Davis played better when he returned, but he said "playing better later isn't helping when you should be playing a certain way before."
Davis, the team's fifth-highest-paid player this season at $5.2 million, said he had never been benched before. He is expected to retain his starting job.
Perils of kicking
David Buehler hit field goals from 51 and 26 yards, but it was a 44-yard miss in the third quarter that frustrated him.
The ball sailed high over the uprights and the Cowboys thought it was good. But the official standing underneath the goalpost signaled the ball traveled outside the pole, ruling it wide right.
"I was hoping for it," Buehler said. "I've just got to put them right down the middle and leave it out of the officials' hands."
Buehler had three touchbacks on six kickoffs, but he had no chance to reach the end zone on his last one when he had to kick from the Dallas 15, leading to the game-deciding score.
"It was huge," Buehler said of the difficulty of kicking off from the 15. "My facemask penalty didn't help out, either, but I just had to get him [Marc Mariani] down any way possible. So I grabbed him.... It's a huge momentum swing."
Breaking 100 again
The Cowboys went 19 consecutive games not allowing opposing runners to gain 100 yards, but now have given up more than 100 in two consecutive games.
Houston's Arian Foster had 106 yards two weeks ago and Tennessee's Chris Johnson followed with 131 on Sunday.
The Cowboys did a decent job of containing him until the fourth quarter, when Johnson busted loose for a 42-yard run. Although that drive ended with a punt, it gave the Titans' defense good field position and Tennessee took advantage with an interception off Tony Romo that put the ball at the Dallas 1.
Johnson scored on the next play.
"We were able to keep him bottled up," linebacker Bradie James said. "But he found a way to kind of just run off the side of us. He couldn't run in between the tackles. But he's Chris Johnson, so he's going to get some yards."
Briefly
Tight end Martellus Bennett left the locker room with a walking boot on his right foot. He would not answer questions about his injury.
Miles Austin's 69-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was the longest of his career.
Romo's 406 yards tied him with Don Meredith for the third most in franchise history. Troy Aikman had 455 in a 1998 game against the Vikings and Meredith had 450 in a 1963 game against the 49ers.
Jason Witten caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown to give him 543 career receptions. He passed Kellen Winslow (541) for the fourth-most receptions by a tight end in league history.
