Ouch!
LVP – Tony Romo
A lot of things fell apart in the second half, but Romo was the trigger. His interceptions gave Detroit life in the most direct way possible; a 14-point swing and all the momentum they needed to get rolling. That’s not to say our defense didn’t look pretty bad either, but you can’t put this one on them. They did their part and we would have walked away winners if not for Romo’s mistakes.
That said, I’m not going to the ridiculous “Start Kitna” notion that my fellow writer on this site did. Kitna gives you much of the same gunslinger mentality as Romo does without the same ability to bounce back from those mistakes. Even if you’re done with Romo as our long-term quarterback he’s still our best option for the rest of this year. We’re 2-2 in a weak division; this is no time for drastic actions.
Worst Play – Bobby Carpenter’s Pick-6
You could make a case for a few. Calvin Johnson’s jumpball TD over three defenders was pretty awful, but in the grand scheme we did a goob job of keep him and Stafford in check. You really have to point to Romo’s first interception, returned for a touchdown by none other than Bobby freakin’ Carpenter, as the worst play of the game. It was the momentum-changer and the catalyst of this epic collapse.
Silver Linings
The negative is obvious and there’s no need to really belabor the point. Though the headline will be about the way we lost this game, there’s plenty to take from it that points to big things going forward. The offensive line was fantastic in a game that everyone was expecting them to struggle in. Laurent Robinson ended the conversation about our third receiver spot. The running game was productive against a tough matchup. And until our offense gave Detroit momentum, the defense was absolutely dominating one of the most potent offenses in the NFL. I know it’s doom-and-gloom time right now for most fans, but once emotion die down I hope Cowboys nation can look objectively at this team and realize that there’s is massive potential once the bye week’s over.
Little Consolation
A closing thought just to try and ease the pain a little bit; the Eagles were up 20-3 against the 49ers and ended up losing the game today. The loss drops them to 1-3 and keeps Dallas from that basement spot in the NFC East. With Romo sure to catch plenty of media backlash this week for his play, at least there will be another newsworthy meltdown to take some off some of the heat.
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