With Tony Romo in a Groove, Sky's the Limit for the 2014 Dallas Cowboys

Suddenly, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo looks like his old self, rather than his old self. 

Romo is 34—the fourth-oldest starting quarterback in the NFL—and has undergone two back procedures in the last 18 months. This summer, we kept hearing that he could no longer effectively throw deep, and the visual evidence from August and most of September appeared to support that theory. 

But here the Cowboys are on a four-game winning streak—tied for the best record in football at 4-1—and Romo's play has picked up quite significantly on a weekly basis. 

	Comp %	TD-INT	YPA	YPG	Rating
First 2 weeks	63.6	2-3	6.9	228.5	75.1
Next 3 weeks	73.1	7-2	8.6	267.7	115.1

But what's most encouraging is that Romo is finally hitting on those deep balls. Based on numbers derived by Pro Football Focus (subscription required), during the first two weeks of the season, Romo was just 1-of-6 on passing attempts targeted 20 yards or more downfield. 

Since then, he's gone a solid 5-of-11, three of which came on five deep attempts during Sunday's victory over the Houston Texans. That's something he'd done only twice in his previous 20 games, dating back to December 2012. 

	On deep throws	Deep TD-INT	Yards on deep throws
First 2 weeks	1 for 6	0-1	56
Next 3 weeks	5 for 11	2-0	202

He also completed a 28-yard pass to wide receiver Terrance Williams on a throw that traveled 18 yards, but the key play from Sunday's win came when Romo somehow slipped away from this attempted sack from the game's best defensive player, J.J. Watt...

NFL Game Pass

...before throwing a bomb to Williams for a 43-yard touchdown to give Dallas the lead in the third quarter.

That and an incredible completion to receiver Dez Bryant on a 3rd-and-long in overtime were game-changing plays, and both happened despite the fact Romo was under heavy pressure. That has me thinking the veteran quarterback might actually be capable of leading this offense after all. Maybe he doesn't have to become the custodian many of us figured he was becoming early this season. 

It helps that the focus from head coach Jason Garrett and play-caller Scott Linehan continues to be on DeMarco Murray and the running game. In Dallas for much of Garrett's tenure, balance has been something that has existed only in theory. But this season, Dallas has thrown the ball on just 51 percent of its offensive plays, according to TeamRankings.com, which is the fourth-lowest passing percentage in the NFL. 

In fact, they're throwing 22 percent less often this year than they did last season, which is unbelievable. 

Year	Pass play %	Rank	Record
2012	66.2	2nd	8-8
2013	64.9	4th	8-8
2014	50.8	29th	4-1

And it's paying off, mainly because Murray has been tearing up defenses at a historical rate. Sunday, he became only the third back in NFL history to go over the 100-yard mark in each of the first five games of a season, and he now leads the league in rushing by a 210-yard margin. 

Running back	Yards	Season
1. O.J. Simpson	823	1975
2. O.J. Simpson	813	1973
3. Jim Brown	787	1963
4. Jamal Lewis	742	2003
5. DeMarco Murray	670	2014
6. Terrell Davis	657	1998
7. Eric Dickerson	657	1986
8. Eric Dickerson	645	1983
9. Stephen Davis	641	2003
10. Emmitt Smith	638	1995

Meanwhile, tight end Jason Witten continues to make history, Williams already has five touchdown grabs and Bryant has become the ultimate offensive distraction. That offensive line—which features three recent first-round picks, all of whom are under age 25—is arguably the best in football, and it's only going to get better. 

And I haven't even mentioned the defense, which has surprised every non-Cowboys employee on the planet with a string of respectable performances early this season.

The D has sunk this team in the past, and that was supposed to be the case this year considering that they ranked dead last in the NFL in 2013 before losing key starters Sean Lee (to injury) and DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher (to free agency). 

But D-coordinator Rod Marinelli has worked his magic and they've gotten some unexpectedly stellar performances from front-seven defenders Bruce Carter, Justin Durant, Rolando McClain and Tyrone Crawford. 

Prior to this four-game winning streak, the Dallas defense had surrendered at least 21 points in 10 consecutive games, dating back to last October. But they've given up no more than 17 points in three of their last four outings. They still surrender plenty of yardage, but they don't break very often. The 20.6 points per game they've allowed ranks eighth in football. 

Year	PPG allowed (rank)	YPG allowed (rank)
2013	27.0 (26th)	415.3 (32)
2014	20.6 (8th)	369.8 (21)

Because this is the NFL in its most pass-happy era in history, none of that matters much if your quarterback isn't an elite player. Right now, it looks as though Romo has both the support and the competence required of a franchise QB. 

I know, Sunday's win wasn't necessarily impressive, but that's sort of the point. In the past, Dallas hasn't won games like these. The Cowboys turned the ball over twice inside the red zone, dropped five passes and exhibited questionable clock management in the fourth quarter, and yet they still defeated a quality opponent in what sadly felt like a road game. 

"We've been through a lot," cornerback Brandon Carr said after the game, according to ESPNDallas.com's Jean-Jacques Taylor. "There have been ups and downs. We've been blown out and we've blown leads. We probably wouldn't have won this game last year."

That's probably true, which is a big reason why it's easy to imagine Dallas doing plenty of damage down the stretch this season. Now that Romo's on his game, it feels like everything's coming together, and they'll only become stronger on the other side of the ball as Pro Bowl-caliber defensive linemen Henry Melton and Anthony Spencer get healthier and start playing more snaps. Remember: Carter, McClain and top corner Orlando Scandrick have also missed time. 

All of those injuries on defense to go along with four fumbles from Murray on offense and you begin to wonder how exactly Dallas is 4-1. But that goes to show how talented this team is.

Seventy-seven percent of teams that win four of their first five games make the NFL playoffs. It's been half a decade since Dallas last participated in the postseason and even longer since they last started 4-1. But the way everything is shaping up right now, the Cowboys could be the surprise contender of 2014. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon