DALLAS — The last time the Dallas Cowboys faced a floundering Miami Dolphins squad was on Sept. 16, 2007. Of course, it was a Week 2, so, Dallas was 1-0 at the time and the Dolphins were 0-1. No one knew at the time just how awful that Miami squad was that would descend to a 1-15 record and fire first-year coach Cam Cameron at the end of the season.
The Cowboys were coming off of a 45-35 win over the New York Giants on Opening Day, the first Week 1 start in the Tony Romo era. Miami dropped 16-13 overtime decision at Washington the week prior. The Dolphins weren't anything like the current squad. They seemingly answered the quarterback spot with Pro Bowler Trent Green. Ronnie Brown was still in the backfield. Linebacker Zach Thomas was still there, and defensive end Jason Taylor still had immense pride in the organization, even going so far as to rip down Cowboys fans' banners in the end zone of Dolphins Stadium in pregame.
There was no tanking and there was no fire sale with trades galore. The Dolphins wanted to get their first win of the season.
After Dallas started three-and-out on the dual purpose turf that also had a baseball diamond because it was the home of the Florida Marlins, Miami mounted a 12-play drive and kicked a 37-yard Jay Feely field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 7:07 to go in the first quarter.
The Cowboys responded with a 12-play drive and rookie kicker Nick Folk tied the game with a 26-yarder that he had to kick on the infield dirt. Cameron specifically called the Dolphins' first timeout of the half with seven seconds left in the quarter just so Folk would have to boot one from the dirt.
Dallas didn't get rolling until the 8:22 mark of the second quarter. With favorable field position at their own 40-yard line, the Cowboys started a 12-play drive the culminated in reserve running back Marion Barber scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Dallas a 10-3 lead with 1:54 to go until halftime.
The Dolphins added a 45-yard field goal with five seconds left to trim the Cowboys' lead 10-6 at the break.
Miami got the ball to start the second half, and they responded to the urgency of having to keep pace with a Dallas offense that scored 45 points the week prior. Green capped off a 10-play drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marty Booker that gave the Dolphins a 20-13 lead with 9:41 in the third quarter.
However, that would be the last formidable display from Miami. Dallas would peel off 20 unanswered points, including a 2-yard Romo pass to third-string tight end Tony Curtis, two Folk field goals, and then a 34-yard touchdown pass to receiver Terrell Owens. With 4:01 left in the game, there was no way the Dolphins offense was going to overcome 20 points in that amount of time.
The Cowboys defense gets a share of the credit for that 20-point run. After the Curtis touchdown, safety Ken Hamlin picked off Green, which setup the 28-yard field goal from Folk. Two plays into the ensuing drive, nose tackle Jay Ratliff recovered a Green fumble, which led to a 47-yard field goal. The drive that setup the Owens touchdown was due to cornerback Anthony Henry picking off Green and returning it 21 yards to the Miami 39.
Miami would answer with a touchdown of their own as Green found receiver Derek Hagan for a 21-yard touchdown. However, the first play from scrimmage after Dallas recovered the onside kick was Barber galloping 40 yards for a touchdown to make the score 37-20. On the next drive, safety Roy Williams intercepted Green two plays into the drive, and the game was all but over save for customary running out the clock with third-string running back Tyson Thompson and a pointless no-huddle drive from Miami. Dallas moved to 2-0 as the Dolphins spiraled to 0-2.
Sunday's game figures to be just as lopsided. While there won't be any in-field diamond to worry about on the turf at AT&T Stadium, there will be the expectation that the Cowboys have to prove how formidable they are by dispatching Miami by at least three touchdowns.
In any event, getting to 3-0 for the Cowboys would be quite the accomplishment, even in a one-point win, as they will have achieved that mark for the first time since 2008.
What are you fondest memories of the 2007 Dallas Cowboys who would finish with a 13-3 record and the NFC East division title? Share 'em with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.