ARLINGTON, Texas - Eight days ago, a visibly frustrated Terence Newman blamed his poor coverage on the Cowboys' loss to the New York Giants.
Eight days later, head coach Wade Phillips challenged his top cornerback to shadow one of the NFL's most prolific wide receivers: the Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith.
Newman met the challenge Monday night. His entire defense did, too.
Sealed by Newman's fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown, the Cowboys (2-1) held Carolina (0-3) to a single touchdown and forced three turnovers in a hard-fought 21-7 win before 90,588 fans at Cowboys Stadium.
Vindication was the common theme throughout the team's first regular-season victory in its $1.15 billion new stadium.
The Cowboys eluded their first 1-2 start since 2002, when they finished 5-11, and rebounded from last Sunday's stinging 33-31 loss to the Giants in the venue's inaugural opener.
Quarterback Tony Romo (22-of-33, 255 yards) played mistake-free after his three interceptions led to 21 Giants points.
And the defense quieted week-long criticism about its early-season struggles, having allowed 877 yards combined in the first two games as the only remaining unit without a sack or a takeaway.
Both droughts ended Monday. Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme was sacked three times and starting cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Newman each intercepted him once.
Newman, who covered Smith often in their five previous meetings, picked off an intended slant pass and returned it 27 yards to put the Cowboys in front, 21-7, with 5:07 remaining.
It was the 21st interception and the second TD return of his seven-year career. Delhomme (22-of-33, 220 yards, 1 TD) has now thrown 12 interceptions in his last four games dating back to the Panthers' divisional-round playoff loss in January.
"It was huge," Newman said. "Before the game we talked about how our defensive line and linebackers did their job last week and how we didn't do our job. So I told them, âHey, it's on us. We've got to shut these guys down.'
"We let this team down last week, and we have to make up for it this week."
Despite Romo's turnovers last Sunday, the Cowboys' second-ranked offense kept them close against the Giants. Monday, the offense didn't score in the first half for the first time since 2006. Two sacks on Romo and three penalties helped stall four separate drives.
"We really beat ourselves, offensively for sure," Romo said. "We were able to move the ball and do things, but we don't have a lot of plays drawn up for third-and-20. You're asking for trouble if you're consistently trying to make first downs in those situations."
But the defense held steady.
It stalled five consecutive Panthers drives in the second half (four three-and-outs, followed by Newman's interception). Eventually, the Cowboys erased a 7-0 halftime deficit in the third quarter with a Nick Folk field goal and Tashard Choice's five-yard TD run.
Led by Choice and Felix Jones, who left with a strained left knee, the Cowboys recorded 200 rushing yards in two straight games for the first time in 30 years. Starter Marion Barber was inactive with a strained quadriceps.
A heated halftime locker room boosted the team's intensity.
"This team needed to get a little mad, it looked like," Phillips said. "We shot ourselves in the foot in the first half and we went through a game (last week) where we had that kind of feeling. That's why I was really proud of the team to come back and say we're going to overcome that.
"I thought it was a real good team victory. We improved in some areas that we needed to improve in, especially defensively."
For a team that led the league in sacks last year (59), pressure has rarely been a problem. The Cowboys also targeted more takeaways this season after finishing tied for 20th with 22.
The defense remained patient and "relentless," nose tackle Jay Ratliff said. He and rookie outside linebacker Victor Butler combined for the three sacks on Delhomme. The Panthers converted only one of eight third-down attempts and never entered the Cowboys' red zone.
"One thing we try not to allow ourselves to do is get frustrated," Ratliff said. "When you think about stuff too hard or try to force too hard, it usually doesn't happen. The thing is to keep playing the game, keep coming, applying pressure and eventually something will break for you."
The same theory applies for the entire team, which had an extra day to mull their last-second loss to New York. Next up is a short week to prepare for the 3-0 Denver Broncos.
That's OK by Romo.
"I would say this week will be better than last week in some ways," Romo joked. "That's a fair assessment."
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