Why Tony Romo's Injury Will Not Be an Excuse If the Cowboys Lose to Giants

If the Dallas Cowboys lose on Sunday night to the New York Giants, it will obviously be an extreme disappointment to an already disappointing season.

That being said, the play of QB Tony Romo has been anything but disappointing. In fact, one could argue that 2011 is the best season thus far in Romo's career. He's almost at 3,900 passing yards, he's thrown 29 TDs to just nine picks, has a 65.4 completion percentage (best of his career) and a 102.2 rating (also best of his career).

Adding to it, Romo has played hurt for much of the season, so it's no surprise that this continues into Week 17.

According to Todd Archer of ESPN Dallas, Romo practiced on Wednesday and Thursday:

"

Romo wore a wrap on his hand in Thursday's practice after not using one on Wednesday. Romo, however, reiterated that he would play Sunday against the New York Giants, with the winner claiming the NFC East title and a playoff spot.

"

With Romo once again appearing to play injured on some level, it will definitely be interesting to see how he performs.

Then again, it won't be surprising if he shreds the Giants again as he did in Week 14. There, Romo connected on 21 of his 31 attempts for 321 yards and four TDs. His rating was 141.3 and the completion percentage 67.7.

It favors him that Big Blue ranks No. 27 against the pass and allows 255.4 pass yards per game. As for Romo and the 'Boys, Jason Garrett's offense ranks No. 8 in passing and averages 263.3 pass yards per game.

Needless to say, Tony Romo will dominate New York Giants once again and it will be another high-scoring affair. If the Dallas Cowboys lose this game, the defense will be at fault.

You can't ask Romo to play any better than he has this season in spite of his injuries. If the Cowboys lose, blame their weak pass defense (ranks No. 23, allows 238.3 yards per game) and the Giants' offensive line for providing Eli Manning with great protection in the pocket.

On the year, Romo has been sacked 33 times to Eli's 26. With each team possessing one stud pass-rusher, but the Cowboys being weaker at pass-protection, Tony will have to improvise once again.

Either way, don't expect him to let any of his injuries prevent him from having a solid outing.

Follow John Rozum on Twitter @ Sportswriter27