Romo’s return buoys ’Boys
MIAMI G ARDENS, FLA. Tony Romo has brought back hope — and another layer of hype — for the most dramatic team in the NFL.
After the Dallas Cowboys failed to win a game without Romo, in seven tries, the heavens opened up over Sun Life Stadium on Sunday and rained further mockery on the NFC East. The Cowboys are 3-7 ... just two games behind the first-place New York Giants. Half-full or half-empty? “It’s an ugly baby,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a corner of the locker room, not long after his team’s 24-14 victory against the Miami Dolphins. “But it’s our baby.”
No team in NFL history has won a division crown after losing seven consecutive games, but the Cowboys’ task isn’t as far-fetched as it might appear when considering two things:
uThree teams over the last five seasons have won division ti- tles with .500 records or worse, and all three advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs.
uRomo, who might have been the NFL’s MVP last year if not for Aaron Rodgers, is a major difference-maker.
Romo did have to shake off rust Sunday after missing two months. That’s to be expected, just as it should have been when all-pro wideout Dez Bryant made his fast return from a broken foot three weeks ago. Getting back into the flow is not automatic.
But more often than not, Romo proved in his return that he was this team’s missing piece. His body language and command at the line of scrimmage was evident as he changed plays at the line, pointing out potential blitzers and barking other orders. When it came to spotting holes in the Miami defense and executing the plays to be made — like the 16yard touchdown pass to Bryant in
the fourth quarter that put Dallas ahead for good — it was so evident that the Cowboys were again operating as designed.
Maybe more striking, though, was that the long layoff didn’t rob Romo of his ability to improvise and create something from potential disasters. The first test came early, right after a driving rainstorm suddenly struck as the Cowboys started their first drive on their 4-yard line. On thirdand-10, blitzing linebacker Neville Hewitt made a beeline toward Romo in the end zone. Romo switched the ball to his left hand as he scrambled and flipped it to tailback Darren McFadden to avoid a safety. In the rain.
The play wound up a yard shy of moving the chains, but the alternative was much worse.
“That play defines him so well,” Jones said.
Romo found some significance in it, too. It was his first pass of the day. “I didn’t envision, my two-month layoff, coming back with a left-hander,” he said.
It helped that McFadden rushed for 129 yards as Dallas held the ball for nearly 39 minutes. That was reminiscent of the formula from the run to the NFC East crown last year, when Romo was more effective than ever within a balanced offense.
He completed 18 of 28 passes for 227 yards with two TDs on Sunday. He threw two interceptions, too, and had incompletions on throws toward tight end Jason Witten and Bryant that were memorable because they were, well, so off-target. He also absorbed a few hits, including two sacks. And on one scramble, he (and his collarbone) survived an open-field blast from notorious Ndamukong Suh.
“I got more comfortable as the game went on,” Romo said. “I think what happened was the combination of the situational thinking got better and better as the game went on. Then my footwork got better, and I got tighter with everything. I trusted what I was seeing.”
The same can be said for the Cowboys, trusting what they see in Romo.
“Nothing against (former back- up quarterback) Brandon (Weeden), nothing against Matt (Cassel), but we know who our leader is,” Bryant said.
Without Romo, the Cowboys didn’t score a touchdown in three of the seven games. With him, even the defense found pay dirt as linebacker Rolando McClain opened the scoring with a 12-yard interception return. What a difference ... “A quarterback makes,” defensive end Jeremy Mincey said, completing the sentence before I could finish it.
Romo’s presence fuels the defense, too, especially when he’s keeping drives alive. Dallas converted seven of 14 third downs and had one 93-yard touchdown drive that consumed 12 plays and 81⁄ minutes.
“When the offense can keep drives alive and keep a defense fresh,” Mincey said, “now you’re like, ‘I feel the energy. Might as well make a play.’ ”
Life’s easier with Romo even if the schedule isn’t. Next up, the undefeated Carolina Panthers on Thanksgiving.
Bryant, for one, says he won’t look at the standings.
“I can’t,” he said. “We can’t. It’s a distraction.”
The Cowboys know all about distractions. But at the moment, hope is a better sell.