Dallas at Tennessee trying to avoid 0-2 start

TERESA M. WALKER
AP Pro Football Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — It’s only Week 2, and the Dallas Cowboys already face a crucial road trip to Tennessee.

The Cowboys are coming off a 28-17 opening loss to San Francisco at home in which they turned over the ball four times in the first half, with Tony Romo intercepted three times. Now Dallas is trying to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2010. That season the Cowboys started 1-7, and Jason Garrett was promoted to head coach for the second half of the schedule.

“It’s going to be difficult, but we’ve got to go in there and do what we need to do and try to figure out a way to get a win,” Romo said.

Garrett said they have a lot of respect for Tennessee after the Titans won 26-10 in Kansas City.

“Our focus is on ourselves …,” Garrett said.

The Titans (1-0) know there will be plenty of Cowboys’ fans in the stands at LP Field on Sunday, and they are on a mission under first-year coach Ken Whisenhunt to earn back their own fans. Titans left tackle Michael Roos remembers folks filling every seat, cheering so loudly the noise was deafening as the Titans stacked up win after win on their home turf.

“Hopefully fans can see this is a different kind of team,” Roos said. “We’ve been working hard, and we need all the fans in the seats we can get. It’s always been sold out, but it hasn’t always been full. The Cowboys will have their fans just like they always do in any stadium in the NFL. … I think the more fans we can get in there the better, and get back that home-field advantage we used to have.”

The Titans haven’t worn more than five home games in a season since 2008 when they went 13-3 — their last playoff appearance. Now Whisenhunt, their third coach since then, wants to build off that opening win and make LP Field a special place to be.

“We have to establish a bond with our fans,” Whisenhunt said. “We haven’t done that yet. This team hasn’t done it. That’s important for us to come out there and do that. The only way you can do that is playing a game and getting a win, because that creates a special bond.”

Here are a few items to watch Sunday:

ROMO’S RECOVERY: Romo said he was fine physically in his first real game since back surgery last December. But he said the mental side of the game might have suffered through lighter work in the offseason and preseason. “What can happen is you lose certain subtle things that need to continually be there beforehand,” Romo said. “I think that comes with playing. I’m disappointed it obviously took a game to get to that point, but it’ll be different going forward.”

LOCKER TIME: Titans quarterback Jake Locker is off to a strong start in a contract year. The Titans didn’t pick up his 2015 option, so the eighth pick overall in 2011 has to prove he’s worthy of a new deal. Locker threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas City, giving him a 111.4 passer rating. That was the third highest in his 19 career starts and was fifth best among NFL quarterbacks in the opening week — second in the AFC to only Peyton Manning.

MCCLAIN BACK IN SEC COUNTRY: Dallas linebacker Rolando McClain, who tied for the team lead in tackles in his first game since 2012, comes back to SEC country. The former Alabama star will make his second start for the Cowboys less than two months after getting sentenced to 18 days in jail on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct in his hometown of Decatur, Alabama.

DEFENSIVE ISSUE: The Cowboys, who gave up 127 yards rushing, will be tested with linebacker Justin Durant possibly out with an injured groin. The Titans ran for 162 yards in Kansas City, and their defense played even better, coming up with four sacks and three turnovers.

SERIES: This will be only the 13th meeting between these teams, and Dallas has won two of the last three. This will the Cowboys’ first trip to Tennessee since Oct. 1, 2006, another Dallas win better known for Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth stepping on center Andre Gurode’s face. That earned him a five-game suspension.

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AP Sports Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org

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Follow Teresa M. Walker on Twitter: http://twitter.com/teresamwalker

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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