Cowboys vs. Elite Gunslingers: Peyton, Brady, Brees, Rodgers

Win or lose, Cowboys fans with tickets Sunday are in for a treat. Only four active NFL quarterbacks have the combination of rings, experience and aura to generate a special buzz when they visit an opposing stadium: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. And only three Cowboys games I covered in the Tony Romo Era fully compare to the challenge Manning’s Broncos present: 2006 vs. Manning’s Colts, 2007 vs. Brady’s Patriots, and 2009 vs. Brees’ Saints.

All three times, the opponent was undefeated. All three times, the opponent’s offense looked indestructible. Yet the Cowboys won two of three, beating Manning and Brees and losing to Brady. They also made the playoffs in each of those seasons.

Two questions will be answered Sunday: 1) Are the 2013 Cowboys good enough to meet that type of challenge? 2) Is Denver as legit as the above-mentioned opponents from years past?

The general assumption is 1) No; and 2) Absolutely. Then again, it would be so ‘NFL’ of the NFL for the Cowboys to pull a Buster Douglas on their home field, shut down Denver and win with a final score in the 14-10 range.

Can’t wait for kickoff. Until then, I got curious and researched beyond those three titanic matchups: the nine Romo-led performances against the Big 4 since 2006. To me, it’s appropriate to group Peyton with Brady, Brees and Rodgers because all of them test the mettle of the Cowboys’ defense (and put pressure on Romo to play nearly flawless) like no one else over four quarters.

(Note: Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, an aging Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb were a notch below. I omitted Rodgers’ 45-7 victory in 2010 and the Cowboys’ 2010 victory over Peyton’s Colts because Romo was injured and, well, the Cowboys just plain stunk.)

The Cowboys went 4-5 overall. Here are some trends to keep in mind for Sunday:

*In six of the nine games, the winning team also won the turnover battle.

*Only four times the winning team scored over 30 points (twice over 40).

*The Cowboys were 0-3 when Romo had 39 or more pass attempts and 3-1 when he had 30 or fewer pass attempts.

*The Cowboys were 4-0 when they had at least 28 rushing attempts and 0-5 when they had fewer than 25.

*The Cowboys were 3-1 when they won time of possession.

(Photo Credit: DallasCowboys.com)