With No Time and No Dez, Romo Stays Cool to Forge Another Cowboys Comeback

ARLINGTON, Texas — One of the Giants players gave me a simple quote that partly summed up what happened in the team's 27-26 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night: "We f--king choked."

That was one side; then came the other. In the moments after the game, as Cowboys players celebrated wildly, Dez Bryant emerged from the locker room, wearing nothing but underwear, and greeted teammates as they entered from the hallway.

"Hey!" he said. "Hey! That's what the f--k I'm talking about!" He did a Hulk-type pose, yelled some more, until a Cowboys team official grabbed Bryant's arm to get the scantily clothed star back into the locker room. It was one of the more surreal moments I've ever seen in a postgame.

It becomes even more incredible knowing Bryant has a broken bone in his foot, which owner Jerry Jones announced afterward. Bryant later had on a walking boot, and coach Jason Garrett said Bryant will miss four to six weeks. One source familiar with the situation said that timetable was highly optimistic.

Even with that sobering news, the image of Bryant screaming and rejoicing, with a shattered foot, after a great season-opening win, was an incredible sight.

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You'll have to excuse the language and wild scenes. This was raw, real stuff from both sides—highly charged and emotional—in the moments after one of the more violent games of the day, won by Dallas and Tony Romo.

It was the tale of two destinies. A Giants team that choked away a golden chance, and a Dallas team, led by Romo, that grabbed the moment by the throat.

What this game does is give us yet another glimpse inside the mind of Romo and offer yet another layer to what has been an evolving personal narrative. There was once the choking Romo. The interception Romo. The has-he-thrown-a-pick-yet Romo.

That is being replaced by something else. The tough Romo. The mentally sturdy Romo. The comeback Tony. He is changing everything about how history will view him. This is no longer the guy who bobbled a field-goal hold, held his head low and became a meme.

We are now seeing a Hall of Fame career being forged. He doesn't get the credit he deserves now because of what happened earlier in his career, but only a fool would dismiss what Romo is doing.

"The poise that he had, really throughout that ballgame...he did a really good job maintaining his poise," Garrett said. "Obviously the last drive was really remarkable."

And thousands of Cowboys fans missed it. As the Giants were driving with a 23-20 lead with under six minutes left, fans started streaming for the exits. About 25 percent of the 93,579 fans had left, most of them seemingly Cowboys fans.

It's actually easy to understand why. The Cowboys seemed dead. The first play from scrimmage on their final drive came with 1:29 left in the game, and the Cowboys were at their own 28.

Look at what Romo had to work with: The running game had been mostly absent. His best playmaker was in the locker room with a broken foot. The Giants had, for much of the game, physically pounded them. Romo was also coming off two interceptions (though they weren't really his fault).

None of that seemed to matter. Romo would become a cool assassin and dream-killer.

One minute and 29 seconds. Seventy-two yards to go.

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The first play saw Romo throw short to running back Lance Dunbar, a play that went 24 yards to the New York 48.

One minute and four seconds. Forty-eight yards to go.

Another short pass to Dunbar. This time for 16 yards. The Giants, mysteriously, decided that covering Dunbar was a bad idea.

Forty-three seconds. Thirty-two yards to go.

Romo went to tight end Jason Witten for 13 yards. The amazing part about this, and what would come next, is that every defense knows Romo will eventually go to Witten, and yet he still gets crazy wide-open.

Twenty-three seconds. Nineteen yards to go. 

Romo threw his only incompletion of the winning drive. But it didn't seem to matter. The Giants were panicked. They were the walking dead by that point. Everyone knew it.

Seventeen seconds. Nineteen yards to go. 

A short pass to Terrance Williams for eight yards.

Thirteen seconds. Eleven yards to go.

The snap was low and actually hit the ground. Romo rushed to pick it up and he did.

"You gotta have poise in random situations," Romo said.

He found Witten for the 11-yard score. There were only seven seconds left.

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How quickly did Romo's eyes find Witten? "Pretty quickly," Romo said. "You rehearse and prepare for this way before the game."

In minicamps. In training camp. In regular-season practice. In the film room. In daydreams. At night.

This is what the great ones do, and Romo is one of the great ones. He finished 36-of-45 for 356 yards and three touchdowns. Most importantly, he could have choked. But that was the old Tony.

The win meant Romo became only the 14th quarterback in NFL history with 25 fourth-quarter comebacks. He now has the same number as future Hall of Famers Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees.

Romo was asked when he finally became comfortable in this type of situation. He talked about how a few years ago, the Cowboys were always trailing, and while an offense doesn't want that to happen, it brought a sense of comfort to Romo the more the pressure increased. Again, this is what the great ones do.

After the game, Bryant and Jerry Jones hugged tight in the locker room.

"That's a tough loss," Romo said of his star receiver. "You can't replace Dez Bryant."

No, they can't. But as long as the Cowboys have Romo, they have a chance. Every. Time.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.