Falcons stay undefeated but still aren't satisfied

• The Falcons moved to 8-0 after defeating the Cowboys on Sunday night.
• Tony Gonzalez said he's not bothered by the lack of buzz surrounding the team after Week 9.
• Missed field goals and blocks were among the mistakes players highlighted after Sunday's game.

ATLANTA -- No one was celebrating inside the Atlanta Falcons' locker room Sunday night, not after scoring only one touchdown while their quarterback threw for 342 yards, their running back ran for 102 yards and two receivers each amassed more than 100 yards.

That's a lot of acreage for a touchdown and four field goals.

So, the Falcons, now 8-0, know why they are still doubted nationally after a 19-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at the Georgia Dome. And as the NFL's lone unbeaten team at the season's halfway point, they know they're far from perfect. There's still a lot to prove in the remaining eight regular-season games, never mind the postseason.

You'd think the national media would be in love with an 8-0 team. Not so. It's skeptical.

"The buzz will come if we keep doing what we've been doing,'' Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez said. "Also, I understand why it hasn't been there. We haven't had success in the playoffs. So everybody's like, 'Oh, same story. They're good during the regular season. So let's not make a big deal out of it, because they're going to lose in the playoffs.'

"It's got to change if we keep doing what we've been doing.''

Gonzalez then added a qualifier: "We're better than this. We have to score more touchdowns.''

The Falcons rolled up 453 yards -- to 377 for the Cowboys -- while converting seven of 14 third downs. But they didn't cross the goal line until Michael Turner's 3-yard touchdown gave the Falcons a 13-6 lead with 14:16 left.

"We don't care how much media attention or credit we get right now," center Todd McClure said. "All we care is that people are talking about us come February.''

Well, then, they've got some cleaning up to do – (long-term) before people take them seriously as a Super Bowl contender, and (short term) before Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.

Consider:

• Kicker Matt Bryant made four field goals, but he missed a pair of attempts.

• Cornerback Dunta Robinson, targeted by Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, struggled and committed two pass-interference penalties.

• The Falcons' offensive line yielded three sacks, and fullback Lousaka Polite twice missed on blitz protections.

Quarterback Matt Ryan took the blame when he got blasted in the second quarter and separated from the football by linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who reached Ryan untouched, thanks to left tackle Sam Baker, who slid right instead of left.

"Obviously, I didn't slide the protection the way I needed to,'' Ryan said. "But I thought our offensive line battled and played really well. Any way you can find a way to win is a positive in this league. We need to clean some things up, but at the end of the day, it's about finding ways to win.''

Receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones combined for 13 catches and 247 yards as Ryan kept exploiting voids in the Cowboys' coverage.

After he was held to 18 yards on eight first-half carries, running back Michael Turner broke a 44-yard run at the end of the third quarter that set up his tie-breaking touchdown.

"I always feel good to break a big play, especially at that moment of the game,'' said Turner, who finished with 102 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. "It seemed like the team fed off that play, off that drive. Throughout this season, we've been finding different ways to win games. We've shown our character."

Someone rattled off the Falcons' stats, including Ryan's career-best 342 yards passing that lacked a touchdown pass.

"It doesn't make much sense, putting up stats like that,'' Gonzalez said. "But at the same time, we did what we had to do. It isn't too much about stats. It's about coming out and getting those victories. We didn't turn the ball over. That's important.''

After Romo found Kevin Ogletree for a 21-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 16-13 with 5:21 left, Ryan hit tailback Jacquizz Rodgers on a pair of third-down checkdowns that went for 31 and 11 yards. That set up Bryant's clinching 32-yard field goal.

At the other end of a Georgia Dome hallway, Romo -- who threw for 321 yards, a touchdown with no interceptions -- sat at a dais, trying to explain another lost opportunity by the Cowboys, who are 3-5 and teetering on the brink.

"The message is we just need to win,'' Romo said. "It's nothing more than to find a way to do things better to win a game. And to do it now.''

The Falcons found a way, fighting back from a 6-0 early deficit. And yet, they're still doubted, still far from perfect.

"We have no respect yet,'' safety William Moore said. "They're not going to respect us until we get a ring.''