The Heisman Trophy came years ago, and the aura that surrounded it had faded long before Ron Dayne arrived in Denver this year after five seasons with the Giants.
He was the third-string running back with the Broncos and was not even dressing for each game. But when he finally got his chance, Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium, on national television, Dayne gave a glimpse of the feared runner he used to be.
Dayne scored one touchdown and set up the game-winning field goal with a 55-yard run in overtime as Denver beat the Cowboys, 24-21, in a tense game featuring teams that are likely to advance to the postseason.
PHOTO: EPA
Denver improved to 9-2, second best in the American Football Conference. Dallas (7-4) dropped a half-game behind the Giants, whom they face on Dec. 4 at Giants Stadium, where Dayne was an afterthought on the bench of coach Tom Coughlin.
"They gave me a chance, and I guess I wasn't the back they were looking for," Dayne said of his often frustrating times with the Giants, while crediting Denver's Mike Shanahan.
"Coach Shanahan believed in me and he gave me the opportunity to play. And every time he gives me the opportunity, I'm going to do my best to help the team win and show Coach that I wasn't no bust."
PHOTO: AP
Dayne got his chance Thursday because Mike Anderson could not go it alone against a physical Dallas defense that went into the game ranked ninth against the run. Anderson's backup, Tatum Bell, was on the inactive list because of a chest injury he sustained against the Jets last Sunday.
Dayne, the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner at Wisconsin and first-round pick of the Giants in 2000, made the most of his rare appearance.
He had 98 yards on seven carries and scored his first touchdown of the season. His one-game production was more than half his total yards for last season, when he rushed 52 times for 179 yards. Dayne was on the inactive list for the 2003 season.
In the 10 games before Thursday's, Dayne had gained 53 yards on 13 carries.
"Ron has been waiting for his opportunity," Shanahan said. "He's been an excellent running back. Our other two running backs have done well. Tatum wasn't ready to go. Ron got an opportunity and really took advantage of his opportunity. Didn't surprise anybody.
"It's sure nice to see a guy that's worked as hard as Ron has worked to get the opportunity and show up like he did today."
The Cowboys could blame themselves for letting the game go to overtime.
Dallas was seemingly on its way to breaking a 21-21 tie with 7 minutes 42 seconds left in regulation after driving deep into Denver territory. But Billy Cundiff, one of three kickers the Cowboys tried this season, missed wide left on a 34-yard field goal attempt.
"It's very humbling, but you have to move on," said Cundiff, who is in his second stint with Dallas. "I cost us the game. A lot of guys out there fought hard and I lost it. I thought I hit it well. I looked up and it was left.
"I've been around long enough to know, if you see me on Sunday, you see me on Sunday. I hope I get another chance."
He never got a chance to redeem himself against Denver, because the Broncos never gave Dallas another shot. The Cowboys never touched the ball in overtime.
Denver won the coin toss and Dayne got the call. On the second play of overtime, Dayne ran left and cut back up the field, breaking free for a 55-yard gain to the Dallas 6-yard line.
Anderson wasn't surprised.
"Believe me, he's kind of overshadowed, but we are talking about a Heisman Trophy winner here," he said. "You know what I mean? Can't sleep on him."
Shanahan did not bother to go for the touchdown. Jason Elam trotted out and kicked a 24-yard field goal with 13:39 left in overtime to win the game.
The Broncos pulled ahead by 21-14 in the third quarter when Dayne scored on a 16-yard run at 5:47. Dayne's romp past the Cowboys' vaunted run defense capped a 90-yard drive.
But Denver, which went into the game with nine turnovers all season, gave up the lead shortly after when Anderson fumbled and Dallas safety Roy Williams recovered the ball at the Broncos' 10-yard line. Three plays later, Drew Bledsoe hit tight end Jason Witten with a 4-yard touchdown pass at 13:36 of the fourth to tie score, 21-21.
The teams traded momentum and touchdowns as the first half ended in a 14-14 tie, Bledsoe helping both teams along the way. He threw two interceptions, including one that Champ Bailey returned for a touchdown. But Bledsoe also threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score.
Denver quarterback Jake Plummer had his streak of passes without an interception stopped at 229 when Terence Newman picked off a pass with 8:36 to go in the second quarter. Plummer's streak dated to a 20-17 victory against San Diego on Sept. 18.
The Atlanta Falcons dominated the Detroit Lions so thoroughly, Michael Vick was able to kick back and relax.
Vick threw two touchdown passes to Alge Crumpler, and Warrick Dunn ran for 116 yards to lead Atlanta to a 27-7 win over Detroit.
"It's always nice when you get an opportunity in the fourth quarter to sit down, enjoy the moment and the victory," Vick said.
While he was chilling and Detroit fans were leaving, Falcons coach Jim Mora was probably the only one nervous about replacing his exciting quarterback with Matt Schaub early in the fourth quarter.
"When you've lost two in a row, it's hard to feel you've got one in the bag," Mora said. "Until the very end, I was on pins and needles not having Mike in there."
Atlanta (7-4) took advantage of playing the lowly Lions (4-7), closing the gap behind NFC South co-leaders Carolina and Tampa Bay to a half-game after losing two straight at home.
"Our division is probably one of the toughest in the league, so we have a long way to go before we even think about the playoffs," Dunn said.
The Falcons improved to 4-1 away from home.
"We're road warriors," Crumpler said.
The only positive for Detroit was this: The result of its annual Thanksgiving game wasn't as bad as last year, when Indianapolis beat the Lions 41-9, handing them their most lopsided loss on the holiday.
Like last season's matchup, however, the visitors were ahead by so much in the fourth quarter they rested their star quarterback.
"It was ugly and it was embarrassing," said Joey Harrington, one of three QBs Detroit used.
Vick was 12-for-22 for 146 yards with two TDs and an interception. Crumpler tied career highs with seven receptions and two TDs, and had 104 yards receiving.
"Eighty percent of the time, Alge's open," Vick said. "He knows how to create space for himself and he's always there. He's my guy."
Dunn went over the 100-yard mark on just 17 carries, thanks in part to some huge holes opened up by the offensive line, and topped 1,000 yards for the second straight season.
"Today was just a total team win," Crumpler said. "Our defense came out and created turnovers. Offensively, we controlled the clock."
Atlanta, the NFL's top rushing team, ran for 256 yards.
The Lions had such a rough day they went through three quarterbacks.
Harrington started and was 6-of-13 for 61 yards with an interception. Jeff Garcia entered late in the first half and completed 14 of 24 passes for 154 yards with a TD and an interception. Rookie Dan Orlovsky, who got a chance to play late, was 5-of-11 for 43 yards and, fittingly, a fumble with 15 seconds left just outside Atlanta's end zone.
When Detroit's quarterbacks did make good passes, the receivers often dropped them.
The Falcons led 17-0 early in the second quarter after scoring on three of their first four drives while Detroit had turnovers on its first two possessions.
Vick's second TD pass to Crumpler, a 32-yard connection, put Atlanta ahead 24-0 on its first second-half possession.
On the ensuing drive, Garcia was intercepted when he threw a long pass to Mike Williams, who instead ran an out pattern.
That's when the first wave of fans at Ford Field headed for the exits.
Todd Peterson's 23-yard field goal gave the Falcons a 27-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
A lucky bounce helped the Lions avoid the shutout.
Garcia's pass to Roy Williams was broken up by DeAngelo Hall, then bounced off safety Keion Carpenter before Williams caught it for a 31-yard TD with 9:18 left.
In what has become a Motor City tradition, some fans chanted, "Let's Go Red Wings!" late in the fourth quarter as perhaps 5,000 spectators hung around for some unknown reason.
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