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Monsoon-like weather hit Miami ahead of the Miami Dolphins-Dallas Cowboys matchup on Sunday. During the first quarter, the rain appeared to fall faster and harder when Romo stepped back onto the field for the first time in months.
The Cowboys would have been hoping to ease Romo back into their offense, but that wasn't going to be the case. Instead of establishing the run immediately or setting up the offense in preferable field position, Romo threw his first pass from his own end zone...with his left hand...while under pressure.
On first and second down, the Cowboys had run the ball to try to buy space for their quarterback. Before they could snap the ball on 3rd-and-5, a false-start penalty set the offense back into its original spot. This gave the Dolphins an opportunity to blitz.
The Dolphins did blitz, and the Cowboys couldn't pick it up. Romo should have been sacked for a safety, but he showed off his typical elusiveness before pitching the ball awkwardly to his running back in the flat.
It was just one play, but it was a sign of things to come. For much of this game, Romo was put in unfavorable down-and-distance situations. Despite not playing since Week 2 because of a fractured clavicle, Romo was immediately a huge upgrade over the departed Brandon Weeden and the demoted Matt Cassel.
He was so much of an improvement that the Cowboys will feel justified in being hopeful again—hopeful they can defy the odds and chase down a playoff spot from their now 3-7 record.
With both Washington and the Philadelphia Eagles losing on Sunday, the Cowboys are now just one game behind each of those teams. The New York Giants are enjoying their bye week, but they are now just two games ahead atop the division.
In this game, Romo attempted 28 passes. He completed 18 for 227 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. His numbers didn't do his overall performance justice, though, as he was consistently impressive through much of four quarters before the Cowboys began running out the clock.
After his burst of creativity on the first drive of the game yielded a punt from better field position, Romo took over again with better field position to start his second drive. Unsurprisingly, he showed some rust early on, but that proved to be relatively minor over the course of the whole game.
On the second drive, Romo missed two throws that he would expect to make. The first went to Cole Beasley on a relatively short out route. Romo didn't get enough on the ball, and it fell short. He had a similar result when he looked to connect with Dez Bryant on a deep curl route in downfield coverage.
While missing on those occasions, Romo also flashed his ability to connect with his receivers on shorter routes.
Romo found Jason Witten in tight coverage downfield after running into the flat after play action. He found Witten again at the first-down marker on 3rd-and-long, a play that set up a 4th-and-1 conversion. He also hit Gavin Escobar on a slant route to convert a third down.
None of those plays was as impressive as a 3rd-and-7 conversion close to midfield that went to Bryant.
The Cowboys have been missing a lot at the quarterback position without Romo. Brandon Weeden's statistics suggested he was doing OK, but he was extremely limited by his bad decision-making. Cassel was better than Weeden but not significantly.
No matter how good either of those players could perform on a given day, neither is as smart as Romo.
On this 3rd-and-7 play, Romo displayed his intelligence before the snap. The Cowboys came out in their alignment early in the play clock, giving Romo time to survey the defense. Once he did that, he called a complete audible, moving around between his offensive linemen and gesturing to his receivers.
Whatever Romo had seen in the coverage before the snap had given him the answer he was looking for. Romo's play got his best receiver into space with a defender left in his wake. Romo located him quickly and was able to get rid of the ball on time so the defender couldn't recover.
Although Romo's pass arrived on time and his IQ created the opportunity, it wasn't necessarily a good one.
The Dolphins were trying to double-team Bryant, but the alignment combined with the route meant the receiver was put in space. He needed that space to adjust to Romo's poorly thrown pass. Bryant recognized the flight of the ball and worked back to it down the sideline.
He needed to demonstrate good awareness with his feet along the sideline and comfort in making an uncomfortable reception.
Bryant can consistently adjust to slightly off-target throws and make plays against contact, so this type of play from Romo is still hugely valuable. The receiver's production was suffering with Weeden and Cassel simply because they weren't smart enough to put him in this position before the snap.
A few plays after this throw, Romo almost connected with his tight end in the end zone for a touchdown. His throw was slightly off target as he released it quickly under pressure.
That missed opportunity set up another third down, a 3rd-and-6 at the Dolphins' 12-yard line. Romo once again set about changing the play after the offense got to the line early in the play clock. The Dolphins countered with an adjustment of their own, though, sending a late blitzer from deep in the second level.
Romo had one-on-one coverage behind an all-out blitz but was looking to Bryant's vertical route.
Because he was looking for Bryant working toward the end zone, Romo had to hold the ball for a moment in the pocket. He gave Bryant enough time to get downfield and got rid of the ball just before the free defender arrived with his quick release.
On initial viewing, it appeared Romo simply threw an inaccurate pass. Bryant looked like he was running free infield to space against the off coverage, and Romo's pass arrived way too far behind him as he hurried his release under pressure.
After the play, Romo and Bryant communicated in such a way that suggested it was a route miscommunication.
This was a missed opportunity for Romo and Bryant, but a Rolando McClain interception of Ryan Tannehill on the ensuing drive resulted in a defensive touchdown. Although that score had the same impact on the scoreboard as a Romo touchdown pass, it obviously wasn't the same for the returning quarterback.
Romo didn't have to wait long to atone for his error.
At the two-minute warning before halftime, Romo and the Cowboys offense were facing a 2nd-and-27 at the Dolphins' 48-yard line. Romo found Terrance Williams over the middle to get a big chunk of that yardage back by adjusting in the pocket and making a pressure throw.
That play set up another third down, a 3rd-and-10, where Romo's acumen was again spotlighted.
Romo once again completely changed the play, and the Dolphins responded by adjusting their alignment slightly. The Dolphins ultimately sent all of their defenders who aligned in the box after the quarterback. Romo kept his running back in pass protection to create a six-on-five situation for his offensive line.
With the extra pass-protector in to help, the Cowboys were able to pick up the blitz and give Romo time to survey downfield.
That time and space in the pocket not only allowed Romo to pan the field, but also gave his receivers time to run their vertical routes downfield. Romo located Williams on the outside and threw an accurate pass that covered more than 45 yards.
Williams rose into the air to catch the ball above his defender before dropping back into the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown.
Romo finished the first half with 132 yards passing, one interception and one touchdown. He did most of that while negating pressure packages from the Dolphins. The Dolphins were aggressive in testing Romo's comfort, and while he had forgettable moments, his quality as a whole shone through.
At the start of the third quarter, he made his second big mistake, though.
It was another long down-and-distance for the Cowboys offense. It faced a 2nd-and-14. The Dolphins looked to mask their play call again by threatening to blitz both A-gaps before dropping one linebacker. Despite one dropping, the Cowboys offensive line collapsed quickly.
Romo stepped up in the pocket to buy himself some time but was hit as he released the ball by a blocker in front of him who was being pushed backward.
As a result of being hit, Romo's pass floated higher than he wanted it to. He was trying to check the ball down to his back in space underneath. An accurate pass would have given his intended target a good chance of setting up a manageable third down.
Instead, Romo's pass sailed over his running back's head and into the hands of the waiting linebacker.
That interception was clearly a bad mistake from the quarterback, but it's one that was also more reflective of rust than inability. Romo immediately bounced back from that mistake by capping off a touchdown drive with a touchdown pass to Bryant.
Staying true to form, Romo was again tasked with working in a tough down-and-distance situation. It was 2nd-and-goal, but the ball had moved backward to the 16-yard line. Once again, Romo's work before the snap was crucial.
This time, he didn't change the play, instead correctly identifying the Mike linebacker before the snap to set his protection.
With the protection set, Romo had time to hold the ball in the pocket before stepping up to buy even more time and space. Bryant had lined up in the slot and was running a deep crossing route between two defenders in the end zone.
Romo recognized that Bryant was open and he could lead him to space.
Although his receivers had been forced to adjust to passes that were imperfect previously, this throw wasn't another example of one of those. On this throw, he hit Bryant in stride perfectly. It was a touchdown pass that gave the Cowboys a lead they would never relinquish.
It shouldn't have been Romo's last touchdown throw, though. He extended a play on the following drive before finding Cole Beasley in the end zone. However, Beasley dropped the pass with a defender on his back.
Ultimately, it wouldn't matter because the Cowboys won their first game since Romo last played. It was no surprise that he made the difference in the 24-14 victory, as the Cowboys passing game relies heavily on his precision and intelligence.
Romo's quality should be unquestioned at this point in his career, and this game was another reminder of how foolish the debates over his ability have been in the past.
His quality is such that the Cowboys may have a chance of winning out the rest of the season. Whether they can actually achieve the (almost-)impossible to win the NFC East still remains a high improbability rather than a likely outcome, but Romo gives the franchise reason to believe.
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