Jean-Jacques Taylor

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IRVING – Marion Barber, the NFL's most physical running back, carried the ball eight times. Terrell Owens had more carries than the electric Felix Jones.

Ridiculous.

So you shouldn't have been surprised Washington beat the Cowboys, 26-24, Sunday in its last regular-season appearance at Texas Stadium.

The Cowboys couldn't run the ball against Washington because they didn't try. Jason Garrett, who puts the game plan together and calls the plays, is better than that.

Much better.

He's proved it over the last two years by consistently finding creative ways to get players the ball in position to succeed and exploiting defenses.

After the game, I heard all of the usual excuses.

You know, the ones about playing from behind meant the Cowboys couldn't run the ball. And running only 58 plays kept the Cowboys from establishing a running game.

And my personal favorite: The Cowboys took what the defense gave them because the Redskins stacked the line of scrimmage, daring Dallas to pass against one-on-one coverage.

"The style of defense they were playing was forcing us to do some other things," Garrett said. "We have to execute better in those other areas to be able to get back to some of those things you want to do. You have to aggressively take what the defense gives you."

Sometimes, you need to take what you want. Dallas isn't going to win many games with Barber gaining 26 yards and Jones getting the same number of carries as me.

Isn't this the same coaching staff that told us after the Philadelphia game a couple of weeks ago that even when you don't run the ball well early in the game, you have to persevere because it pays big dividends in the second half?

"It wasn't hard to run the ball against them," guard Leonard Davis said. "We had a game plan based on the looks they were giving us, and that dictated we stick with the passing game."

Then it was a suspect game plan.

Besides, this happened last December in a 10-6 loss to Philadelphia, when the Cowboys ran the ball only 15 times in 55 offensive plays. During one second-half stretch in that game, Garrett called passes on 16 of 17 plays.

When a former NFL quarterback like Garrett is surrounded by Pro Bowl players such as Tony Romo, Jason Witten and T.O., his first inclination is to throw the ball.

Garrett must constantly guard against abandoning the run too quickly because the Cowboys' passing game is so good.

There's no excuse for Barber carrying the ball three times in the second half of a close game.

On the first possession of the second half, Barber gained three yards, followed by a 15-yard burst off right tackle. On the next play, T.O.'s 10-yard catch-and-run tied the score at 17-17 with 12:26 left in the third quarter.

Washington took a 20-17 lead on Shaun Suisham's 33-yard field goal with 7:31 left.

On Dallas' next possession, Garrett called passes on seven of eight plays before the Cowboys' punted. The only run? A 5-yard sweep around right end by T.O., who lined up in the backfield.

MICHAEL MULVEY / DMN

Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo (9) and RB Marion Barber sit on the bench after a lackluster performance during the first half.

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Barber's last carry occurred on second-and-2 with 1:50 left in the third quarter. Washington stopped him for no gain.

At least he had an opportunity to impact the game. Jones didn't.

"He has a specific role he plays and plays that he works on, and they aren't really come-from-behind plays," coach Wade Phillips said of Jones. "They are more normal game situation plays. We're getting more and more comfortable with him as he learns those things. Barber was in there and knew what to do, especially in all our shotgun stuff."

After T.O.'s early second-half touchdown, the Cowboys didn't trail by more than six points until the final few minutes of the game. If that constitutes being too far behind to use Jones, then why even have the first-round pick on the roster?

Then again, if you watched Sunday's game, you might not have known he was on the team anyway.