Rick Gosselin

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In the third week of the season against Carolina, the Cowboys assigned cornerback Terence Newman man-to-man coverage of Steve Smith all over the field. In a battle of Pro Bowlers, Newman limited Smith to four catches for a harmless 38 yards, and the Cowboys won easily.

The Cowboys may want to give Newman the same coverage detail Sunday night against DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jackson was dazzling as a rookie in 2008, catching a team-leading 62 passes for 912 yards and two touchdowns. But he has been electrifying in 2009.

Jackson has scored five touchdowns, and all have covered at least 50 yards. That ties Timmy Brown's franchise record for 50-yard scores in a season (1962) and leaves Jackson two shy of the NFL mark shared by Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsh (1951) and Devin Hester (2007).

Jackson has scored on receptions of 71 yards against New Orleans, 64 against Kansas City, 57 against Washington and 54 against the Giants. He also took an end around 67 yards for a touchdown against the Redskins.

Jackson is second on the team with 24 catches, and has a Bob Hayes-like average of 20.9 yards per reception. He has 100-yard receiving games against the Chiefs (149) and Saints (101).

Jackson is the first name on any defensive checklist. If you don't control Jackson and his 4.38 speed, the Eagles become a big-play, quick-strike offense.

Except for the second game of the season, when Mario Manningham and the other Steve Smith combined to catch 20 passes for 284 yards for the New York Giants, wide receivers have done little damage to the Cowboys this season.

But with the exception of Carolina's Smith, Brandon Marshall (Denver) and Roddy White (Atlanta), the Cowboys haven't been facing top-shelf receivers each week. They will Sunday night, which is why you tell Newman it's time to use his Pro Bowl skills again to control another game-breaker.