IRVING, Texas – Tony Romo was unapologetic, but Terrell Owens was driven to tears.
The two driving forces in one of the most successful regular seasons in the Cowboys’ storied history had vastly different reactions to the Giants’ 21-17 playoff win yesterday that unceremoniously ended it.
Besieged by criticism from fans and the local media for his bye-week trip to Cabo San Lucas with pop-starlet girlfriend Jessica Simpson, Romo was defiant after the Cowboys’ sixth consecutive playoff loss, dating to 1997.
“No, I don’t live with regrets,” Romo said when asked about the trip with Simpson. “I’m content in my own skin. If I try to be a good person and I’m strong enough in my faith, then I’m doing it the right way.” The mere mention of Romo brought a much more emotional reaction from Owens, who started crying behind dark sunglasses during his postgame meeting with reporters.
“It’s not about Tony,” said Owens, who had four catches for 49 yards and a score despite playing on a sprained ankle. “You can point the finger at him, you can talk about the vacation (with Simpson). . . . That’s my teammate, that’s my quarterback. We lost as a team, man. We lost as a team.”
That was obvious by the final numbers. Looking nothing like the high-flying club that clinched the NFC’s No. 1 seed by winning a club-record-tying 13 games in the regular season, the Cowboys imploded in a sea of boneheaded mistakes yesterday. Dallas was its own worst enemy, committing 11 penalties for minus-84 yards – many of them at the least opportune times.
When it wasn’t offensive lineman Leonard Davis committing a foolish personal foul to thwart a potential third-quarter scoring drive, it was Jacques Reeves needlessly grabbing Steve Smith’s facemask along the sideline to set up a momentum-turning Giants touchdown drive just before halftime.
On and on it went for the Cowboys, whose first-year coach, Wade Phillips, did nothing to dispel his reputation as a playoff loser. Phillips is now 0-4 as a head coach in NFL postseason play, going winless with three different teams.
Much of the blame, of course, will fall on Romo. The second-year starter did nothing to ease the criticism of his Mexican fiesta, completing just 18 of 36 passes for 201 yards (with one touchdown and one interception) in the face of a relentless Giants pass rush.
Romo looked harried and bumbling in the second half, and his final pass of the season was his day in a nutshell. The deep throw down the middle for Terry Glenn with nine seconds left was easily picked off by Giants cornerback R.W. McQuarters to seal the outcome. “It hurts,” Romo said.
“We had good position going into the playoffs, and it’s just so disappointing because you put in so much time. When you don’t come through, especially at the quarterback position, it’s a tough pill to swallow.”
It certainly was for Owens, who boasted last week that fans should “get your popcorn ready” for his performance against the Giants. Instead, he struggled to compose himself afterward, sniffling as the tears rolled down his cheeks. “Obviously, the regular season doesn’t matter,” Owens said.
“It’s very evident that the regular season doesn’t matter. When the playoffs start, it’s any man’s game. And we came up short.”
Again.
bhubbuch@nypost.com