Tony Romo’s Record Day Ends in Dallas Defeat

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw five touchdown passes and a franchise record 506 yards against the Broncos on October 6th, but it wasn’t enough as Denver beat the Cowboys 51-48 on a last second Matt Prater field goal.

Romo probably is not enjoying his accomplishment very much, and not just because the Cowboys lost.  Romo threw one interception in the game, and as is often the case, it came at the worst possible time.  With two minutes left, Romo threw into double coverage and Denver linebacker Danny Trevathan picked off the throw at the Dallas 24 yard line, which set up the winning score.

Romo has been criticized in the past for failing to come through in at crunch time, but he should not be taking the blame for this loss.  If your team gives up 51 points, you are most likely going to lose.  If the interception had occurred in the first quarter it would probably have been discounted as a factor in the defeat, But timing is everything with these things, and it proved costly, as the Cowboys’ defense couldn’t keep Denver from scoring at any time, let alone the end of the game (Denver did not punt at all during the game).

Keeping Denver from scoring has not been easy this season.  Peyton Manning threw for 414 yards and four touchdowns; he already has 20 in the first five games of the season.  The one place Denver is vulnerable is in its pass defense, which is last in the NFL, allowing 347 yards per game.  They’ve also allowed 11 touchdown passes, tied for 27th.  But that won’t matter this weekend.  The Broncos will host the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 13th, and the winless Jaguars are generally assumed to be the worst team in the league.   Denver is a 28 point favorite in the early line, which is a record for an NFL game.