Tony Romo couldn't come through once again for the Dallas Cowboys as they dropped their matchup against the Washington Redskins in the final game of the regular season. Had the Cowboys won, they would have made the playoffs and been crowned the NFC East Champions, but it wasn't so.
As the New York Giants defeat of the Cowboys in the final game of the season in 2011 is still fresh in fans' minds, let's go back to the first ever hint that Romo would stink in crucial situations.
Remember this? It was the playoffs of the 2006 season against the Seattle Seahawks. Here's a live version of the clip from a fan with pretty nice seats fortunate enough to be in the right side of the stadium.
There's No. 9 at the Seahawks' nine yard line. He didn't even have to throw the ball in this instance. All he had to do was handle the snap. Then again, he is a quarterback and this required him to catch the ball.
This was the Wild Card game which the Cowboys lost 21-20.
The following year, Romo went 18-36 against the Giants and lost 21-17. He finally won a playoff game in 2009 against the Philadelphia Eagles where he had his best playoff game ever. Romo threw 244 yards, two touchdowns and miraculously no interceptions. That's been his only career playoff win.
They were then destroyed 34-3 by the Minnesota Vikings in the following round of the 2009 playoffs. They missed the playoffs in 2010 and then the Giants put them away early in the final game of the 2011 regular season.
Is Romo destined to never win a Super Bowl? You can argue that the Cowboys' defense had some fault for not being able to stop the run game, but even then, Romo had a chance to give them the win. If only he had patience. It seems like Romo just can't slow the game down in pressure situations.
With 3:33 remaining in the game, Romo was intercepted just two plays into their possible game-winning drive. He had just hit Jason Witten with a 14-yard pass and Romo looked ready to lead the Cowboys back from a 21-18 deficit. The defense held their own in the previous drive stopping the Redskins and even sacking Robert Griffin III.
Every analyst before the game said the outcome depended on which Romo showed up in this game.
Romo threw for three interceptions despite also having two touchdowns in the game. Three-interception-Romo is not the quarterback the Cowboys will succeed with.
Romo averages close to 300 yards in a game and we didn't see that yesterday.
Whatever happens in Romo's playoff career, despite having Cowboy quarterback records, he will forever be questioned when he's out on the field and will go down in the history of the game as one of the least clutch quarterbacks of this era.
The Drew Breeses, Eli Mannings, Tom Bradys, Peyton Mannings, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisbergers of the game have won their rings. Romo has as much game as they do, but he hasn't taken the next step. Until then, Romo will never be considered a great quarterback.
