Emmitt Smith was one of only four backs in Week 1 with more than 100 yards rushing.

As the Cowboys rallied to beat the Redskins, Troy Aikman came up big. But in the second half, even when the Cowboys were behind, they stayed with Emmitt Smith and the running game. Sure, Aikman threw five touchdown passes, but looking at the tape, they really got back in the ballgame by running the football effectively.

At the end of the game, the big touchdown pass to Rocket Ismail was a replay of a play they ran earlier in the game that Rocket dropped. The Cowboys knew the play would be available to them later in the game.

For the Falcons, what hurt them against the Vikings in Week 1 was they turned the ball over and gave the Vikings a short field. In the first half, the Vikings never had to march 80 or more yards to score.

However, the Falcons defense was rock solid. If it weren't for two big pass-interference calls, the Falcons would have won the game. They did a nice job with their slanting, stunting scheme to blow things up in the Vikings' backfield, disrupt the running game, and pressure Randall Cunningham in the passing game. The Falcons' front seven were very effective.

Fast forwarding to Week 2, here are the keys for each team when they meet Monday night at Texas Stadium:

Atlanta Falcons
1. Big passing plays: If Chris Chandler doesn't play, that's a huge loss for the Falcons. He was the catalyst for their success last year. Jamal Anderson obviously had a big year, but the Falcons were clearly fueled by big plays out of the passing game. Chandler averaged 16.6 yards per completion last year, the most in the NFL.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Climbing the charts: Emmitt Smith needs just 65 yards to become the fourth-leading rusher in NFL history. When he gets it, he will pass ex-Cowboy Tony Dorsett as the franchise's all-time leading rusher. The Falcons defense is stingy, however, having allowed just two players to reach 100 yard rushing games in their last 28 games. (Curtis Martin had 101 yards last season, and Terrell Davis ran for 102 in Super Bowl XXXIII.) Hold onto it: The Falcons led the NFL with 44 takeaways in 1998. Their turnover margin of plus-20 was the best in NFL. But last week, they turned the ball over three times and did not have a takeaway. With a young inexperienced quarterback, the potential for disaster is high. It's hard to win in the NFL when you lose the turnover battle -- especially on the road. Good things come in threes: Troy Aikman threw for 362 yards last week. Emmitt Smith ran for 109 yards. Michael Irvin caught passes for 122 yards. The last time Dallas' "Triplets" reached the 300-, 100-, 100-yard marks was against Green Bay in October 1995 -- a year the Cowboys won the Super Bowl. Is this an omen?

The Falcons won games because they were able to score with big passing plays. That's why the loss of Chandler will really hurt them. If there's a change at quarterback, the Falcons will go to a much more conservative style of play. With Tony Graziani, the Falcons will scale down the game plan and feature more of a power running attack against the Cowboys than they would have if Chandler were playing because Dallas is very susceptible to the passing game.

Last week against Minnesota, the Falcons didn't get the big passing plays. Dan Reeves has always been able to manufacture points out of the passing game. The Falcons no longer have Tony Martin, hurting their ability to vertically stretch the defense. Even without blazing speed, big passing plays are absolutely critical for the Falcons to score points. They will pound the ball with Anderson, but Reeves will still look for a chink in the armor to get big plays, even with Graziani at quarterback.

2. Get O.J. Santiago involved: Santiago gives the Falcons big-play ability with his speed, quickness and size. If the Falcons can make the Cowboys respect the tight end, that will open things up on the outside for receivers Terance Mathis and Chris Calloway.

Defensively, the Cowboys are much less effective against the pass with Deion Sanders on the sidelines. The Falcons want to exploit cornerbacks Kevin Mathis and Charlie Williams on the outside. If they can keep Santiago involved and not allow the Dallas linebackers to help the cornerbacks, the Falcons can gain an advantage by getting their receivers in single coverage.

3. Pressure Troy Aikman: Aikman is the game's best timing and rhythm passer. The way the Falcons can break him down is by getting quick pressure on him. If they allow him to stand in the pocket with a nice cushion to deliver the football, he will eat the Falcons alive.

The Falcons will do what they did successfully against Randall Cunningham: run a number of zone blitzes and stunts and twists up the middle. That approach will give Aikman the perception that a Falcon defender is free coming up the middle, forcing him to move out of the pocket.

Dallas Cowboys
1. Improved defense: The Dallas defense must play better than it did against the Redskins. They were eaten up last week, giving up seven plays of 26 yards or more. It was a combination of bad coverage and poor tackling. It can't get any worse than that.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tony Graziani, Falcons QB: Scheduled to replace Chris Chandler, Graziani will need to get his first career TD pass for the Falcons to have a chance to win. Chris Calloway, Falcons WR: The replacement for Tony Martin, Calloway caught five passes and scored a touchdown in his Falcons debut. He needs just 61 receptions and five more touchdowns to match Martin's marks last season. Jessie Tuggle, Falcons LB: Tuggle is the heart and soul of the Atlanta defense, and his sights will be set on stopping Emmitt Smith. Flozell Adams, Cowboys LT: Check out the Hotel. Adams had a tough outing in his first start at left tackle last week, and he faces a formidable opponent this week in Chuck Smith. Raghib Ismail, Cowboys WR: The Rocket ignited in overtime for Dallas last week. Now he faces a Falcons secondary that fared well last week against Cris Carter, Randy Moss and Jake Reed. Alonzo Spellman, Cowboys DT: It's fitting that the troubled Spellman has been tapped as the replacement for the suspended Leon Lett in Dallas.

The defense failed to put sufficient pressure on Brad Johnson. One reason is the Cowboys tried to rush mainly with their four down linemen, a group without a pure pass rusher. I think they were more concerned with playing coverage. They had the linebackers playing deep to help the corners with the safeties, trying not to give up big plays, but that's exactly what happened.

I don't necessarily agree with Dallas' defensive style. If a team switches its strength by putting a player in motion, about four Dallas defenders move. That causes confusion. Offenses pick up on that scheme and will force the Cowboys to move and get people out of position. When a lot of defenders move when one offensive player moves, that plays to the advantage of the offense. Dan Reeves will devise ways to move his players around and confuse the Dallas defense. Washington did an excellent job of that.

2. Dominant offensive line: The Dallas offensive line looked absolutely phenomenal against Washington. Center Mark Stepnoski and tackle Larry Allen were dominant. Everett McIver and Erik Williams were solid on the right side. Flozell Adams might be the weakest of the bunch, which isn't bad because the other linemen are playing so well.

One of the best matchups to watch will be the Cowboys' offensive line against a solid Atlanta defensive line. With Lester Archambeau, Travis Hall, Shane Dronett and Chuck Smith, Atlanta has solid players up front who will slant, stunt and twist. They can cause problems for an offensive line. Fortunately for the Cowboys, they have an experienced group that should be able to handle the Falcons.

3. Deion Sanders: His status might be a game-time decision, but this seems like a Deion game to me: in prime time on Monday night.

The Cowboys need Sanders in the game. He is the best cover cornerback in the league, and when he's in the game, he is a shut-down corner. The Cowboys will put Sanders on one receiver, and Deion will shut him down. That allows you to take the rest of the secondary and double-team someone else. Right now, without him, they don't have that luxury.

Deion's presence allows the safeties to give the other Cowboy cornerback, either Mathis or Williams, some help. If Deion doesn't play, the Cowboys will probably play more double-zone coverage, with the safeties dividing and helping the cornerbacks out deep. That leaves the middle of the field vulnerable. The Cowboys would then have to tighten up the defense with their linebackers, particularly Dexter Coakley getting some depth to protect the middle.

Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski appears each week on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown and Edge NFL Matchup.