improved their defense before the 2005 season, adding DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Kevin Burnett, and Chris Canty through the draft. Parcells hoped to jumpstart the team's transition from the traditional 4–3 defense, which had been the Cowboys' base defense for the past 20 years, to his preferred 3–4 defense, which he believed favors the talents of the current lineup (speed and athleticism over power). Jerry Jones also added a number of veterans, including nose tackle Jason Ferguson and cornerback Anthony Henry via free agency. On offense, the Cowboys tried to upgrade their passing game by signing free agent quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe had a solid year and gave the Cowboys stability at the quarterback position, which had been lacking since Troy Aikman's retirement five years earlier. The Cowboys endured an up-and-down 2005 season. Entering Thanksgiving the Cowboys had a 7–3 record, Dallas finished the season 2–4 and missed the playoffs. An injury to kicker Billy Cundiff led to inconsistency at that position, and costly misses contributed to close losses against the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. Shortly before the regular season finale, the Cowboys learned that they had been eliminated from the playoff chase, and turned in a listless performances against the St. Louis Rams on ESPN Sunday Night Football to finish the season 9–7, 3rd place in the NFC East. 2006 The Cowboys got off to a mediocre 3–2 start before an important Monday Night Football game against division rivals, the New York Giants. The team lost 36-22 despite "a changing of guard" at the quarterback position from Drew Bledsoe to Tony Romo. With the next three games on the road, speculation grew that the Giants could run away with the division for a second straight year. Romo won his first game as a starter the following week against the Carolina Panthers with a 4th quarter comeback to win (35–14). The Cowboys' chance to challenge the Giants seemingly fizzled when they lost to the Washington Redskins at FedExField on a last-second field goal (the "Hand of God" game) However, the Giants entered a slump, and Tony Romo impressed the media as a quarterback, revitalizing the Cowboys with a 27–10 win over the Cardinals, a well-earned (21–14) victory over the previously unbeaten Colts, and a thorough routing of Tampa Bay (38–10) on Thanksgiving Day. During that home game, Romo solidified his position as quarterback and completed 22-of-29 passes for 306