Tony Romo’s Last Stand

Added on Dec 28, 2012 by Scott in

NFL

Fair or not, if the Cowboys lose on Sunday to Washington and see their playoff (and Super Bowl) aspirations go up in smoke, much of the blame will be placed at the feet of quarterback Tony Romo. The oft embattled signal-caller has endured heaps of criticism during his seven seasons as “the man” under center in Big D. A victory over the Redskins wouldn’t remove all of the tarnish, but it would definitely help repair some of the festering wounds Romo still bears.

Romo and his charges have been in this spot twice before and failed miserably both times. In 2011, they lost to the Giants 31-14, and were crushed by the Eagles 44-6 in 2008. Romo accounted for five turnovers in the losses and appeared ill prepared to perform in the spotlight. A third shot at exorcising the demons might be Romo’s last.

The good news is that Dallas has been flying under the radar most of the season. The faceplants by the Giants and Eagles coupled with Robert Griffin’s emergence as a superstar have crowded the NFC East headlines for months. All the while, the ‘Boys were steadily climbing back into the hunt.

Dallas has won five of seven with Romo playing some of the most poised football of his career. During the seven-game surge, he has tossed 14 touchdowns against three interceptions and lost only one fumble. With assistance from a suddenly dominant Dez Bryant and the always reliable Jason Witten, Romo is resembling a quarterback on a mission.

Of course we’ve seen glimpses of greatness from Romo before, and they are usually followed by embarrassing blunders (e.g. the botched field goal hold in the 2007 playoff defeat to Seattle). For Romo to quiet his many detractors, he must avoid similar mistakes on Sunday.

The Redskins are a confident bunch, but they are also vulnerable in the one area Romo can exploit. Their 30th ranked secondary has given them fits all season, and Romo lit them up for a season high 441 yards in the first meeting. In other words, he has no excuses not to play well.

It’s not likely the Cowboys will jettison Romo if he comes up small again. After all, finding talented starting quarterbacks isn’t as easy as it looked in 2012. However, that doesn’t mean Jerry Jones won’t begin weighing his options, either.