by D. Orlando Ledbetter; Staff , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ARLINGTON, Texas --- Falcons coach Mike Smith has never presided over a flogging like this one.

In a major defensive clunker, the Falcons were pummeled 37-21 by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at sparkling new Cowboys Stadium before 81,521 very satisfied fans.

The Atlanta secondary, already reeling from the loss last week of cornerback Brian Williams to a season-ending knee injury, was sliced and diced by Dallas quarterback Tony Romo (21 for 29 for 311 yards) and wide receiver Miles Austin (six receptions, 171 yards and two touchdowns). And the rest of the team wasn't so hot, either.

Perhaps the Falcons were mesmerized by the mammoth scoreboard at the Cowboys' new palace. Or perhaps the team took a big step back. But they dropped to 4-2 and fell two games behind NFC South rival New Orleans, which remained undefeated.

The 37 points were the most yielded under Smith. The previous high was 30 in the playoff loss to Arizona. The team could not rush the pocket, could not cover down the field and could not tackle consistently.

"On the defensive side of the ball, we had some opportunities to stop some plays short of the first down and we did not do that," Smith said. "We need to work more on our tackling. It's something that we pride ourselves in."

The secondary had a difficult time with Austin, a former undrafted free agent (Monmouth College) who in his fourth season is showing Dallas he is more than a special-teams player.

"Miles Austin had a big game against our two corners," Smith said. "Again, it's not just our two corners. We have got to get the quarterback off the spot."

After opening the game with a strong 16-play touchdown drive, the Falcons' offense went into hibernation. Over its next five possessions, the team couldn't mount a serious scoring threat. Three possessions ended in three-and-outs. Two ended with turnovers.

The offensive line, which had kept quarterback Matt Ryan spotless over the past four games, had trouble blocking in both pass protection and in the run game. Ryan threw two interceptions and fumbled twice, losing one of them.

Dallas added a field goal and then took a 10-7 lead with 5:50 left in the first half, when Austin ran across the defense for a 59-yard touchdown. They did not trail again.

"It was one of those things where the stars were aligned for them," Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud said. "It was the best play for the defense that we had."

The Cowboys then added a big touchdown right before the half to swing momentum in their favor to stay.

Romo ducked under a tackle by Jonathan Babineaux and got free. The next instant, he managed to jump out of the arms of defensive end John Abraham and pull himself together just long enough to spot Patrick Crayton in the end zone with 6 seconds left.

"He was Houdini today," DeCoud said. "He made a lot of great escapes."

The Falcons opened the second half with another long drive. Running back Michael Turner capped a 12-play, 87-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 17-14. But the Cowboys continued to pick away at the secondary.

Austin made another big play, this one including a broken tackle on his way to the end zone on a 22-yard touchdown.

"I looked back and I took the wrong angle," Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes said. "I didn't wrap up my tackle."

Grimes wasn't the only Falcons defensive back who had trouble with the emerging Austin.

"He's got good size to him," Grimes said of the 6-foot-3, 214-pound wideout. "He can create separation at the top of the route with his size. That's what I saw today. He made a couple of plays over the top."

The Cowboys added a 46-yard field goal from Nick Folk before Crayton blew the game open with a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown with 8:38 left, making it 34-14.

"This is a team that has covered punts extremely well," Smith said. "Those are all alarms that come up that have to be addressed."

The Falcons added a 30-yard touchdown by Eric Weems and Dallas added another Folk field goal to close the scoring.

Quick hits

3 keys to the game

1 The Falcons' secondary gave up its second consecutive 300-plus-yard passing effort. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo completed 21 of 29 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Unlike Chicago's Jay Cutler, who passed for 300 yards last week against the Falcons , Romo didn't throw any interceptions. The Falcons were playing their first game without cornerback Brian Williams, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week against Chicago.

2 The Falcons' offensive line had their helmets handed to them by Dallas' defensive front. The unit entered the game not having allowed a sack over the last 133 passing attempts. They had only given up two sacks on the season. The Cowboys posted four sacks. DeMarcus Ware had two sacks. Marcus Spears had one and Jay Ratliff had one. Ratliff also had four tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble.

3Who's this Miles Austin kid? Falcons cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Chris Houston know who he is now. He finished with six catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons . One was on a blown coverage, where he ran across the defense and away from safety Thomas DeCoud for a 59-yard touchdown. The other was a 22-yard touchdown reception where he broke away from Grimes. This was Austin's second NFL start. In his first career start, he caught 10 passes for team-record 250 yards receiving against Kansas City. Austin is a big receiver at 6-foot-3, 214 pounds, and was a mismatch for Grimes, who's listed at 5-foot-10, 181 pounds.

By the numbers

11:23

The time the Falcons possessed the ball in the first quarter, which included a 16-play touchdown drive that took 8:34 off the clock.

2

The Falcons had only given up two sacks entering the game, but gave up back-to-back sacks by Marcus Spears and DeMarcus Ware in the first quarter.

2

Number of tackles by Dallas linebacker Keith Brooking.

31

Longest run of the game. Jason Snelling broke loose for it in the third quarter.

66.1

Matt Ryan's quarterback rating. He completed 19 of 35 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Etc.

Roddy White's 4-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was his fifth of the season.

Linebacker Spencer Adkins and cornerback Tye Hill were both active for the first time this season. Adkins, a rookie, played on the kickoff return team. Hill did not play in the game.

Injury report

Defensive tackle Thomas Johnson (calf): Was injured in the third quarter and did not return.

Next for Falcons

Who: at Saints

When: 8:30 p.m. Nov. 2

TV; radio: ESPN; 92.9

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