Cowboys 13, Buccaneers 9: Dallas Stops the Bleeding ... for a Week

There's been no team dealing with more press than the Dallas Cowboys. Whether it's been about Pacman Jones' transgressions, Terrell Owens' mouth, Tony Romo's injury, criticisms after dealing for Roy Williams, or talk of Wade Phillips' job status, the Cowboys have gotten their fair amount of media love (or hate).

This has all been magnified by Dallas losing three of their last four games, including a horrible 34-14 loss in St. Louis last week.

And though Dallas did beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers today, 13-9, everything still isn't well.

Let's start off with some good news: that Cowboys defense was awesome today. They held Tampa to just 48 yards rushing and slowed down a hot Jeff Garcia. The Bucs did get into Cowboys territory six times today, but all they could show for it were three field goals. Dallas also held up late against a potential game-winning drive from Tampa.

Before that was a very gutsy play at the end of the first half. Down 6-3 with five seconds left, the Cowboys elected for a quick shot at a touchdown instead of attempting a tying field goal. Brad Johnson threw a jump ball to Roy Williams, who came down with his first touchdown as a Cowboys, rewarding Phillips for the gutsy call.

Still, Dallas' offense wasn't very good today. Brad Johnson was just 19-of-33 for 122 yards and a touchdown, though after throwing three interceptions last week, Johnson didn't turn the ball over today. The Cowboys couldn't rush the ball that well, either, amassing only 70 yards. Terrell Owens was held to just five receptions and 33 yards (which sadly led the team).

That's just 173 yards from an offense that people felt was unstoppable a few weeks ago.

Yes, Dallas won a game that takes a ton of pressure off of them for the moment. However, they're staring at a trip to New York to face the defending Super Bowl champion Giants next week, a bye, and then another venture on the road to face the Redskins for two challenging games in three weeks.

The loss hurts Tampa Bay. With Carolina and New Orleans winning today, Tampa now falls to second place behind the Panthers and just a game out of last place in the NFC South. The Buccaneers have now lost three of their four games away from Raymond James Stadium. That's bad news, given that two of Tampa's next three games (and four of six) will be on the road.