EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Tony Romo picked up where he left off. But this wasn't really what Cowboys fans had in mind for the biggest game of the season. Romo picked up where he left off against the New York Giants six weeks ago, the game in which he replaced Drew Bledsoe at halftime and threw three interceptions in two quarters.
One play into the second quarter Sunday night, the Giants had raised their interception total against Romo to five. There had to be some fears among fans that this was the day that Romo returned to earth.
Instead, by dusk, with players dancing and leaping around Martin Gramatica, whose 46-yard kick sealed a 23-20 Cowboys victory, the Romo legend had merely grown.
"I've said that if I can have one quarterback for one drive, it's Tony Romo," tight end Jason Witten said. "He doesn't run great, he doesn't have the strongest arm. But in the end, I believe he will make the plays to win."
After New York had tied the score 13-13, the Cowboys got the ball twice, and Romo led the team on two scoring drives. His 12-play, 66-yard touchdown march included a great step-up-and-throw to Terrell Owens even when he could see he was going to get drilled by the Giants' Mathias Kiwanuka.
But he saved his biggest pass for his last completion.
The Giants had tied the score 20-20. With one minute to go at the Dallas 32, Romo needed to be at his big-play best. He was.
Rolling left out of the pocket, he launched a perfect throw to Witten for a 42-yard gain.
"He's not the No. 1 option on the play," said Romo. "But the way the protection went, I rolled left, and I saw him breaking open. He looked over his outside shoulder, which was a great intuitive move on his part, and I just got him the ball."
A perfect pass to end a less-than-perfect day to keep Romo's record as a starter almost perfect – 5-1 now and looking better all the time.
We have seen for six weeks that Romo can be very good, and he can be lucky, too. That's not an unusual trait for successful quarterbacks.
Romo had plenty of luck working for him Sunday. His first interception by Kiwanuka was fumbled right back to the Cowboys. No damage.
A pass completion to Patrick Crayton on the final touchdown drive looked like it was going to be intercepted and taken to the end zone by the Giants' Gibril Wilson. The ball just eluded Wilson's fingertips before reaching Crayton.
Romo said he saw Wilson at the last second and threw the ball a little farther to the right than he initially planned.
OK, maybe he is that good. But maybe he's a little lucky, too.
It doesn't matter. Eli Manning outplayed Romo – that had something to do with the duress that Romo was under and the pressure that was nowhere to be seen on Manning – but Romo was at his best in the fourth quarter.
That's why the Cowboys own a two-game advantage on the Giants and are in real position to secure a playoff home game, possibly even a bye.
"He didn't have his best day," coach Bill Parcells said of his quarterback. "But he got us down the field when it counted. That's all I'm going to say about him right now."
That's all that needs to be said. Romo is a quarterback to be believed in, to be counted on at crunch time. That he has managed to establish that reputation in just six weeks on the job is remarkable, but it no longer qualifies as surprising.
"With two good teams, a lot of times it's going to come down to what happens in the fourth quarter," Romo said. "All these games just seem to get bigger and bigger."
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LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN Tony Romo (left) gets away from New York's Gibril Wilson. |
That's what happens when you're on a winning roll in November and December.
No team in the NFL has a better record over the last six games than the Cowboys' (and Romo's) 5-1 mark.
The Cowboys got big production from Marion Barber, big kicks from their newcomer Gramatica and big play at the biggest moments from Romo.
That's why they have established themselves as the best team in the NFC East.
Even when the man's not at his best, he's still good enough. What more do you want from a quarterback?
E-mail wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
| TWO FOR THE SHOW |
| Tony Romo in six quarters of action vs. the Giants: |
| Date | Com | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Sks |
| Oct. 23 | 14 | 25 | 227 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Dec. 3 | 20 | 34 | 257 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
