Cowboys outlast Packers

What started with Tony Romo facing childhood hero Brett Favre in the NFC showdown of 10-1 teams turned into a matchup against Aaron Rodgers.

Romo and the Dallas Cowboys still held a 27-24 lead over Green Bay after three quarters Thursday night, though they hadn't scored since Rogers threw his first career touchdown pass before halftime then completed all six passes on the Packers' first drive after the break.
Favre, the 17-year veteran Romo grew up watching and cheering for in Wisconsin, hurt his right elbow with 10 minutes left in the second quarter when he was hit hard by cornerback Nate Jones as he threw a pass. Terence Newman made a diving interception of the fluttering pass.

After grabbing his arm while still on the ground, Favre flexed it while walking slowly to the sideline. He remained on the sideline, then after getting treatment and having an X-ray taken during halftime, came back out still in his pads and with his right arm covered with a sleeve. But instead of his helmet, Favre donned a baseball cap and watched Rodgers play.

Dallas was stopped on fourth-and-2 from the Green Bay 31 on the opening drive of the second half. The Packers then drove 69 yards in 12 plays, including 6-of-6 passing for 61 yards by Rodgers before Ryan Grant scored on a 1-yard TD run that made it 27-24.

Rodgers, who mimicked Romo in practice the past week, got the Packers within 27-17 when he threw his first career TD pass, an 11-yarder to Greg Jennings with 31 seconds left in the half. He had played in only six games over two-plus years before Thursday, and had thrown only two passes this season.

Romo's third TD in a six-play span was a 10-yarder to Terrell Owens, and it came after Newman's interception.

The first TD by Romo was 3 yards to Patrick Crayton only three plays after another interception by Favre, which was his first in 140 attempts. Favre unloaded that pass under heavy pressure from Stephen Bowen and it was picked off by Ken Hamlin and returned 18 yards.

Romo was 14-of-23 for 252 yards after three quarters, and his TDs pushed his season total to 32, breaking his tie he was in with Danny White for the team record. Favre was 5-of-14 for 56 yards.

After Crayton's TD, the Packers responded with a three-play drive, with Grant running 62 yards for a touchdown on third-and-1 with one second left in the first quarter. That came after the Cowboys were penalized for having 12 men on the field, then had to burn a timeout because they had 12 men on the field again before the ball was snapped.

On the next drive, Romo threw a 26-yard TD to tight end Anthony Fasano in the second quarter, after a 48-yard catch by Owens.

Rookie kicker Mason Crosby gave the Packers a 3-0 lead with a 47-yard field goal on the opening drive.

Nick Folk, the Cowboys rookie, had field goals of 51 and 26 yards before Dallas took advantage of Favre's miscue.

So much of the talk leading into the showdown was the possibility for home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs for the winner. That could determine if another high-stakes Dallas-Green Bay game in late January would be played in Texas Stadium or frigid Lambeau Field


At kickoff on the last Thursday in November, it was 54 degrees at Texas Stadium. It was 19 in Green Bay.

Hall of Fame quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, who combined to lead the Cowboys to their five Super Bowl titles, took part in the coin toss. They joined the other Dallas captains, including Romo. Favre was among the Packers who participated in the pregame ceremony.

Before the game, there was a moment of silence for Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins safety who was fatally shot in his Miami home Monday.

Redskins' Taylor Dies After Shooting

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday, a day after he was shot at home. He was 24. Family friend Richard Sharpstein said Taylor's father told him the news around 5:30 a.m."His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me," said Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "It's a tremendously sad and unnecessary event. He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans."

He said Taylor died early Tuesday at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he had been airlifted after the shooting early Monday.Doctors had been encouraged late Monday when Taylor squeezed a nurse's hand, according to Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president of football operations. But Sharpstein said he was told Taylor never regained consciousness after being transported to the hospital and that he wasn't sure how he had squeezed the nurse's hand."Maybe he was trying to say goodbye or something," Sharpstein said.Taylor was shot early Monday in the upper leg, damaging an artery and causing significant blood loss.Miami-Dade Police were investigating the attack, which came just eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor's home. Officers were dispatched about 1:45 a.m. Monday after Taylor's girlfriend called 911. Taylor was airlifted to the hospital.Sharpstein said Taylor's girlfriend told him the couple was awakened by loud noises, and Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection. Someone then broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor, Sharpstein said. Taylor's 1-year-old daughter, Jackie, was also in the house, but neither she nor Taylor's girlfriend were injured.


"It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery," Miami-Dade Police Lt. Nancy Perez said. "It has not been confirmed as yet."The shooting happened in the pale yellow house he bought two years ago in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay. Eight days before the attack someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed at Taylor's home, according to police."They're really sifting through that incident and today's incident," Miami-Dade Detective Mario Rachid said, "to see if there's any correlation."Born April 1, 1983, Taylor starred as a running back and defensive back at Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami. His father, Pedro Taylor, is police chief of Florida City.A private man with a small inner circle, Taylor rarely granted interviews. But, behind the scenes, Taylor was described as personable and smart - an emerging locker room leader.Especially since the birth of his daughter."From the first day I met him, from then to now, it's just like night and day," Redskins receiver James Thrash said. "He's really got his head on his shoulders and has been doing really well as far as just being a man. It's been awesome to see that growth."An All-American at the University of Miami, Taylor was drafted by the Redskins as the fifth overall selection in 2004. Coach Joe Gibbs called it "one of the most researched things" he'd ever done, but the problems soon began. Taylor fired his agent, then skipped part of the NFL's mandatory rookie symposium, drawing a $25,000 fine. Driving home late from a party during the season, he was pulled over and charged with drunken driving. The case was dismissed in court, but by then it had become a months-long distraction for the team.Taylor also was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions over his first three seasons, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006.

Meanwhile, Taylor endured a yearlong legal battle after he was accused in 2005 of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over allegedly stolen all-terrain vehicles near Taylor's home. He eventually pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months' probation.Taylor said the end of the assault case was like "a gray cloud" being lifted. It was also around the time that Jackie was born, and teammates noticed a change."It's hard to expect a man to grow up overnight," said Redskins teammate and close friend Clinton Portis, who also played with Taylor at the University of Miami. "But ever since he had his child, it was like a new Sean, and everybody around here knew it. He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child."On the field, Taylor's play was often erratic. Assistant coach Gregg Williams frequently called Taylor the best athlete he'd ever coached, but nearly every big play was mitigated by a blown assignment. Taylor led the NFL in missed tackles in 2006 yet made the Pro Bowl because of his reputation as one of the hardest hitters in the league.This year, however, Taylor was allowed to play a true free safety position, using his speed and power to chase down passes and crush would-be receivers. His five interceptions tie for the league lead in the NFC, even though he missed the last two games because of a sprained knee."I just take this job very seriously," Taylor said in a rare group interview during training camp. "It's almost like, you play a kid's game for a king's ransom. And if you don't take it serious enough, eventually one day you're going to say, 'Oh, I could have done this, I could have done that.'"So I just say, 'I'm healthy right now, I'm going into my fourth year, and why not do the best that I can?' And that's whatever it is, whether it's eating right or training myself right, whether it's studying harder, whatever I can do to better myself."His hard work was well-noted."He loved football. He felt like that's what he was made to do," Gibbs said. "And I think what I've noticed over the last year and a half ... is he matured. I think his baby had a huge impact on him. There was a real growing up in his life