SEATTLE – The game-winning field goal – at least that's what it should have been – was only 19 yards long, the equivalent of an extra point. It should have been a chip shot. A no-brainer. Heck, even Mike Vanderjagt couldn't have missed it. It's the kind of kick Martin Gramatica makes blindfolded, but he never got the opportunity to be the hero Saturday night at Qwest Field.
Tony Romo botched the hold. He tried to run, needing a half-yard for a first down and a full yard for a touchdown, but he didn't make it. And just like that, the Cowboys' season ended in dramatic, heart-breaking fashion.
Seattle 21, Dallas 20.
Unbelievable. You can watch Romo mishandle the snap over and over on TiVo this morning, and you still won't believe it.
"I just didn't catch the ball. I didn't get it down," he said. "It happened pretty quick. Obviously, it cost us the game."
No longer is Romo the toast of the town. No one cares about the record-setting performance on Thanksgiving Day, when he tossed five touchdown passes. Or the Pro Bowl berth. Or the budding romance with Carrie Underwood.
None of that matters. Now Romo finds himself linked with Leon Lett. At least for a little while. Maybe one day he'll lead Dallas to a playoff win or a championship, and Saturday's gaffe will simply be a footnote in his career.
For now, it defines his career.
That's not fair, but that's the reality. Think about it. For a few years, Lett was among the game's best defensive linemen, but his career remains defined by two infamous plays: his premature celebration of an apparent touchdown in Super Bowl XXVII and his 1993 Thanksgiving Day mistake that turned a sure win over Miami into defeat in the final seconds.
Romo deserves a better fate, but he'll have to earn it.
This is the bloody nose Bill Parcells has talked about all season. The great ones, Parcells likes to say, can overcome a dreadful performance, put it behind them and continue playing well. Those who can't handle the pressure of booing fans or the harsh criticism on sports talk radio never reach their full potential.
So Romo finds himself at a crossroads, because this is not about whether he has the talent to succeed. The next few months will demonstrate whether he has the mental toughness to lead America's Team.
"It hurts real bad right now to think about it, because I know how hard everyone in that locker room worked to get in this position. For it to end like that and for me to be the cause is very tough right now," Romo said. "At some point – I don't know when and it won't be anytime soon – you'll have to move on and get ready for next season."
And it will be painful for him to face his teammates and coaches – passing game coordinator Todd Haley cried in the locker room after the game – because Romo is the reason the Cowboys were unable to end a 10-season stretch with no playoff wins, the longest in franchise history.
This game might have been the last in Parcells' Hall of Fame career. Perhaps, Jerry Jones will want a change after four seasons with Parcells, a 34-32 overall record and no playoff victories. After all, Parcells doesn't make it fun for Jones to come to work because the coach demands so much control. Jones understood the rules when he hired Parcells and respects them, but winning would make it easier to work within the parameters Parcells has established.
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BRAD LOPER / DMN Tony Romo is dejected as he walks off the field after being tackled short of the end zone. |
Still, for the first time since Troy Aikman retired after the 2000 season, the Cowboys enter the off-season confident the Quarterback of the Future is on their roster. Romo wasn't great Saturday, completing 17 of 29 passes for 189 yards with a touchdown, but he didn't throw an interception for the first time in five games.
While Romo said during the week he didn't think a playoff game would feel any different than any other game he played this season, it's pretty clear the atmosphere affected him. What other explanation is there for a 65-percent passer bouncing four throws in the first half and sailing another over Terrell Owens' head?
But with Dallas trailing by a point and 4:24 left in the season, Romo completed each of his three passes for 30 yards and directed an eight-play drive that put the Cowboys on the brink of victory.
Then he botched the hold.
"We were in position to win it, if we could have just executed an extra point," Parcells said. "It's frustrating because we were in position to win the game. It was a tough one. You have to finish games. You have to do it."
Or deal with the consequences.
E-mail jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
| PLAYOFF OPENERS |
| How Cowboys quarterbacks have fared in their first playoff starts: |
| Quarterback | Date | Opp. | W/L | Com. | Att. | Yds. | TD | Int. |
| Don Meredith | Jan. 1, 1967 | Green Bay | L | 15 | 31 | 238 | 1 | 1 |
| Craig Morton | Dec. 28, 1969 | Cleveland | L | 8 | 24 | 92 | 0 | 2 |
| Roger Staubach | Dec. 25, 1972 | Minnesota | W | 10 | 14 | 99 | 1 | 0 |
| Danny White | Dec. 28, 1980 | Los Angeles | W | 12 | 25 | 190 | 3 | 3 |
| Steve Beuerlein | Dec. 29, 1991 | Chicago | W | 9 | 18 | 180 | 1 | 0 |
| Troy Aikman | Jan. 10, 1993 | Philadelphia | W | 15 | 25 | 200 | 2 | 0 |
| Quincy Carter | Jan. 3, 2004 | Carolina | L | 21 | 36 | 154 | 0 | 1 |
| Tony Romo | Jan. 6, 2007 | Seattle | L | 17 | 29 | 189 | 1 | 0 |
