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On final drive, Tony Romo delivers
On final drive, Tony Romo delivers
NOV 24
10:40
PM ET
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- No matter how hard he tries and until he takes the Dallas Cowboys far in the playoffs, not even to a Super Bowl, Tony Romo will have to deal with the prevailing thought so many people had early Sunday night even if it is not necessarily accurate.
Admit it, more of you thought about the fourth-quarter interception against the Denver Broncos that led to the 51-48 loss on Oct. 6 than the 90-yard game-winning drive he directed three weeks ago against the Minnesota Vikings.
With the scored tied at 21 with 4:45 to play in a game the Cowboys once led 21-6, many of you probably winced thinking about just how Romo would lose a game the Cowboys should have won.
This game won’t qualify as a come-from-behind victory for Romo, but it was as meaningful.
With the season on the line, Romo directed a 14-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Dan Bailey’s 35-yard field goal attempt for a 24-21 victory that pushed the Cowboys back into first place in the NFC East.
“You either feel comfortable in those situations or you don’t,” Romo said. “You feel all the experiences and times you’ve put yourself in that position as a team and you feel good. We’ve done that a couple of times in these last three or four weeks. You just go out and do it.”
The Cowboys had not had a drive last 14 plays since their season-opening win against the Giants. Only three of their last 32 drives reached even 10 plays because their third-down offense had been so bad.
Before the final drive the only third down the Cowboys converted on Sunday was a Jason Witten touchdown catch, which happened to be the 200th scoring throw of Romo’s career. Only six of Romo’s previous 31 third-down attempts result in a first down.
Yet on the final drive, Romo completed all three third-down attempts.
After a Tyron Smith false-start penalty moved a third and 2 to third and 17, Romo hit Bryant for 19 yards on a throw down the sideline. On third and 5 from the Dallas 47, he hit Bryant on a slant for 8 yards.
“Yeah, I just made sure to save all of our good third downs for that last drive,” Romo said. “I think we had some good plays up. Guys made some good plays and ran some good routes. It just comes down to execution at that point.”
And he saved Miles Austin for the end too. Austin caught his first pass since Sept. 22 against theSt. Louis Rams for 17 yards to the Giants 28 one snap after he dropped a Romo pass on the sideline.
“He just showed confidence in me,” Austin said, “and he put the ball on the money. I made sure I wasn’t going to drop that one.”
There would be one more crucial third-down conversion with the Cowboys using their empty package on third and 10 from the 28. If they did not convert, they were looking at a 45-yard field goal with a swirling wind inside MetLife Stadium.
Romo did not go to Bryant or Austin or Jason Witten. Instead he checked the ball down to Cole Beasley, who turned up field for 13 yards.
“There’s a definite high chance,” Beasley said of getting the ball there. “It’s pretty much a 50 percent chance. I run every route like everyone is coming to me, especially that route because that’s pretty much the route that gave me playing time.”
With his work over, Romo took a knee on the next two snaps to set up Bailey’s game winner.
“It’s a tough environment against a team who is ready to go, obviously had their season in some ways they felt like their season was on the line in this game,” Romo said. “It was a playoff like game. It was a very similar feeling to the win or go home from a couple of years ago. I think we had to find a way to win. I was proud of the guys’ effort, commitment and the way they handled it.”
On final drive, Tony Romo delivers
NOV 24
10:40
PM ET
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- No matter how hard he tries and until he takes the Dallas Cowboys far in the playoffs, not even to a Super Bowl, Tony Romo will have to deal with the prevailing thought so many people had early Sunday night even if it is not necessarily accurate.
Admit it, more of you thought about the fourth-quarter interception against the Denver Broncos that led to the 51-48 loss on Oct. 6 than the 90-yard game-winning drive he directed three weeks ago against the Minnesota Vikings.
With the scored tied at 21 with 4:45 to play in a game the Cowboys once led 21-6, many of you probably winced thinking about just how Romo would lose a game the Cowboys should have won.
This game won’t qualify as a come-from-behind victory for Romo, but it was as meaningful.
With the season on the line, Romo directed a 14-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Dan Bailey’s 35-yard field goal attempt for a 24-21 victory that pushed the Cowboys back into first place in the NFC East.
“You either feel comfortable in those situations or you don’t,” Romo said. “You feel all the experiences and times you’ve put yourself in that position as a team and you feel good. We’ve done that a couple of times in these last three or four weeks. You just go out and do it.”
The Cowboys had not had a drive last 14 plays since their season-opening win against the Giants. Only three of their last 32 drives reached even 10 plays because their third-down offense had been so bad.
Before the final drive the only third down the Cowboys converted on Sunday was a Jason Witten touchdown catch, which happened to be the 200th scoring throw of Romo’s career. Only six of Romo’s previous 31 third-down attempts result in a first down.
Yet on the final drive, Romo completed all three third-down attempts.
After a Tyron Smith false-start penalty moved a third and 2 to third and 17, Romo hit Bryant for 19 yards on a throw down the sideline. On third and 5 from the Dallas 47, he hit Bryant on a slant for 8 yards.
“Yeah, I just made sure to save all of our good third downs for that last drive,” Romo said. “I think we had some good plays up. Guys made some good plays and ran some good routes. It just comes down to execution at that point.”
And he saved Miles Austin for the end too. Austin caught his first pass since Sept. 22 against theSt. Louis Rams for 17 yards to the Giants 28 one snap after he dropped a Romo pass on the sideline.
“He just showed confidence in me,” Austin said, “and he put the ball on the money. I made sure I wasn’t going to drop that one.”
There would be one more crucial third-down conversion with the Cowboys using their empty package on third and 10 from the 28. If they did not convert, they were looking at a 45-yard field goal with a swirling wind inside MetLife Stadium.
Romo did not go to Bryant or Austin or Jason Witten. Instead he checked the ball down to Cole Beasley, who turned up field for 13 yards.
“There’s a definite high chance,” Beasley said of getting the ball there. “It’s pretty much a 50 percent chance. I run every route like everyone is coming to me, especially that route because that’s pretty much the route that gave me playing time.”
With his work over, Romo took a knee on the next two snaps to set up Bailey’s game winner.
“It’s a tough environment against a team who is ready to go, obviously had their season in some ways they felt like their season was on the line in this game,” Romo said. “It was a playoff like game. It was a very similar feeling to the win or go home from a couple of years ago. I think we had to find a way to win. I was proud of the guys’ effort, commitment and the way they handled it.”
