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IRVING, Texas — Things are never easy for the Dallas Cowboys.
At least, not the versions of the franchise since its last Super Bowl title in 1995.
Eight days ago, the Cowboys were all the rage as the hottest team in the league, riding a six-game winning streak and fashioning the NFL's best record.
Super Bowl talk abounded, and comparisons to the Hall of Fame Triplets and the Dynasty title teams of the 1990s were en vogue.
But that was before franchise quarterback Tony Romo went down with two fractured bones in his back in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders last Monday.
A CT Scan revealed two cracked transverse processes in Romo’s back.
A transverse process is a small bone that sticks out from each side of a vertebra.
Romo was made inactive for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, and the offense was inept with backup Brandon Weeden in a 28-17 loss.
Now the Cowboys head to London on Monday for a seemingly must-win game against the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday with no guarantees that Romo will be ready go.
Dallas went from flying high amid a six-game losing streak to two straight frustrating losses at home and uncertainty regarding Romo, with a now-dimming playoff outlook.
"Losing is frustrating, very frustrating," cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. "We are going to go get on this nine- or 10-hour flight to London. We have to figure out a way to win a football game. We need a win in the worst way. It doesn't matter who we are playing. We need to figure out a way to get a win. We need to stop this train from veering off the tracks."
Owner Jerry Jones said the Cowboys can't lose their confidence now.
He is holding out hope that Romo will return against the Jaguars and get the train back on track.
"It's very disappointing," Jones said of the loss. "This is not the time at all to lose your confidence. It makes us really know that we’ve got a real challenge ahead. That if we hadn’t made these losses, then we could have afforded to lose one. It’s particularly sobering to have them here at home, but we also know the circumstances could get better for us in terms of our ability to have some offensive firepower for sure with the re-emergence of Tony."
There is no guarantee that Romo will return against the Jaguars, but he is traveling to London with the team on Monday. He will again be limited in practice and will likely be a game-time decision.
"I will make the trip to London," a reluctant Romo said as he walked to his car Sunday night. "We will get to London and get ready to play against Jacksonville."
Like Jones, coach Jason Garrett is hopeful that Romo can play but is not certain.
“We’re optimistic. We’ll see how he feels. It’s the same standard with the pain tolerance and how that relates to how he can function,” Garrett said.
Again, the Cowboys are optimistic because this injury is similar to that of Baylor University quarterback Bryce Petty, who sat out one game after fracturing two transverse process bones in the season opener.
It remains an issue of pain tolerance and functionality as well as one of prudence.
If the Cowboys had beaten the Cardinals or the Commanders, they would have had the luxury of sitting Romo out against the Jaguars. With the bye coming up the following week, it would have given Romo ample time to heal before the Nov. 23 game at the New York Giants to begin the final push to the playoffs.
The Cowboys no longer have that luxury.
At 6-3, the Cowboys are now in second place in the NFC East, behind the Philadelphia Eagles (6-2). The Cowboys are also just one game in the loss column ahead of the New York Giants (3-4), going into their game Monday night against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Cowboys can't chance losing to the Jaguars, which may rush Romo back into the lineup.
There is no confidence that the Cowboys can win a game with Weeden as the starter.
He was beyond inept against the Cardinals, completing 18 of 33 passes for 183 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, plus a 55.5 passer rating.
Weeden was exposed as the failed first-round bust he was in Cleveland the past two years.
It was his eighth straight loss as a starting quarterback, dating back to 2012, and the Cowboys are 6-9 without Romo since he became the starter in 2006.
Weeden’s biggest—though not the only—mistake against the Cardinals was a red-zone interception in the third quarter with the Cowboys down 14-10 and the game still very much in the balance.
He telegraphed a pass to tight end Jason Witten that safety Tyrann Mathieu gladly picked off.
"You have got to play better," Weeden said. "You can't turn the ball over. That is on me. One of the things I keep coming back to is turnovers. When you turn the ball over in the red zone, you take away points. You can't do that. In order for this offense to go, I needed to play better."
Weeden missed short. He missed long. He threw to spots where receivers were not.
Receiver Dez Bryant, who played with Weeden in college at Oklahoma State, admittedly missed the presence of Romo.
Bryant caught two passes for 15 yards and a touchdown, with both coming on the final meaningless drive of the game.
"You’ve got to understand, you know, when you don’t have everybody, it can make a difference. It showed today," Bryant said. "Truthfully, of course, I missed (Romo). But I believe in Weeden, too."
That belief is fleeting. Jones said Weeden's propensity to lock in on his first read and not go through all of his progressions was a huge problem against the Cardinals.
"I knew it would be a challenge," Jones said. "I would have liked for him to be able to get some third and fourth options in there because we had them. That would have made a big difference out there, but again, that’s a lot to expect from a guy in his situation. I think Romo could have probably been expected to get to those second, third and fourth receivers."
Weeden's ineffectiveness and the Cowboy's inability to convert on third downs allowed the Cardinals to load up against the run with nine men in the box.
NFL-leading rusher DeMarco Murray and the Cowboys' vaunted ground game came to a screeching halt.
Murray was held to 79 yards on 19 carries. It stopped his NFL-record eight-game streak of at least 100 yards to start the season.
“We didn’t play very well on offense. They came in with a commitment to stop the run,” Garrett said. “We needed to be persistent and consistent in the passing game, and we weren’t.”
Not without Romo and with Weeden at quarterback.
It's a reason Cleveland gave up Weeden after two years. He had a 5-15 record as a starter, with more interceptions than touchdowns: 26 to 23.
It was evident again on Sunday as he had one touchdown in garbage time to go with two interceptions when the game was still in doubt.
The Cowboys are betting on Romo coming back against the Jaguars and getting the train back on track.
"It was very disappointing," Jones said. "We certainly thought we could do everything better than we did it. We have a team that needs to look at all of the pluses that we’ve got going for us right now. This is not the time at all to lose your confidence. I expect our team to get working this week in London. And hopefully we’ll get Romo back this week. Those are our plans, but we’ll just have to see how he works in during the week. Certainly Weeden had some difficulty there and technically, I won’t necessarily get into that, but that limited us from getting in that end zone a few times. Several things hurt your confidence when you look like you’re a little shaky at that position."
Romo has not yet been cleared to play, but Jones said they are not taking him on that long plane ride to go sightseeing.
"Oh, I don’t know, but we’re betting on him playing," Jones said. "If we didn’t think he could play, he wouldn’t be on that long plane ride. That’s a pretty good, tangible thing to point to. It’d be foolish to take him all the way over there and then not play."
Romo has to play. The frustrated Cowboys don't want to put Weeden back out there.
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...
At least, not the versions of the franchise since its last Super Bowl title in 1995.
Eight days ago, the Cowboys were all the rage as the hottest team in the league, riding a six-game winning streak and fashioning the NFL's best record.
Super Bowl talk abounded, and comparisons to the Hall of Fame Triplets and the Dynasty title teams of the 1990s were en vogue.
But that was before franchise quarterback Tony Romo went down with two fractured bones in his back in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders last Monday.
A CT Scan revealed two cracked transverse processes in Romo’s back.
A transverse process is a small bone that sticks out from each side of a vertebra.
Romo was made inactive for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, and the offense was inept with backup Brandon Weeden in a 28-17 loss.
Now the Cowboys head to London on Monday for a seemingly must-win game against the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday with no guarantees that Romo will be ready go.
Dallas went from flying high amid a six-game losing streak to two straight frustrating losses at home and uncertainty regarding Romo, with a now-dimming playoff outlook.
"Losing is frustrating, very frustrating," cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. "We are going to go get on this nine- or 10-hour flight to London. We have to figure out a way to win a football game. We need a win in the worst way. It doesn't matter who we are playing. We need to figure out a way to get a win. We need to stop this train from veering off the tracks."
Owner Jerry Jones said the Cowboys can't lose their confidence now.
He is holding out hope that Romo will return against the Jaguars and get the train back on track.
"It's very disappointing," Jones said of the loss. "This is not the time at all to lose your confidence. It makes us really know that we’ve got a real challenge ahead. That if we hadn’t made these losses, then we could have afforded to lose one. It’s particularly sobering to have them here at home, but we also know the circumstances could get better for us in terms of our ability to have some offensive firepower for sure with the re-emergence of Tony."
There is no guarantee that Romo will return against the Jaguars, but he is traveling to London with the team on Monday. He will again be limited in practice and will likely be a game-time decision.
"I will make the trip to London," a reluctant Romo said as he walked to his car Sunday night. "We will get to London and get ready to play against Jacksonville."
Like Jones, coach Jason Garrett is hopeful that Romo can play but is not certain.
“We’re optimistic. We’ll see how he feels. It’s the same standard with the pain tolerance and how that relates to how he can function,” Garrett said.
Again, the Cowboys are optimistic because this injury is similar to that of Baylor University quarterback Bryce Petty, who sat out one game after fracturing two transverse process bones in the season opener.
It remains an issue of pain tolerance and functionality as well as one of prudence.
If the Cowboys had beaten the Cardinals or the Commanders, they would have had the luxury of sitting Romo out against the Jaguars. With the bye coming up the following week, it would have given Romo ample time to heal before the Nov. 23 game at the New York Giants to begin the final push to the playoffs.
The Cowboys no longer have that luxury.
At 6-3, the Cowboys are now in second place in the NFC East, behind the Philadelphia Eagles (6-2). The Cowboys are also just one game in the loss column ahead of the New York Giants (3-4), going into their game Monday night against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Cowboys can't chance losing to the Jaguars, which may rush Romo back into the lineup.
There is no confidence that the Cowboys can win a game with Weeden as the starter.
He was beyond inept against the Cardinals, completing 18 of 33 passes for 183 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, plus a 55.5 passer rating.
Weeden was exposed as the failed first-round bust he was in Cleveland the past two years.
It was his eighth straight loss as a starting quarterback, dating back to 2012, and the Cowboys are 6-9 without Romo since he became the starter in 2006.
Weeden’s biggest—though not the only—mistake against the Cardinals was a red-zone interception in the third quarter with the Cowboys down 14-10 and the game still very much in the balance.
He telegraphed a pass to tight end Jason Witten that safety Tyrann Mathieu gladly picked off.
"You have got to play better," Weeden said. "You can't turn the ball over. That is on me. One of the things I keep coming back to is turnovers. When you turn the ball over in the red zone, you take away points. You can't do that. In order for this offense to go, I needed to play better."
Weeden missed short. He missed long. He threw to spots where receivers were not.
Receiver Dez Bryant, who played with Weeden in college at Oklahoma State, admittedly missed the presence of Romo.
Bryant caught two passes for 15 yards and a touchdown, with both coming on the final meaningless drive of the game.
"You’ve got to understand, you know, when you don’t have everybody, it can make a difference. It showed today," Bryant said. "Truthfully, of course, I missed (Romo). But I believe in Weeden, too."
That belief is fleeting. Jones said Weeden's propensity to lock in on his first read and not go through all of his progressions was a huge problem against the Cardinals.
"I knew it would be a challenge," Jones said. "I would have liked for him to be able to get some third and fourth options in there because we had them. That would have made a big difference out there, but again, that’s a lot to expect from a guy in his situation. I think Romo could have probably been expected to get to those second, third and fourth receivers."
Weeden's ineffectiveness and the Cowboy's inability to convert on third downs allowed the Cardinals to load up against the run with nine men in the box.
NFL-leading rusher DeMarco Murray and the Cowboys' vaunted ground game came to a screeching halt.
Murray was held to 79 yards on 19 carries. It stopped his NFL-record eight-game streak of at least 100 yards to start the season.
“We didn’t play very well on offense. They came in with a commitment to stop the run,” Garrett said. “We needed to be persistent and consistent in the passing game, and we weren’t.”
Not without Romo and with Weeden at quarterback.
It's a reason Cleveland gave up Weeden after two years. He had a 5-15 record as a starter, with more interceptions than touchdowns: 26 to 23.
It was evident again on Sunday as he had one touchdown in garbage time to go with two interceptions when the game was still in doubt.
The Cowboys are betting on Romo coming back against the Jaguars and getting the train back on track.
"It was very disappointing," Jones said. "We certainly thought we could do everything better than we did it. We have a team that needs to look at all of the pluses that we’ve got going for us right now. This is not the time at all to lose your confidence. I expect our team to get working this week in London. And hopefully we’ll get Romo back this week. Those are our plans, but we’ll just have to see how he works in during the week. Certainly Weeden had some difficulty there and technically, I won’t necessarily get into that, but that limited us from getting in that end zone a few times. Several things hurt your confidence when you look like you’re a little shaky at that position."
Romo has not yet been cleared to play, but Jones said they are not taking him on that long plane ride to go sightseeing.
"Oh, I don’t know, but we’re betting on him playing," Jones said. "If we didn’t think he could play, he wouldn’t be on that long plane ride. That’s a pretty good, tangible thing to point to. It’d be foolish to take him all the way over there and then not play."
Romo has to play. The frustrated Cowboys don't want to put Weeden back out there.
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...