Tony Romo Continues MVP Surge with Record-Setting Performance in Title Clincher

ARLINGTON, Texas — That sound you are hearing in the distance is the Tony Romo-for-MVP train coming over the mountain and down the hill at full throttle.

Think of the Little Engine that Could.

Now picture it has a runaway locomotive.

Jump on board or get run over with the truth.

Nobody is having a better season than the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, and nobody has meant more to his team.

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NFL leaders in Total QBR (2014 Season) Tony Romo 82.3 Aaron Rodgers 81.2 Peyton Manning 80.8

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 22, 2014

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The 34-year-old quarterback, who has rebounded from offseason back surgery, has endured fractured bones in his back and torn rib cartilage to fashion the best season of his career.

He added to his MVP ledger with a record-setting performance in the Cowboys' 42-7 NFC East title-clinching victory against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. 

Romo completed 18 of 20 passes for 218 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 151.7 passer rating. His 90 percent completion rate was the highest in team history.

Romo also became the Cowboys' all-time leader in passing yards in that game, surpassing Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champion Troy Aikman in Cowboys history. Romo, a former undrafted free agent, has 32,971 passing yards. Aikman had 32,942 in his career.

What Romo and the Cowboys care about most is the NFC East title, their first playoff berth since 2009 and arguably their best chance to make a run to the Super Bowl since their last title in 1995.

“I’m confident that as we go into the tournament that we’re going to have as good of quarterback play as any other team in the NFL, and I think Romo is there,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the game. “I’ve said this, I’m going to say it one more time: Somehow, some way, he needs to have a Super Bowl to his name. He’s that good.”

Romo has been good, very good all season, throwing for 3,406 yards with 32 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.

But he has been downright amazing in leading the Cowboys to a 3-0 record in the month of December to capture the division title.

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Tony Romo entered this season 14-21 in December/January games (including playoffs). He is now 3-0 this year. pic.twitter.com/4AyafUXxet

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 22, 2014

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Remember the tired narrative that Romo plays his worst when it matters the most and is the reason for the Cowboys' well-chronicled December swoons?

Well, it was always more than Romo. But this December, Romo is playing his best football and has left no doubt.

In victories against the Chicago Bears (41-28), the Philadelphia Eagles (38-27) and the Colts, Romo has completed an MVP-like 79.2 percent of his passes for 688 yards with 10 touchdowns, no interceptions and a quarterback rating of 143.5.

“He is the MVP,” receiver Dez Bryant said of Romo. “Look at the performance. You give him hell in December; he goes 3-0 in December. That’s icing on the cake. Give it to him. He is doing a hell of a job.”

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In his last 16 regular-season games in Dec & Jan, Romo has 39 TDs and 8 INTs.

— Jean-Jacques Taylor (@JJT_ESPNDallas) December 22, 2014

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Romo is doing a hell of a job in December, but he has been great all season. The Cowboys are 11-3 in games he has started, and they are undefeated when he has been healthy.

He did not play his best in the 28-17 season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a three-interception meltdown, but he was uncomfortable after back surgery.

He was knocked out of the 20-17 loss to the Washington Redskins with fractured bones in his back, and he didn't handle the short week well leading up to the 33-10 loss to the Eagles on Thanksgiving Day.

Otherwise, he has been playing lights-out football.

"He's got to be up for it," tight end Jason Witten said of Romo as MVP. "I know there are other quarterbacks that have played well. We're a little bit biased, but if you take that first game out of the season and really the first half, he's been remarkable the way he's done it.

"He just makes big play after big play, and he creates a lot of those. I definitely think it's his best season. His name needs to be mentioned. I know some of those other guys have played well, but with this team and what he's done, he would get my vote."

The national media is catching on as well—namely, Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

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MMQB preview. MVP top 5. 1. Rodgers. 2. Romo. 3. Watt. 4. RWilson. 5. Brady. Fire away.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) December 22, 2014

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A case can be made for Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, the league's leading rusher and the focal point of the team's offensive attack.

But the Cowboys acknowledge it's Romo who makes it all go. And he's having a league-leading season in his own right.  He tops all quarterbacks in completion percentage (70.3), yards per attempt (8.49) and passer rating (114.4).

"He certainly is in my book,"  Jones said of Romo as MVP. "He is for me. Yes, he is, because Murray has certainly carried his share, but Tony's quarterbacking this year was indispensable. We couldn't have had the team, and we have a team that probably right now is in the top four or five teams in the league. That's pretty good qualification of the vote."

Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.