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Was this just one of those days for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo?
We know he's had a few of 'em. There was that time he threw three second-half interceptions in a loss to Detroit in 2011, or that 2012 game against the Bears, in which he had five picks. In a 2009 loss to the Giants, he posted a passer rating of 29.6, completing just 13 of 29 passes to go along with three more interceptions.
These moments of utter ineptitude happen to most quarterbacks, but they do seem to strike Romo in rather extreme fashion. Still, they've generally been anomalies amid a very good career. After all, we're talking about the sixth-highest-rated passer in NFL history.
So maybe we can chalk up Sunday's abysmal performance in a season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers as another very loud hiccup. Or maybe the first opening-week three-interception outing of his career is an indication that the 34-year-old with a bad back is in decline.
After looking at the tape, here are thoughts on what's fixable, what might not be fixable and what that outing might mean for the future of the franchise.
The script was torn up early
Romo's performance is hard to defend, but he didn't get any help on that opening drive. It's hard to get into a rhythm when your stud left tackle, Tyron Smith, commits a false start penalty on the very first play of the season. And when your Pro Bowl running back, DeMarco Murray, fumbles on the second play, it's a rhythm emergency.
Who knows, maybe the day would have gone much differently had they not so horribly botched the opening series. Wedged in between that Smith false start and Murray turnover was a picture-perfect 18-yard completion from Romo to second-year receiver Terrance Williams, but that was quickly for naught.
In fact, Romo completed three of his first four passes for 38 yards, and the Cowboys drove into the red zone on that second series. It wasn't a bad start, but due to the turnover and a terrible first series on defense, they were already trailing by a double-digit margin when Romo returned to the field.
And then right away, a near-fumble from Jason Witten. Skittishness ensued, and that's when the interception spree began. The rest is history.
Different page? Different chapter. Might not have even been the same book.
But Romo just wasn't on the same page as his receivers for the majority of the day, which is a major concern, considering that this offense isn't new and the personnel hasn't changed much at all. His pass protection was solid, yet he was missing open receivers on gimme routes.
The most glaring example came when he completely failed to get it right on this end-zone fade for Williams:
In their defense, that's usually a throw for Dez Bryant, who was on the sideline due to dehydration. However, that wasn't the only example.
Considering all of the padding Williams was being given, this should have been an easy completion on an out route:
But with no pressure, Romo simply misfired.
It's possible Williams ran the route deeper than he was supposed to, but Romo had plenty of time to recognize that and adjust. He's usually quick on his feet and able to improvise as a passer, but he either failed to do so here or was just not able to make a routine throw.
That's completely uncharacteristic, and it happened all day long, which has to cause you to wonder just how healthy that back of his is.
Pressure not an issue
Rarely is it so hard to find excuses for Romo, who hasn't exactly received tremendous support in the past.
Even while trailing, the Cowboys didn't ditch the run, and Murray was productive (22 attempts, 118 yards, 5.4 yards per carry).
And while Smith didn't have a strong game, the pass protection was solid for the majority of the afternoon. Romo was pressured on 22.5 percent of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which was well below this weekend's median among qualifying passers (27.2). For added context, not a single qualifying quarterback was pressured that rarely in 2013.
And besides, Romo was good under pressure anyway, completing four of six passes on nine dropbacks under duress (he took three sacks).
And Romo might have even done more harm than good by checking into pressure.
"On the drive after Murray's fumble," wrote ESPNDallas.com's Todd Archer. "Romo appeared to check out of a running play at the San Francisco 2 and was dropped for a 9-yard sack. The Cowboys settled for a field goal on the drive."
Throw in that, per PFF, Romo's pass-catchers dropped zero balls, and it's really hard to pin this on anyone except the franchise quarterback.
Tony being Tony or something much worse?
When he's having an off game, Romo does tend to make some classically terrible decisions.
On his second interception, after a defender fell in coverage, he completely failed to see a wide-open Dwayne Harris in the end zone.
There was no pressure there. Seconds later, he carelessly lobbed a pass into traffic, giving away at least three points.
And maybe he was forcing things with that early deficit—that certainly appeared to be the case on his heave-like third interception on a pass intended for a well-covered Dez Bryant—but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, he also had absolutely no pressure on the first interception...
Yet he threw into this...
Despite having Williams breaking open for a potential touchdown deep...
Remember all of that preseason talk about Romo struggling with deep passes as he was eased back into action following offseason back surgery? He attempted only two passes of 20-plus yards in the preseason, according to PFF, and was only 1-of-5 on deep throws Sunday.
If indeed Romo shied away from a deep pass there and instead tried to make the impossible happen on a shorter route to Bryant, that's a huge problem.
Here's hoping it was only rust
Romo has been worse, though never in Week 1. And this was the first time he ever threw three picks on three consecutive series. Considering how bad this defense has been and is expected to be, it's clear to everyone that only he and his weapons can save this franchise from falling off a cliff this season.
If Sunday's output is any indication, they don't stand a chance of staying afloat, but things can change quickly in this game. We can't draw any major conclusions about Romo or his cohorts based solely on one bad day at the office, and there's little reason to believe they won't improve when it comes to chemistry.
But if Romo is forced to try to play Superman, and if he physically has lost the ability to fully throw home run balls in the process, he and his sidekicks might be in position to fail miserably in 2014.
Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.
Follow @Brad_Gagnon
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