Tony Romo might not know the playoffs, but he does own November.
The Giants were unlucky enough to catch the Cowboys’ star-crossed quarterback in the one month of the schedule he dominates like no other passer in modern NFL history, and the result was a 24-21 Dallas victory Sunday at frigid MetLife Stadium.
Romo improved to 23-5 in the month of November — the best record among any quarterback with at least 20 starts since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger — and could legitimately take credit for it after leading a clutch scoring march in the game’s final five minutes.
After a relatively quiet game in which he threw two touchdown passes to Jason Witten but struggled to sustain any long drives, Romo abruptly came alive after the Giants battled back to tie the game 21-21 with 4:45 left.
Taking over at his 20, Romo converted three third-down tries — two of them to Dez Bryant — on a 14-play drive that drained the entire clock and ended with a 35-yard Dan Bailey field goal at the gun.
So much for Romo’s mistake-prone reputation, at least in the regular season.
“I was thinking, ‘We’ve just got to go score and win the game,’ ’’ Romo said. “You either feel comfortable in those situations or you don’t. I feel good. We’ve done that before.”
The game-ending masterpiece orchestrated by Romo was even more stunning considering the Cowboys came into the game having not converted a third down since Nov. 3. Dallas also was just 1-for-8 on third down before the final possession.
“I just made sure to save up all of our good third downs for that last drive,” Romo said. “Seriously, those guys ran some good routes, and it just comes down to execution.”
Romo’s final numbers won’t exactly wow anyone (23-for-38 for 250 yards, with an interception that wasn’t his fault), but the ending had to quiet both the Giants and Romo’s legion of critics.
Forcing the Giants to zip their lips no doubt gave Romo the biggest thrill Sunday, considering how talkative they had been all week. From Jason Pierre-Paul guaranteeing “there will be blood” to Terrell Thomas predicting a Big Blue victory, the Cowboys had no shortage of bulletin-board material.
Romo refused to match the Giants’ verbal fire, preferring to let his play do the talking. And it spoke loudly when it counted most Sunday.
Romo’s best throw on the march came in the toughest situation, with the Cowboys facing third-and-7 from their own 23 and the pumped-up MetLife crowd shaking the stands.
Romo responded calmly by lofting a 19-yard throw along the right sideline to Bryant, who beat Antrel Rolle in single coverage on the play.
It turned out to be the first of three third-down conversions off Romo completions on the drive, as he connected with Bryant again for 8 yards on third-and-5 and then set up Bailey’s game-winner with a 13-yard pass to Cole Beasley to the Giants 15 on third-and-10.
Romo’s heroics not only gave the 6-5 Cowboys a share of first place in the NFC East with the idle Eagles, they also silenced his critics for at least six more days.
“It was a tough environment against a team that felt like their season was on the line,” Romo said. “It was a playoff-like game, and we just had to find a way to win. I’m proud that we did.”