Harold Wilson

IRVING - Rapper 50 Cent brags about how he "runs New York" on his current-hit single "I Get Money."

The single, ranked No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks list, fueled the hype for his highly-anticipated album, Curtis, which dropped Tuesday.

After a single successful game, the phrase perhaps better suits the Dallas Cowboys, who ran New York right off the field with an offensive onslaught Sunday and gave the Texas Stadium crowd their money's worth.

Just like 50 Cent's single, the one Dallas win generated a wave of interest in what's to come from a team many considered serious playoff contenders even before the Cowboys defeated New York 45-35 and rolled up 478 yards of offense in the process.

And just like 50 Cent's album stands a strong chance to sit atop the Billboard charts, Dallas already leads the way after one week of action - topping the NFL in points and yards.

Five different Cowboys scored touchdowns in the victory. Tony Romo passed for 345 yards - also a league-high for the first week - and ran for one score.

He tossed two TD passes to Terrell Owens and one to Jason Witten, who led the team with 116 yards receiving, and the last to Sam Hurd on a 51-yard slant pattern that iced the game with 3:11 remaining.

"Tony, he competes all the time," Wade Phillips said after his first game as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. "He's very accurate throwing the ball."

Getting a win in the NFC East, whether Week 1 or 17, looms big. Especially after Dallas only went 2-4 against the division last year, hurting the Cowboys on their quest for hosting a playoff game or receiving a bye in the postseason.

While defenses win championships, offense means a great deal. Need proof? Look no further than last year's Super Bowl participants, the high-powered and defensively challenged Indianapolis Colts, and the stingy, yet vanilla Chicago Bears.

"How 'bout my offense," Phillips said as he started his post-game press conference. "How 'bout the team. I was proud. That was a pretty explosive offense out there."

Dallas allowed New York to hang around almost one time too many. The Giants got two quick scores in an 18-second span late in the first half to go from trailing by 11 to only 17-16 at the break. Then, after Dallas went ahead 38-22 with 11:52 remaining, the Giants closed the gap to a field goal (38-35) barely seven minutes later after two Eli Manning touchdowns, which were sandwiched by a Cowboys turnover.

Despite New York playing with a banged-up Manning, and minus starting running back Brandon Jacobs in the second half, the Giants generated 438 yards of offense, including 309 through the air.

"We made mistakes, but the guys stepped up afterward," Phillips. "We got 10 more (points) than they did.

"Can we win giving up 35 a game? No. I though we had an outstanding game offensively. I feel good we're 1-0."

And though not reason to yet pop a cork, Dallas nonetheless deserved to enjoy the big win after it ran - and passed its way around - New York.

Harold Wilson
()