The Falcons, making their first appearance on Monday Night Football since 1996, make their first trip to Dallas since '96.

The Cowboys have more than doubled Atlanta's victory total in this series (13-6, including playoffs) and have prevailed two straight and 4 of the last 5 meetings dating back to 1991, the most recent a 32-28 triumph in three years ago at Texas Stadium.

Including playoffs, Falcons are 2-7 lifetime at Dallas (2-5 at Texas Stadium) and have dropped three straight at Irving dating back to 1988.

Numbers: IF HE PLAYS: Falcons' QB Chris Chandler has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 27 straight games dating back to '97. From 1988-93, Chandler owned a combined 15-24 record as a starter with the Colts, Buccaneers and Cardinals, throwing 34 touchdown passes and 48 interceptions. From 1994-99 (including playoffs), Chandler is a combined 35-28 as a starter with the Rams, Oilers and Falcons, throwing 90 TD passes and just 46 interceptions. Including playoffs, the Falcons are 22-10 with Chandler as the starter while Falcons' backup quarterbacks are 1-3 dating back to '97. Including playoffs, Falcons have scored 469 points in 16 wins (29.3 PPG), but just 56 points in 4 losses (14.0 PPG) dating back to '98. Falcons RB Jamal Anderson has rushed for 100 or more yards in 13 of his last 18 contests dating back to '98, including playoffs.

Including playoffs, in 10 games vs. NFC East rivals dating back to '98, Cowboys are 9-1, totaling 269 points (26.9 PPG) and 29 offensive touchdowns in those 10 contests. In eight games vs. the rest of the NFL dating back to '98, Cowboys were 2-6, totaling 160 points (20.0 PPG) and 16 offensive touchdowns. Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith has totaled 126 rushing touchdowns, 36 of those scores from 1 yard out. Smith has rushed for 100 or more yards in 7 of his last 13 contests dating back to '98. IF HE PLAYS: Including playoffs, Cowboys CB Deion Sanders has scored 21 touchdowns in six different ways (8 interceptions, 5 punt returns, 3 kickoff returns, 3 receptions, 1 rushing and 1 fumble recovery) in 10 NFL seasons (1989-98). Including playoffs, the Cowboys allowed 16 TD passes in their last nine games dating back to '98, this after giving up just nine touchdown passes in their first nine contests in '98.

Things To Look For: Dallas' offense, in particular the passing game, looks young again as a revamped offensive line and the addition of WR Raghib Ismail paid big dividends in last week's comeback against the Redskins. Meanwhile, Falcons' head coach Dan Reeves has to be concerned with the iffy status of injured QB Chris Chandler and WR Chris Calloway, meaning a very busy evening for RB Jamal Anderson.

Etc.: The Falcons are making their first of three Monday night appearances this season and are 5-15 lifetime on Monday Night Football, including just 1-7 on the road. The Falcons have lost eight straight games on Monday Night Football dating back to 1981 (outscored a combined 269-100 in those 8 contests)--tying the record for the worst streak in MNF history--and have lost their last four games on Monday Night Football (dating back to 1992) by 24 points or more (outscored a combined 161-47 in those 4 contests).

The Cowboys are making their first of three Monday night appearances this season and are 32-23 lifetime on Monday Night Football, including 15-9 at home. They are making their 56th appearance on Monday Night Football, second-most in NFL history next to the Dolphins (61). One-time Cowboys player and assistant coach Dan Reeves is 3-7 lifetime vs. the Cowboys as a head coach with the Broncos (1-1) and Giants (2-6) and is facing Dallas for the first time as Falcons' head coach. Including playoffs, Falcons are 22-6 in their last 28 contests (after opening 1-7 in 1997) dating back to '97.

Falcons PK Morten Andersen has scored at least one point in an NFL-record 239 straight games. Cowboys WR Michael Irvin (745) needs 5 catches to tie Charlie Joiner (750) for 9th place on the NFL's all-time receptions list. Irvin (11,859) needs 141 yards to become just the 9th player in NFL history with 12,000 receiving yards. Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith (12,675) needs 64 yards to tie Tony Dorsett (12,739) for 4th place on the NFL's all-time rushing list. Smith (2,937) needs 12 rushing attempts to tie Franco Harris (2,949) for 5th place on the NFL's all-time rushing attempts list.