NFL Week 17 Picks: Tony Romo and Cowboys Will Choke Against Giants

Tony Romo will do what he does best on Sunday night against the New York Giants: choke.

The LeBron James of the NFL has all the talent in the world, but time and time again he blows it when it matters most. Sure, he shows flashes of ability in crunch time, such as his heroics against the San Francisco 49ers with a broken rib and punctured lung, but his failures overshadow his successes.

Throw in the fact that he'll be playing with a bruised throwing hand and the odds are heavily stacked against Romo.

In the regular-season finale, the Dallas Cowboys' mediocre offensive line will crumble against New York’s relentless pass rush. Even with Romo’s ability to evade an opposing rush, Dallas’ o-line ranks 20th in the league in quarterback hits allowed.

Led by second-year pass-rushing fiend Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants are fifth in the league with a total of 42 sacks.

Dallas’ defense will also struggle to match up with new-look New York. While the Giants have been a run-first team in the past, Eli Manning and his arsenal of weapons now rank fourth in the league in passing yards per game with 293.5.

The Cowboys 23rd-ranked pass defense will fail when put to the test this weekend.

Just three weeks ago, Manning torched Dallas’ pitiful secondary for a whopping 400 yards en route to a 37-34 Giants victory. Dallas held an 11-point fourth-quarter lead, but once again, they couldn’t hold it. A blocked Dan Bailey field goal concluded the Cowboys collapse—a collapse anyone could’ve seen coming.

In Week 1 against the New York Jets, Dallas held a 10-point fourth-quarter lead before a Romo fumble on the Jets’ own three-yard line gave Rex Ryan’s crew new life. A Romo interception, in which Darrelle Revis could’ve been mistaken for the intended receiver set up NY’s go-ahead field goal.

If you thought that was bad, the Cowboys were rolling against the Detroit Lions with a 24-point lead in the second half. Two Romo pick-sixes and another interception to set up Detroit's game-winning touchdown later, and Dallas had done it again.

It isn't case of if the Cowboys will blow it in Week 17, but how.

While the Giants are coming off of a 29-14 triumph over the Jets, the Cowboys just got beat down by the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-7. In that game, Michael Vick shredded the Dallas secondary for 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

At MetLife Stadium, with the NFC East title on the line, the clutch Super Bowl champion will knock out the choke artist.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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