We've had time to sleep on the Cowboys-Titans and now we give you one last review of what happened before moving on to Cowboys-Vikings in our weekly Beat Writers Recap.
*There was a cry, within and outside the organization to give Felix Jones more touches. Sunday he carried 15 times for 109 yards. He also had four receptions for 17 yards. But here's something interesting about Jones' day. He had no touchdowns and produced only two first downs out of 19 touches. The first downs came on runs of 20 and 34 yards, his biggest plays of the game. Marion Barber, who does start for this team, didn't get a carry until the second quarter and he also gained a first down among his six carries on the afternoon. Yes Jones should get the ball more but if you compare what Chris Johnson of the Titans did, 19 carries for 131 yards with two touchdowns, which included the eventual game-winner, who do you think had the better day?
*Speaking of those two long runs by Jones, both were setup by the right guard. The 20-yard run was led perfectly by Leonard Davis, who also got help from tight end Scott Chandler, who saw significant playing time due to the groin injury of fullback Chris Gronkowski. The 34-yard run by Jones was blocked nicely by Montrae Holland, Davis' replacement.
*There were six sacks allowed by the Cowboys in this game and let's get to the breakdowns of what happened.
1. Defensive tackle Jason Jones beat Davis with an inside move and also got past Andre Gurode to bring down Tony Romo.
2. Tennessee with good penetration up front and solid coverage down field forced Romo to hesitate from throwing the ball. Chris Hope, who came on a blitz, was picked up by Barber, but when Romo moved around the pocket, Hope was there for the sack.
3. Defensive end Jason Babin beats Marc Colombo one-on-one and despite Romo moving up in the pocket, he gets tripped up by Babin, who is on his stomach, for the sack.
4. Jones beat Davis again with an inside move. Davis should have gotten bailed out by Barber, but he did a weak job in holding Jones up as he gets through. Jones keeps charging and when Romo feels more pressure from the outside due to Colombo's failure to contain William Hayes, he gets sacked by Jones.
5. This one was pretty easy. Babin's spin move past Colombo allows him to sack Romo.
6. With the Cowboys rolling the pocket, Romo looks downfield and is under pressure from both sides. He goes down as Jason Witten can't stop Ball from coming on the backside for the sack.
*While Davis got benched for his poor play something must be said of Alan Ball, the free safety. It looks as if he reacts late on plays. An example of this was on the first touchdown of the game. Orlando Scandrick is one-on-one down the sidelines with Nate Washington. The other Titans receivers run underneath routes and are covered well. Ball is just standing there watching the backfield and by the time he sees the ball in the air it's too late. Scandrick took the blame for that touchdown, but Ball should have helped. Ball did a poor job on a 12-yard score to Kenny Britt in the second quarter. Scandrick, again, is matched up one-on-one. For some reason, Ball is standing near the goalline watching. Gerald Sensabaugh goes across the goalline as he covers the tight end. Vince Young sends a pass into the end zone and Ball doesn't react quickly.
The Cowboys have a problem at the free safety spot and they must fix it. Benching Ball might not be the answer because they're few options on the roster.
*Tight end Martellus Bennett talks about he needs more plays. He finished with two catches for 19 yards. But he dropped a rollout pass and failed to bring in a tough catch, pass was high, but at 6-6 you would think Bennett could pull down the pass in the end zone since it hit his hands. The tipped ball resulted in a Titans interception.
Notes:For the second consecutive game, the Cowboys did not use the Razorback. Is it dead? We did see one formation where Barber and Jones were in the backfield and another when Tashard Choice joined the duo. ... Gronkowski, who missed practice last week, is expected back on Wednesday. ... Dez Bryant suffered an ankle sprain and coach Wade Phillips said the rookie wideout should practice on Wednesday. ... Kevin Ogletree is getting some snaps, mainly on special teams. His offensive snaps are fewer than five every week. ... Miles Austin is turning into an elite receiver. The Cowboys put him in position to make plays by using him on slants and curls and on deep balls down the sidelines. If he gets in open space he's almost as hard to catch as Jones.