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ARLINGTON, Texas — When the moment of truth came for the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s 24-20 victory against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card Game at AT&T Stadium, coach Jason Garrett put his team’s fate in the hands of the man he trusted most.
The Cowboys faced a 4th-and-6 from the Detroit 42, trailing 20-17 with six minutes left in the game.
“What kept going through my mind was: When you get the chance to go play at the Masters, you don’t lay up. You go after it a little bit,” Garrett said. “And again, a lot of confidence in the guys to go out and execute it. They play football better than I swing a golf club, so a lot of confidence on them to get that done. “A lot of belief in the guys in our offensive unit, a lot of belief in the quarterback and the weapons around him. He did a great job.”
What Garrett didn’t consider or even ponder was the common narrative that quarterback Tony Romo doesn’t win big games.
Or that Romo doesn’t play his best when it matters most.
Garrett relied on Romo’s clutch gene and was rewarded immediately with a 21-yard pass to tight end Jason Witten for a first down on a drive the eventually ended with a go-ahead touchdown pass to receiver Terrance Williams.
It gave Romo his second career playoff win, first for the Cowboys since 2009, and has them moving on to face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Round next Sunday.
“I think you have to prove to your coaches over time who you are and what you can do,” Romo said. “(It) just showed the team that we are where we are at because of what we’ve done. And he told us to go win the game. Let’s not put this on anyone else. Let’s put this on the offensive side of the ball and let’s go win this thing.”
Despite the naysayers and critics, Romo has proved himself to Garrett and the Cowboys throughout his career year.
But Sunday was the continuation of an image-altering season for the 34-year-old quarterback.
An MVP-caliber campaign that saw Romo lead the NFL in passer rating and completion percentage was capped by another mistake-free performance.
Romo passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, giving him 14 touchdowns and one interception in the last five games, all Cowboys wins.
Tony Romo entered this season 14-21 in December/January games (including playoffs). He is now 5-0 this season. pic.twitter.com/ZX1UDoCndl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 5, 2015
It’s interesting to note that Romo wasn’t perfect against the Lions. He had some bad throws and also made some poor decisions.
He was also bloodied with a season-high six sacks by an aggressive Lions front led by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who had two sacks of his own. Micheal Irvin of the NFL Network noted Romo's toughness.
“Tony [Romo] was the man tonight b/c he took a beating and kept getting back up..." - @michaelirvin88 on @dallascowboys QB Tony Romo (1/2)
— NFL Media PR (@InsideNFLMedia) January 5, 2015
“Some of that was on him,” Garrett said of Romo. “The ball’s got to get out of his hands in some of those situations, and he understands that. But for him at those critical moments down the stretch, to be so calm, so poised, so composed. The protection was outstanding on the touchdown to Terrance. He had a ton of time to throw there, but he does a great job keeping his eyes up and making those kinds of plays. He’s done it throughout his career. He came up big again.”
Romo came up big because he avoided the crucial mistake and killer turnover that dogged him in the past. He purposely took sacks and threw balls into the dirt early so he would have a chance to make plays late.
This is no longer the gunslinging Romo living life on the edge. This is a mature Romo who has had the game slow down for him in moments like this.
“If you are mentally tough enough, and you’ve been through it, you just get rid of those [negative] thoughts and understand that this game is going to go all the way to the end,” Romo said. “Just don’t give them anything to let this game get out of reach, and it will find a way to get back at the end. You just got to try to bear down.”
“I could have squeezed some of those in and they wouldn’t have caught it,” Romo said. “But at the same time, one of those could have gone the other way.”
NFL scouting legend Gil Brandt thinks a new day is dawning for Romo.
Romo has thrown 14 TDs to 1 INT in December and January. Maybe things are turning around for Tony.
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) January 5, 2015
Now, Romo and the Cowboys are on their way to Green Bay. It’s the first playoff matchup between the two teams at Lambeau Field since the Ice Bowl in 1967.
It’s also special because Romo grew up in Burlington, Wis., as a Packers fan worshipping Brett Favre.
It would be quite satisfying to punch his ticket to the NFC Championship Game with a victory there.
Of course, that would be the case no matter where they played, considering Romo’s hard-luck playoff history.
“I think that these (wins) are hard wins to come by,” Romo said. “I think it is hard to get in the playoffs. Just to give yourself a chance to win the division is hard. We haven’t had very good football teams and we still had chances. There is no sense of relief. Our aspirations weren’t just winning the division, as great as that was. And it’s not just winning a playoff game, as great as that was. It was good and we are going to enjoy it. But there are bigger things.”
If they Cowboys are going to achieve those bigger things and make a run to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995, they will continue to ride a hot and increasingly-clutch Romo.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...
The Cowboys faced a 4th-and-6 from the Detroit 42, trailing 20-17 with six minutes left in the game.
“What kept going through my mind was: When you get the chance to go play at the Masters, you don’t lay up. You go after it a little bit,” Garrett said. “And again, a lot of confidence in the guys to go out and execute it. They play football better than I swing a golf club, so a lot of confidence on them to get that done. “A lot of belief in the guys in our offensive unit, a lot of belief in the quarterback and the weapons around him. He did a great job.”
What Garrett didn’t consider or even ponder was the common narrative that quarterback Tony Romo doesn’t win big games.
Or that Romo doesn’t play his best when it matters most.
Garrett relied on Romo’s clutch gene and was rewarded immediately with a 21-yard pass to tight end Jason Witten for a first down on a drive the eventually ended with a go-ahead touchdown pass to receiver Terrance Williams.
It gave Romo his second career playoff win, first for the Cowboys since 2009, and has them moving on to face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Round next Sunday.
“I think you have to prove to your coaches over time who you are and what you can do,” Romo said. “(It) just showed the team that we are where we are at because of what we’ve done. And he told us to go win the game. Let’s not put this on anyone else. Let’s put this on the offensive side of the ball and let’s go win this thing.”
Despite the naysayers and critics, Romo has proved himself to Garrett and the Cowboys throughout his career year.
But Sunday was the continuation of an image-altering season for the 34-year-old quarterback.
An MVP-caliber campaign that saw Romo lead the NFL in passer rating and completion percentage was capped by another mistake-free performance.
Romo passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, giving him 14 touchdowns and one interception in the last five games, all Cowboys wins.
Tony Romo entered this season 14-21 in December/January games (including playoffs). He is now 5-0 this season. pic.twitter.com/ZX1UDoCndl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 5, 2015
It’s interesting to note that Romo wasn’t perfect against the Lions. He had some bad throws and also made some poor decisions.
He was also bloodied with a season-high six sacks by an aggressive Lions front led by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who had two sacks of his own. Micheal Irvin of the NFL Network noted Romo's toughness.
“Tony [Romo] was the man tonight b/c he took a beating and kept getting back up..." - @michaelirvin88 on @dallascowboys QB Tony Romo (1/2)
— NFL Media PR (@InsideNFLMedia) January 5, 2015
“Some of that was on him,” Garrett said of Romo. “The ball’s got to get out of his hands in some of those situations, and he understands that. But for him at those critical moments down the stretch, to be so calm, so poised, so composed. The protection was outstanding on the touchdown to Terrance. He had a ton of time to throw there, but he does a great job keeping his eyes up and making those kinds of plays. He’s done it throughout his career. He came up big again.”
Romo came up big because he avoided the crucial mistake and killer turnover that dogged him in the past. He purposely took sacks and threw balls into the dirt early so he would have a chance to make plays late.
This is no longer the gunslinging Romo living life on the edge. This is a mature Romo who has had the game slow down for him in moments like this.
“If you are mentally tough enough, and you’ve been through it, you just get rid of those [negative] thoughts and understand that this game is going to go all the way to the end,” Romo said. “Just don’t give them anything to let this game get out of reach, and it will find a way to get back at the end. You just got to try to bear down.”
“I could have squeezed some of those in and they wouldn’t have caught it,” Romo said. “But at the same time, one of those could have gone the other way.”
NFL scouting legend Gil Brandt thinks a new day is dawning for Romo.
Romo has thrown 14 TDs to 1 INT in December and January. Maybe things are turning around for Tony.
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) January 5, 2015
Now, Romo and the Cowboys are on their way to Green Bay. It’s the first playoff matchup between the two teams at Lambeau Field since the Ice Bowl in 1967.
It’s also special because Romo grew up in Burlington, Wis., as a Packers fan worshipping Brett Favre.
It would be quite satisfying to punch his ticket to the NFC Championship Game with a victory there.
Of course, that would be the case no matter where they played, considering Romo’s hard-luck playoff history.
“I think that these (wins) are hard wins to come by,” Romo said. “I think it is hard to get in the playoffs. Just to give yourself a chance to win the division is hard. We haven’t had very good football teams and we still had chances. There is no sense of relief. Our aspirations weren’t just winning the division, as great as that was. And it’s not just winning a playoff game, as great as that was. It was good and we are going to enjoy it. But there are bigger things.”
If they Cowboys are going to achieve those bigger things and make a run to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995, they will continue to ride a hot and increasingly-clutch Romo.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...