In the minutes after his four-sack performance against Michael Vick and the Eagles, DeMarcus Ware gave the impression of a man who felt his career game had been wasted.
The Cowboys outside linebacker took down Philadelphia's scrambling dynamo for a two-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage, and from there things quickly spiraled out of control for the Cowboys. The Eagles would score touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead, and added field goals on their next two, the outcome of the tame barely in doubt for five minutes at the beginning.
Ware would eventually post a sack in each quarter, dropping Vick and the Eagles for a total loss of 23 yards. It wasn't enough to matter, though, as they compiled 495 yards of total offense.
"I think it really doesn't even matter, to think about that," Ware said of his big game. "We were able to get some pressure on him, but we've just got to go back this week and watch the film, and correct the things we need to correct and get better for the next game. You can't sort of harp on how things went this week. You've got to get better and, you know, it's just one game."
Through just seven games, Ware already has 12.0 sacks on the year, only a half-sack behind league-leader Jared Allen of Minnesota, who has played one more game.
Ware surpassed his previous career high of three sacks in a game, which he has had seven times, and tied Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Charles Haley for second in the team record books for most sacks in a game, behind Bob Lilly and Jim Jeffcoat, who each had five.
The big night allowed Ware to reach double-digit sacks for a sixth consecutive season, however, getting the Cowboys back on the winning track is a more primary focus for him now.
"It has to be," Ware said. "Because we have a long season and we're just getting started."
So long, the season is, that Ware is on pace for more than 27.0 sacks, which would smash the league record.
