Garrett's offense paves way for Dallas dominance

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Hard as it is to admit, Terrell Owens was right. The road to the NFC East goes through Dallas.

Owens has something to do with that. So do Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton, Julius Jones and Marion Barber. And, of course, there's quarterback Tony Romo, who validated his recent megabucks deal with four more touchdown passes in the Cowboys' 31-20 defeat of the New York Giants.

Wade Phillips inherited a home run with Jason Garrett in control of the offense. (US Presswire)

But those guys were here a year ago when the Cowboys were 9-7 and runners-up to Philadelphia in the NFC East. Jason Garrett was not, and for my money the team's offensive coordinator is the biggest difference between this year and last.

Which mean he's the biggest reason Dallas is the team to beat in the NFC.

When the Cowboys hired Wade Phillips as their new head coach, questions abounded about what would happen to Romo & Co., particularly in light of how they faded a year ago when they lost four of their last five -- including that playoff defeat in Seattle.

Well, here's what's happened: Dallas is second only to New England in points -- it scored 30 or more in all but three games this season -- and it just knocked off Philadelphia and the Giants in successive road games by outscoring them 69-37.

Maybe that's giving Garrett too much credit for what's happening in Dallas, but then listen to what his head coach had to say after the Cowboys' fifth straight road win.

"We have a great offense," said Phillips. "We don't have a good offense. We have a great offense."

It's hard to argue with the guy after their latest effort. The Cowboys didn't just beat a Giants team on a six-game roll; they unraveled it, with Romo avoiding the sacks that bedeviled the Eagles last week in Philly, and Owens and Crayton splitting the secondary for critical catches.

The protection was there, with Romo sacked only twice, and so were the passes. Romo misfired on only eight of his 28 attempts and hit Owens in stride for a 50-yard clincher after the Giants closed to within four early in the fourth quarter.

That was the second drive of the second half, and the second one punctuated with a touchdown by Owens. It was also the ballgame and, just for the record, the first time anyone put up more than 15 points on the Giants in a month.

Which means it's time to start asking if Phillips is on to something. Is this an offense that deserves superlatives?

"I think we're doing some pretty good things," said Romo, "I haven't been in the league as long as (Phillips) has. I just know we put up some points, and that helps."