Tony Romo Injury Update: How Will Ribs Affect Dallas' Star QB in 2011?

Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys escaped San Francisco with a victory, but it will prove to be costly moving forward as superstar QB Tony Romo deals with a rib injury.

Romo displayed remarkable heroics by returning to the game late to help lead the Cowboys to an overtime victory over the 49ers. He’ll receive his due credit for the remainder of the season for this unforgettable come-from-behind win.

Why will it be so unforgettable? Not because of his heroics, but because we’re going to be reminded all season about his cracked rib.

ESPN radio host and FOX Sports TV analyst Matt Mosley fills us in on the injured Dallas Star.

This is terrible news for the Cowboys moving forward. They have to compete against a quality Washington Redskins front seven next week. Dallas’ offensive line isn’t good enough to protect Romo for the amount of time he likes in the pocket.

If Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are forced to miss the contest, Romo will have to hold on to the rock longer to wait for Jason Witten, Kevin Ogletree and Jesse Holley to get open.

A rib injury is no laughing matter, literally. Any sudden movement, even laughing, will send sharp pains throughout Romo’s body. He is already experiencing great pain, which won’t subside before Week 3.

“Tony Romo had a difficult time getting dressed after Sunday’s 27-24 overtime win at San Francisco because of a fractured rib,” according to ESPN Dallas’ Todd Archer.

He is already susceptible to getting hit because of that offensive line and his playing style, but now defenders will be eyeing those ribs. Even if he wears extra padding underneath his jersey, the ribs will affect his mobility in and out of the pocket, his patented duck move to evade blitzers and, most importantly, his ability to throw the ball strongly and accurately.

Even worse, Romo already had difficulty calling plays against the 49ers and will have to worry about that moving forward.

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“He had an even harder time calling plays during the game.

‘I can talk in a monotone voice like this, but with whatever thousands of fans, [calling plays] was one of the hardest things to do, in my opinion,’ Romo said.

A crowd of 69,732 packed Candlestick Park, and while there were a lot of Cowboys fans, it was difficult to hear the signals, especially in the second half.

‘A couple of times guys in the huddle were like, ‘Speak up,’ and he says, ‘I can’t,’’ tight end Jason Witten said,” according to Archer.

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This is the type of injury that will linger. It affects QBs much worse than other players. Philadelphia Eagles RB LeSean McCoy and QB Michael Vick suffered rib injuries last year. While Vick missed time, McCoy was able to play through the pain and was still extremely successful.

Right now, Romo’s status is uncertain. I would fully expect him to play, but it is difficult to see him performing well.

Jon Kitna is the backup and was average last season. He threw an awful interception in limited action against San Francisco in Week 2, but one has to believe that extra preparation time would benefit him.

Regardless, Dallas is suffering from devastating injuries to Felix Jones (shoulder), Bryant (quad), Austin (hamstring) and Romo before an important Monday night game against a division rival. They could very well fall to 1-2 on the season while Washington jumps to a 3-0 record.