The Dallas Cowboys lost more than just the game in Monday night’s 41–35 debacle against the New York Jets; they lost starting quarterback Tony Romo for six to eight weeks with a broken clavicle.
Romo was injured three minutes into the second quarter when Giant linebacker Michael Boley came through the line untouched and slammed the cowboys QB to the turf on his left side. “When he hit the ground, I heard he let out a little scream,” Boley told ESPN. “So I knew something was up.”
What was up was a broken collarbone, an injury which might heal by December or might require reconstructive surgery, the addition of a plate and which might end Romo’s season.
Romo, coursing with adrenaline and eager to help his team, asked to get back in the game after a couple of plays, but after a few more, realized he was seriously hurt.
“I just couldn’t move without it really being painful in the shoulder,” Romo told ESPN. “I was just having a hard time just breathing. ... At a certain point you’re like, OK, then something is wrong.”
The loss pretty much ended the Cowboys’ season. At 5–1, the team is in a hole so deep only one team in NFL history, the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals, have ever come back from such a deficit to reach the playoff.
Romo’s replacement, 38-year-old Jon Kitna, hadn’t played a game in over two years. He still managed to throw two touchdown passes, but he is not a player of Romo’s caliber. Romo is one of the better quarterbacks in the league—he cannot be replaced.
It wasn’t just losing Romo that hurt the Cowboys. Eli Manning had an exceptional night, throwing four touchdown passes while going 25–35 for 306 yards. Manning picked the Cowboys defense to pieces. The Giants, down 20–7, ran up 31 unanswered points to lead 38–20 before the Cowboys managed to regroup. By then, it was too late.
Manning also threw two interceptions in the first ten minutes, resulting in ten points for the Cowboys. In fact, the Giants looked a lot worse than their 5–2 record would indicate.
If the Cowboys could have pulled themselves together in the locker room and come out fighting, they might have overcome the Giants’ four-point halftime lead and taken the win. Instead, the Giants came out and scored two more touchdowns.
The offense certainly could have used Tony Romo, but it was the Cowboys’ defense which lost the game.
Romo was injured three minutes into the second quarter when Giant linebacker Michael Boley came through the line untouched and slammed the cowboys QB to the turf on his left side. “When he hit the ground, I heard he let out a little scream,” Boley told ESPN. “So I knew something was up.”
What was up was a broken collarbone, an injury which might heal by December or might require reconstructive surgery, the addition of a plate and which might end Romo’s season.
Romo, coursing with adrenaline and eager to help his team, asked to get back in the game after a couple of plays, but after a few more, realized he was seriously hurt.
“I just couldn’t move without it really being painful in the shoulder,” Romo told ESPN. “I was just having a hard time just breathing. ... At a certain point you’re like, OK, then something is wrong.”
The loss pretty much ended the Cowboys’ season. At 5–1, the team is in a hole so deep only one team in NFL history, the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals, have ever come back from such a deficit to reach the playoff.
Romo’s replacement, 38-year-old Jon Kitna, hadn’t played a game in over two years. He still managed to throw two touchdown passes, but he is not a player of Romo’s caliber. Romo is one of the better quarterbacks in the league—he cannot be replaced.
It wasn’t just losing Romo that hurt the Cowboys. Eli Manning had an exceptional night, throwing four touchdown passes while going 25–35 for 306 yards. Manning picked the Cowboys defense to pieces. The Giants, down 20–7, ran up 31 unanswered points to lead 38–20 before the Cowboys managed to regroup. By then, it was too late.
Manning also threw two interceptions in the first ten minutes, resulting in ten points for the Cowboys. In fact, the Giants looked a lot worse than their 5–2 record would indicate.
If the Cowboys could have pulled themselves together in the locker room and come out fighting, they might have overcome the Giants’ four-point halftime lead and taken the win. Instead, the Giants came out and scored two more touchdowns.
The offense certainly could have used Tony Romo, but it was the Cowboys’ defense which lost the game.
