Romo Redemption

Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin levitates toward the end zone on a 25-yard touchdown play.

After the devastating 27-24 loss against the New York Jets the first week of the 2011 NFL season, Tony Romo needed to redeem himself. Being the star quaterback of America's team comes with a lot of responsibilty. The Cowboys had a 14 point lead with less then 3 minutes in the game, but Romo fumbled on the 1 yard line, giving the Jets back the ball. Later in the game, Romo threw an interception that lead to the loss. In the press conference following the game, Tony took full blame for the loss and promised to play his heart out the next game. And that's just what he did.



Tony took the field on the Cowboys first position, leading his team to the opposite end of the field, where the rookie kicker for the Boys. Dan Bailey missed a 21 yard field goal. The first half was clearly disappointing for the Cowboys, going down 17 points. With under two minutes to go, Tony Romo showed why he's the starting quarterback for America's Team. A 53 yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin put the Cowboys back into the game, and took some pressure off of Tony's back.

The game took a turn for the worse as Tony was sidelined with a fractured rib, being told that he would no longer participate in the rest of the game. Cue Jon Kitna, who took over last season for Tony after his last season injury. Kitna did a fair job, throwing a 5 yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin, but also throwing two interceptions, one of which led to a 49ers touchdown. With a gift from the Gods, on the next Cowboys drive, Tony Romo grabbed his helmet and took the field. With 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Tony threw a 25 yard touchdown pass to the incredible Miles Austin, his third touchdown reception of the night, to put the Cowboys within 3 points.

Tony worked his magic once again, leading the Cowboys down the field with 4 seconds to go to give rookie kicker a chance to redeem himself and kick the field goal that would take the game into overtime. The rookie made the kick, and the game went into OT. After a strong defensive series, the Cowboys won the ball back for their offense, giving Tony Romo the chance to show his fans and the NFL that he can win big games. On the first play of the Cowboys drive, Tony throws an absolutely beautiful 77 yard pass to Jesse Holley, who won a spot on the Cowboys roster through Michael Irvin's television show. On the 1 yard line, the Cowboys opted to take the field goal and rookie kicker Dan Bailey nailed it.

With a fractured rib, and the weight of the world on his shoulders, Tony Romo showed how tough he is and how amazing he is as a player. He stepped up when the team needed him, showed all of the non believers how wrong they were and showed his organization that they made the right decision in keeping him as the starter. I give credit where credit is due, not because I am a Cowboys fan, but because Tony Romo played one heck of a game.