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| Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo could only just hang his head in shame after Sunday's 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions. (Photo by Khampha Bouaphanh/Star-Telegram) |
Dallas Cowboy fans are all too familiar with this story.
After another epic Tony Romo collapse—a 24-point comeback by
the Detroit Lions in a 34-30 loss—the Cowboys are now 2-2 in the 2011 NFL
season.
The thing that makes this agonizing is that while Romo
deserves most of the blame for both losses this season, he deserves most of the
praise for both wins.
NBC’s Bob Costas summed it up best at halftime of the Sunday
Night Football game between the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens.
“Here is a guy who see-saws between hero’s laurels and goat
horns, seemingly from game to game”, Costas said.
The collapses to the Jets and the Lions began with crucial
mistakes that gave the opponent life and ended with an interception that
allowed the other team to score on the game-winning drive.
However, the wins to the San Francisco 49ers and the
Washington Redskins came in gutsy performances where he battled through a
broken rib. In both games, Romo led the Cowboys to victory on a clinching
drive.
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| Romo has battled everything this season from criticism to broken ribs. (Photo from bigleadsports.com) |
It is easy to say that with or without Romo, the Cowboys could
be anywhere between 4-0 and 0-4 if certain things were played out differently. Yet,
the Cowboys are 2-2, and it leaves many fans with a wide range of emotions from
frustrated and mad in the losses to relieved and satisfied in the wins.
When Romo plays well, he plays like one of the top ten
quarterbacks in the league. A three-time Pro Bowler, he never completed less
than 61.3 percent of his passes or had a passer rating below 91.4 in a regular season.
Yet, the focus remains Romo’s more notable performances in
the clutch. He is 1-3 in the playoffs and has yet to reach the NFC Championship
Game. Plus, in some games he tries to do a bit too much, leading to forced
passes for momentum-swinging interceptions.
The only solution for the Cowboys and their fan base? Just
stick with him and take the good with the bad. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones shares
the same attitude.
“However we go, we go with Tony,” Jones said.
“As Tony goes, we’ll go.”
The Cowboys will have two weeks to mentally prepare for a
tough road test against the New England Patriots on Oct. 16.
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