Folk Hero: Cowboys Score Miraculous Win

Oct 09, 02:12 AM

Current Headlines: By Todd Archer, The Dallas Morning News

Oct. 9--ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Chants of Romooooo, Romooooo, Romooooo could be heard inside Ralph Wilson Stadium and for all the wrong reasons Monday.

It ended with the Cowboys jumping for joy with a wild celebration after rookie kicker Nick Folk connected for a 53-yard field goal with no time left on the clock.

Somehow the Cowboys left Western New York with a 25-24 win against Buffalo to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1983.

On a night in which Romo tied the franchise record with five interceptions in a game, the game will be remembered for the powerful right leg of Folk, who wasn't even born when the Cowboys last were undefeated after five games.

Folk had to make the game winner twice after Buffalo coach Dick Jauron attempted to ice him with a timeout before L.P. Ladouceur's snap.

Calmly and coolly, Folk took his normal pre-kick routine, listened to some encouraging words from holder Brad Johnson and made the kick again.

For the Bills, the loss may not have been as disheartening as the defeats they suffered to the Cowboys in back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1990s, but it was crushing nonetheless.

For the Cowboys, the win sets up the first match-up of 5-0 teams since 2004 when New England played the New York Jets when the Patriots visit Texas Stadium on Sunday.

There was little hope of seeing such a game with how Romo played. Monday's start was not even as slow as the one's that has been the norm for the Cowboys this season.

Buffalo used a flood of emotion in their first appearance on "Monday Night Football," in 13 years. Wade Phillips coached in that game too, for Denver, and left on the losing side.

This time he left a winner not because of only Romo's magic, but that of a fortuitous on-side kick attempt and two completions to Marion Barber (4 yards) and Crayton (8 yards) that set up Folk's kick after the officials correctly overturned what would have been a 22-yard catch by Owens at the Buffalo 25.

The Cowboys were able to spike the ball with one second left, but after what seemed like an interminable review, they were left with 13 seconds to make the magic work the way they did in Bill Parcells' first year in Dallas when Billy Cundiff tied an NFL record with seven field goals in a 35-32 thriller at Giants Stadium.

If winning is the only thing then matters, then it should be noted that Romo is now 11-4 as a starter in 15 regular-season games.

But just about every Romo pass was a hold-your-breath affair.

His first pass of the game was returned 25 yards for a touchdown by George Wilson after he badly overthrew tight end Jason Witten.

His second pass was intercepted by Angelo Crowell. Before he found Witten for a 22-yard touchdown to tie the game, Jabari Greer, starting only because Ashton Youboty is hurt, could not hold on to a floater intended for Patrick Crayton.

Eleven seconds after a 24-yard field goal by Rian Lindell, Chris Kelsay deflected a Romo pass into the air, gobbled it up at the 2 and scored the Bills' second touchdown of the game.

On the Cowboys' next drive Romo became the first quarterback since Chicago's Kyle Orton on Sept. 25, 2005 against Cincinnati to have four passes in a half when he underthrew Sam Hurd on a corner route, allowing Greer to get his hands on the ball.

The Bills did all of this without four defensive starters from opening day -- Coy Wire, Paul Posluszny, Ko Simpson and Jason Webster -- missing.

Despite the six turnovers -- he had a fumble too -- Romo had the Cowboys in position to leave with an improbable victory with a 4-yard touchdown throw to Patrick Crayton with 20 seconds left.

But his two-point alley-oop lob to Terrell Owens was ripped away by Greer, making a loss even more likely.

On the kickoff Folk, who won the job in training camp over Martin Gramatica, punched a perfect on-side kick that receiver Sam Hurd punched forward, giving tight end Tony Curtis a chance to recover it at the Buffalo 47.

Replay officials, however, wanted to take a look to make sure Hurd did not touch the ball before it traveled 10 yards. He didn't, but replay correctly overturned a 22-yard reception by Owens, leaving the Cowboys with 13 seconds to work down the field with no timeouts.

Barber picked up 4 yards on second down, and Crayton got 8 on third but more importantly getting out of bounds with two seconds to play.

Largely unknown when he was chosen with the 178th overall pick in April, Folk wrote himself into Cowboys' history with his winner on Monday.

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