During Sunday night’s game against the New York Jets, the Dallas Cowboys appeared to be heading towards their first win of the 2011 season considering they had a 24-10 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. As everyone knows, the Jets ended up winning the game after scoring 17 unanswered points and while it’s hard not to point fingers at one individual, it’s safe to say the game may have turned out differently if one specific player had performed better in the fourth quarter–Tony Romo.
Throughout his six years as the starting quarterback for the Cowboys, Romo has been criticized numerous times for his poor play in the fourth quarter and Sunday’s game against the Jets was another perfect example as to why. Not only did he throw a terrible interception to Darrelle Revis that led to the Jets game-winning field goal, but there was one play on the team’s final drive that went to waste because Romo wasn’t ready for the snap–which he was forced to just throw the ball away to avoid a sack and losing more time off the clock. Elite quarterbacks don’t make these types of mistakes with the game on the line (just look at Peyton Manning or Tom Brady) and the fact that the Cowboys’ final drive ended the way it did is nothing but embarrassing.
Year after year, Jerry Jones has provided Romo with plenty of weapons on offense to make him an elite quarterback and the fact that he’s yet to get the Cowboys to the promised land say a lot about the type of quarterback he really is. Considering he’s made three postseason trips–including the 2007 season when Dallas earned the No. 1 seed–and has managed just one win, maybe it’s time to realize that Romo isn’t the type of quarterback Jones is trying to make him out to be.
If the America’s Team wants to reach the Super Bowl–it’s time for them to realize that dream will never come true as long as Romo is their quarterback. Don’t think so? Watch the final few drives against the Jets from Sunday’s game and then see if your opinion remains the same.
Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for www.RantSports.com/NFL, where he writes and edits NFL content for www.RantSports.com.
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