The 2013 NFL playoffs are set and for the fourth straight season the Dallas Cowboys are not among the teams that will be fighting for the Lombardi Trophy. For the third straight season, the ‘Boys lost a season-deciding game in Week 17 in which a win would have earned them a spot in the postseason. So, call them losers, say that Jerry Jones should fire himself, do anything, just don’t blame Tony Romo.
Now that LeBron James has won two championships, Romo might be the most maligned high-level athlete in the country at this point. His failures in the clutch and his dearth of playoff victories (he has just one, against the Eagles in 2009) have been picked over ad nauseum, especially in recent years as ‘America’s Team’ has become the definition of mediocrity (24-24 over the last three seasons).
A closer look at some key statistics and observations, however, reveals that Romo has gotten far more than his share blame for his team’s shortcomings in recent years.
Over the last three seasons — we’ll focus there since those are the years that criticism of Romo has really increased in intensity thanks to Dallas missing the playoffs during said years — it’s difficult to argue that the former Eastern Illinois star has been one of the top quarterbacks in the league based on statistics alone.
From 2011-2013, Romo threw for 12,193 yards, completed over 65 percent of his passes and threw 90 TDs (compared to 39 INTs). For context, he ranked in the top seven in pass yards twice in those three years, fell in the top nine in completion percentage all three seasons and ranked in the top six in pass TDs in all three campaigns. In ESPN’s supposedly all-encompassing Total QBR stat, the holder-turned-QB has ranked fourth, 11th and 12th respectively in those three seasons.
By any passing statistic you care to quote, Romo has proven to be more than capable as a quarterback. However, many detractors point to his failures in important situations as evidence that, although he may be talented, he’s not the player fans should want under center with the game on the line.
Well, the theory that Romo has no clutch gene (phrase credit: Skip Bayless) doesn’t really pass inspection when held up to the light. Romo has led 11 fourth quarter comebacks in the last three years, including a league-leading five in 2012. That’s right, Tony Romo engineered the most comeback wins in the fourth quarter of any NFL quarterback last season. He’s also guided the Cowboys down the field for game-winning scores on 13 occasions since 2011, a figure that neither Peyton Manning (7 over his last three healthy seasons) nor Tom Brady (10) can claim.
Even in some of his most well-known “failure in the clutch” games, Romo has actually performed fairly well and been the victim of some iffy supporting casts. In 2011, the Cowboys lost to the Giants in a win-or-go-home matchup despite Romo throwing for 287 yards and two TDs and completing 78 percent of his passes. He was sacked six times behind a porous offensive line and the Cowboys defense allowed the Giants offense to roll up 437 yards of total offense.
The next year, again needing one win to make the playoffs, the Cowboys fell again, this time to the Redskins. In that game, the Dallas ‘D’ had absolutely no answer for Washington’s read-option as Alfred Morris and RGIII combined for 263 yards and four TDs on the ground. Romo shouldn’t be completely blameless in either of those two games, but he played at least moderately well in both and more than a little bit of blame should rest with the Cowboys’ sieve-like defense.
The same was true for most of 2013. Romo somehow led the team to an 8-7 record as the starter despite being forced to support a defense that ranked 26th in the league in points allowed per game and gave up more than 30 points a staggering ten times.
The game against the Denver Broncos in Week 5 was a microcosm of the Tony Romo experience in Dallas. The 11-year vet racked up 506 yards and five TDs and matched one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time throw for throw for much of the game. The Cowboys, however, lost the game 51-48 and Romo got most of the blame because he tossed an interception late in the fourth quarter. That doesn’t seem quite fair. Roger Staubach, who knows a thing or two about playing quarterback with a star on your helmet, agreed.
““I’ve been a quarterback and I know this guy is playing great football,” Staubach said after the Denver game. “Seeing critics blame these tough losses, especially this game, on him sends a message to me that some people will never cut him a break. I can’t believe it.”
Such is the reality for Romo in Dallas. Certainly there are times when he doesn’t play his best in big situations, but every quarterback has such moments. Is he on the level of Manning or Brady? No, but there are far more instances of him carrying the Cowboys on his back than there are of him costing them games. He may forever be the Rodney Dangerfield of quarterbacks and get no respect from fans, but he has the talent to lead the Cowboys anywhere they want to go. Now, let’s do something about that defense, Jerry…
Dylan Sinn is a freelance contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSinn or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
