With Big Win at Seattle, the New Tony Romo Continues to Bury the Old Tony Romo

Go back in time. Count the number of occasions Tony Romo has been called overrated. A loser. A choker. A big-time choker. A choker who chokes when the choking gets good.

Romo will never win a big game. That's been said. Probably by me. Likely by many. Romo will never win a Super Bowl. Oh yes, that's been said a lot. He'd rather vacation with Jessica Simpson than work hard. Oh yeah, that was said, too. A lot.

Heard this joke once: Why can't Tony Romo use the phone anymore? Answer: Because he can't find the receiver.

On and on it has gone.

Fast forward to Sunday in Seattle, the most intimidating place to play in football. There are many reasons the Cowboys won: great offensive line play, DeMarco Murray and a defense that was once a laughingstock now suddenly among the best in football. But please, let's give credit where it is due.

Let's acknowledge that if Romo lost this game, we'd blame him, as we always have. So, for once, instead of kicking him in the teeth, let's tell the truth: Tony Romo won this game.

He was calm, smooth, efficient. In a place where you expected Romo to be intimidated, he and the Cowboys were the bullies. I know the defense was a star and the offensive line co-stars with Murray, but Romo going 21-of-32 for 250 yards and two scores was the biggest bully because, in contrast to the past, he didn't throw the hope-crushing pick. Instead, he crushed the Seahawks' hopes.

Few people saw this coming. Few people saw Romo winning in a place where Russell Wilson was almost unbeatable. But something seemed different about Romo from the second drive. The Cowboys had just given up a special teams touchdown. The Cowboys were back on offense.

Date	Opp.	Result	Com.-Att.	Yards	TD-Int.
9/7	S.F.	L, 17-28	23-37	281	1-3
9/14	@TEN	W, 26-10	19-29	176	1-0
9/21	@STL	W, 34-31	18-23	217	2-1
9/28	N.O.	W, 38-17	22-29	262	3-0
10/5	@HOU	W, 20-17	28-41	324	2-1
10/12	@SEA	W, 30-23	21-32	250	2-0

In the past, this would have been when Romo would have tossed a pick-six. That would be typical Romo, and you'd see the entire team deflate like a popped balloon. Instead, the veteran quarterback took a nasty shot, dusted himself off and showed no traces of Romo gonna Romo. He led Dallas on an 80-yard touchdown drive. It was one of the best drives of his career.

Never thought we would see Romo consistently challenge Richard Sherman. When stories emerged about how the Cowboys would challenge Sherman, thought it was typical Dallas bravado. It turned out to be prophetic.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not just saying Romo won the game. I'm saying that in the past, he would have lost it.

Go back to the 2006 season. That infamous Romo moment, when he fumbled a snap on a field-goal try in a playoff game at Seattle. That play changed the fortunes of a franchise. It was Bill Parcells' last season and the beginning of a slide where the Cowboys would morph into one of the most overrated franchises in all of sports.

Instead, now, here we are, and there was Romo on Sunday, spectacularly cool. That was the kind of statement win that had Peyton Manning done it, NFL writers would be slobbering all over Manning. We should do the same about Romo.

B/R via Fox broadcast

Everything about Dallas has transformed in a way no one expected. The defense has been stunning, Murray has been Jim Brown and Romo has been Troy Aikman.

None of this is reactionary. It's not hyperbole. The Cowboys have been the NFL's greatest surprise and they've developed into its most consistent team. They've done this because of Murray and that defense, sure, but also because Romo has morphed into something different.

There's this story that former Green Bay executive Andrew Brandt tells about when Romo came out of college. It was the end of the 2003 draft and there was chaos in the Packers' draft room when a scout yelled out, "Anyone want to sign this quarterback Tony Romo? He's from Wisconsin."

No one responded. No one wanted him.

He went from unwanted to a star to a man many thought was a failed quarterback.

That's changed. This isn't the same ol' Romo.

Not anymore.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.