Tony Romo's late heroics set up another winner-take-all showdown
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com
BALTIMORE -- Musings, observations and the occasional insight from a fairly frantic Week 16 in the NFL. ...
• So maybe that's why you let Tony Romo keep chucking it in the fourth quarter, even with his history of game-changing interceptions. And maybe that's why DeMarco Murray running the ball late in the game isn't always the no-brainer it appears, even when the book says that's the right call. Dallas took last week's zany script against Green Bay and flipped it on Sunday against Washington, with the Cowboys extending their drama-filled season and their playoff hopes into Week 17 thanks largely to Romo's ability to extend plays against the Redskins. Even once he suffered an undisclosed injury and started hobbling around in the fourth quarter.
All you really need to know about Dallas' stirring 24-23 comeback win against Washington is that Romo saved the day this time, after Murray very nearly ruined it. Two plays told the story: Murray losing a whopping nine yards on an ill-advised reverse-field run on 3rd-and-goal from the 1 with 1:16 remaining and Dallas down by six, and Romo rescuing the Cowboys and their season by finding Murray from 10 yards out for a touchdown on the next play, a 4th-and-goal with 1:08 left.
There were no costly Romo fourth-quarter interceptions this time. And while Murray contributed mightily with 96 yards rushing on 22 carries -- with a scoring run and a scoring catch -- the Cowboys in the end were very glad the game was in Romo's hands when it mattered. The mistakes of last week against Green Bay were, if not forgotten, at least papered over by the must-have victory.
Who knows what heroics or heartache await Jason Garrett's maddeningly inconsistent team next week when it plays visiting Philadelphia for the NFC East Division title. But at least the Cowboys (8-7) are going to be there for that showdown, a development that did not seem likely in the second half against Washington, when Dallas trailed by nine points and seemed ready to disappoint its emotionally exhausted fans one last time this year.
The Cowboys epic' 23-point blown lead against the Packers last week at home loomed over everything in Dallas entering Sunday at FedEx Field. With media reports about the Cowboys coaches needing to make the playoffs to keep their jobs (now there's a no-brainer for you), and the alleged tension that exists between Romo and Garrett, and Romo and Murray, it's a wonder anyone could keep all the melodrama straight as we count down the hours toward Christmas. Even in the postgame on Sunday, there was confusion about the exact nature of Romo's injury, with Jerry Jones telling ESPN Romo hurt his back, and Garrett telling the media Romo injured his foot.
There are two sides to seemingly everything in Dallas, but the Cowboys always have our attention and always find a way to keep things interesting. I suppose they've got us all right where they want us as Week 17 looms: leaning in hard and following every blip of news in Jerry World. For the third straight year, Dallas will play a winner-take-all NFC East title game, but this time it'll do it at home, after losing at the Giants (2011) and at the Redskins (2012) in the final week of the past two seasons. The Cowboys are 5-2 at home this season, losing only to Denver and Green Bay in high-scoring games.
If the Cowboys beat the Eagles, a pretty good amount of all the late-season turmoil in Dallas has a chance to get recast and perhaps revisited through the lens of success. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Cowboys still have to win that game against the Eagles to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and perhaps save Garrett's job. And who has that kind of faith in Dallas these days? The Cowboys handled the Eagles easily back in mid-October, in a 17-3 Week 7 win, but Philly is 6-2 since then, including Sunday night's 54-11 trouncing of Chicago, and should have the momentum entering next Sunday.
But as these Cowboys have taught us this season, momentum is a moment-to-moment proposition in Dallas. Every time they've had it this year, they've managed to give it back. Sometimes several times over the course of a single game. But this time, Romo made the plays that mattered, and the Cowboys lived to fight -- and entertain us -- another day. For better or for worse, wherever it takes them, Dallas is going to ride with Romo the entire way in 2013.
• What a tour de force performance by the Panthers defense in the biggest game of the year in Carolina, which is fitting given how the Panthers' season has played out. Carolina (11-4) is going back to the playoffs for the first time in five years on the shoulders of that defense, and it was approaching dominance in the 17-13 defeat of visiting New Orleans.
If there are video-game numbers on defense, Panthers linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis had them. Kuechly racked up a mind-boggling 24 tackles against the Saints and picked off Drew Brees. Davis had "only'' 13 tackles, but it was his late first-half interception of Brees that changed the feel of the game, with DeAngelo Williams ripping off a 43-yard touchdown run on the play following the Davis pick, putting Carolina up 7-6 despite little offensive production up to that point.
The Panthers are in the playoffs now, and can clinch the NFC South and the NFC's No. 2 seed by winning at Atlanta next week, or having the Saints lose at home to Tampa Bay. And its defense could make Carolina a very tough out in January. The Panthers got to Brees for six sacks, with defensive end Greg Hardy collecting half of those and two tackles for loss, against rookie Saints left offensive tackle Terron Armstead, who was starting in place of the benched Charles Brown.
The work by Panthers quarterback Cam Newton during Carolina's game-winning drive can't be overlooked, with his 14-yard touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon with 23 seconds left wiping out an uneven performance in which he completed 13-of-22 for 181 yards, with one score and one interception. But this Panthers team will go as far as its defense takes it, and Carolina's formula on that side of the ball is as good as anybody's in the NFL at the present time. The defense will be all the more important in Charlotte if No. 1 receiver Steve Smith's first-quarter knee injury is serious (early reports indicate it is not season-ending).
• The Saints certainly didn't make the questions about their road issues go away with that 13-point performance at Carolina. Brees didn't deal well with the Panthers' pass pressure, and that monsoon that hit Charlotte midgame didn't help New Orleans' offensive execution.
The Saints did have one tremendous 97-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to take a 13-10 lead, but they came nowhere near matching the 31 points and four touchdown passes they had against the Panthers in routing them 31-13 two weeks ago in the Superdome.
The loss of rookie safety Kenny Vacarro to a reported broken ankle is one of the worst injuries the Saints could have suffered. He helps set an aggressive and energetic tone for New Orleans, and his presence and playmaking will be greatly missed.
All in all, it was a devastating defeat for the Saints, who now must face the likelihood of making the playoffs as one of the NFC wild-card teams. And you know what that means: hitting the road in the playoffs. That was not the plan in New Orleans this season, after the Saints looked like they were No. 2 seed material for most of the past three months.
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