There would be no late-game fold or brain-dead mistake from Tony Romo this time.
If the Giants were counting on one of Romo’s patented giveaways after the Cowboys grabbed a two-touchdown lead in the third quarter last night, Big Blue — unlike the Jets in this same situation last year — were flat out of luck.
Romo was magnificent in leading the Cowboys to an emotional 24-17 win over the world champs at MetLife Stadium Wednesday night, slicing and dicing the Giants’ battered secondary to the tune of 307 yards and three touchdowns while completing an uncanny 22 of his 29 passes.
Romo’s only glaring miscue — an interception thrown straight into heavy zone coverage and the arms of Giants linebacker Michael Boley — came early in the second quarter. That was far too early to prove pivotal, especially because the Giants’ patchwork cast of defensive backs was unable to cover anybody.
“Tony Romo was Tony Romo, and that’s why we believe in him,” said Cowboys wideout Kevin Ogletree, the Queens native who proved to be Romo’s favorite target with a career-high eight catches for 114 yards and the first two touchdowns of his NFL life. “There’s no other quarterback I want throwing the ball.”
Even more impressive was how helpless Romo made the Giants’ vaunted pass rush look. He was sacked twice, but both proved as inconsequential as the “contributions” of usual Giants stalwarts Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck.
It was a far cry from Week 17 here last January, when the Giants sacked Romo six times and ended Dallas’ season with a 31-14 rout. But Romo wasn’t going to let a stitched-together Cowboys offensive line be his undoing this time.
Romo got the ball out quick and was elusive, too, especially when he scrambled nine yards to the Giants’ 10-yard line to give the Cowboys a first down late in the third quarter and set up a field goal.
“There’s not much you can say about his performance except to say Tony was incredible,” said tight end Jason Witten, whose mere appearance in the game just 22 days after lacerating his spleen was equally remarkable. “That’s one of the best games I’ve seen by a quarterback. It was fun to be part of it.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones created a stir in the offseason when he said he felt “the window was closing” on Romo and the rest of Dallas’ core to start winning playoff games and contending for Super Bowls.
Last night was just the season opener, of course, and Romo still has a long way to go to silence critics who point to his one career postseason win as proof he isn’t an elite quarterback. But those critics had no choice but to be silent last night.
“That’s the Tony Romo we know can lead us to great things,” Jones said last night in a giddy Dallas locker room.