Top 5 Epic Losses of the Tony Romo Era

            I complained during my review of the weekend about the Dallas Cowboys repeatedly attempting to clog my arteries with their epic losses they have suffered over the past decade. For those that don’t follow the Cowboys on a weekly basis, here were the five most gut wrenching losses of the Tony Romo era (I was also going to include some Quincy Carter and Drew Bledsoe games, but I’ve been doing a good job of forgetting that those two people actually played quarterback for my favorite football team).

5. 44-6 Loss at Philadelphia Eagles, 2008 Week 17

            As listless a performance by a squad that needed to win a game to make the playoffs as there has ever been. The entire team quit on poor old Wade Phillips. Amazingly, Phillips maintained employment with the Cowboys for another 26 games.

4. 14-10 Loss at Washington Redskins, 2010 Week 1

            This was a case of a superior team not only squandering the opportunity to score points, but simultaneously giving away points to the opposition. Dallas was down 3-0 with four seconds left in the first half when Tony Romo made this lateral to Tashard Choice.

            Dallas had a chance to win late, but an Alex Barron holding penalty negated a touchdown pass to Roy Williams as time expired. Things would get worse during Dallas’ 1-7 start, but this game was the catalyst.

  
3. 27-24 Loss at New York Jets, 2011 Week 1

            It's been two days, and I’m still struggling to figure out how a team on the one yard line, up seven, with eight minutes to play, goes on to lose a football game. I guess these are the elements you need for this sort of situation to occur.

1. The quarterback trying to be the hero instead of making the smart play (Romo diving for a touchdown instead of taking the sack and letting Dallas kick a field goal).
2. A bizarre special teams mistake (the blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown).
3. Still relying on a wide receiver, even though it was plainly obvious that said receiver was unable to run faster than Abe Vigoda (Romo’s off-balance throw to a gimpy Dez Bryant, which was easily intercepted by Darrelle Revis, who just happens to be the best cornerback in the NFL. It’s not like Dallas had other weapons such as Miles Austin and Jason Witten at their disposal…oh wait they did. That play will never make sense to me).

          I hope this loss doesn’t destroy the Cowboys’ season. Dallas dominated for 80% of the contest, and moved the ball through the air effortlessly against the best pass defense in the league. Don’t be surprised though if Dallas lays an egg in San Francisco this Sunday.

2. 21-20 Loss at Seattle Seahawks, 2007 Wild Card Game

   

 I remember two things from this game that are unrelated to Tony Romo’s epic botch of the snap on the final field goal attempt.

1. Miles Austin ran a kick back for a touchdown in this game. Keep in mind that this means he was on the roster during the 2006 regular season. He didn’t break out as a wide receiver until week six of the 2009 season. This means that it took over three years before the Cowboys figured out that Austin was capable of being an all-pro receiver. Call me crazy, but I think Bill Belichick would’ve solved that much faster.
2. During the Cowboys final drive of the game, I remember telling friends that I was watching the game with that I was terrified of Martin Gramatica. Gramatica was the kicker that season, who did have a couple of big moments during the regular season that year. Even when Dallas drove all the way to the two-yard line, I was still mentally preparing myself for Gramatica hooking a 19-yard field goal. Ironically enough, Gramatica was never given the chance to blow the game.

          Some of you may wonder how this game wasn’t number one on this list. For me, it boils down to the simple fact that this team had no chance of making it to the Super Bowl. If they won this game, they would’ve gotten their doors blown off at Soldier Field (the Bears defense was filthy that year). If Dallas somehow pulled off an upset over Chicago, they would’ve had to play a Saints squad that had already destroyed them earlier in the regular season. So really not much was squandered here, although it did spawn the “Tony Romo is a Choke Artist” fan club. 

1. 21-17 Loss vs. New York Giants, 2008 Divisional Round Game

            Forgive me while a write a few paragraphs about Patrick Crayton. For those of you that have already forgotten about him (which I’m assuming is most of you), Crayton was a mediocre wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys during the early years of the Tony Romo era. During the 13-3 year in 2007, Crayton had a bad habit of running his mouth. After getting shellacked at home by the juggernaut Patriots, Crayton had the audacity to suggest that both teams would meet again in the Super Bowl, and that Dallas would win. Crayton took it a step further going into their playoff game against the Giants, talking about how they had already beaten New York twice, and how they were going to do it again.

            In this case, karma proved to be a bitch. Crayton dropped three passes in this game, but none was bigger than this third and 14 halfway through the third quarter (sorry for the poor quality, it’s the only footage I could come up with on YouTube).

            If Crayton caught that ball, he more than likely would’ve scored. Dallas would’ve had a ten point lead against a Giants offense that only managed 76 yards in the second half of that game. Tragically, the Giants went on to pull off the upset of the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. I’ll never forgive Crayton for this drop, or his play in that game.