Tony Romo Injury: Why Cowboys QB Will Shed Soft Label on Monday Night Football

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will apparently try to play through the pain of a broken rib and punctured lung in order to be on the field Monday night against the Washington Redskins. While I'm not sure that's the right decision for Romo or the Cowboys, if he does play no one will be able to question his toughness.

Despite not practicing on Thursday, a source told ESPN Dallas that Romo is expected to play Monday night, and will likely be wearing a protective Kevlar vest. He'll probably also get a pain-killing injection of some kind.

On Wednesday Romo said that it hurt to laugh and revealed that he has been sleeping in a chair to dull some of the pain. The fact that he's even considering playing against the Redskins should be all the evidence you need that he's certainly a tough dude.

While I've never questioned his heart, Romo has never come across as a particularly gutty guy. Maybe it's his late-game collapses, but something has contributed to a league-wide notion of him being soft. Maybe it's more of a mental thing, but people definitely feel like he wilts under pressure.

His performance late in the Cowboys' Week 1 loss to the New York Jets did nothing to quiet his critics.

But Romo gutted it out in Week 2, playing through his injuries and leading the Cowboys to a come from behind, overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers. If he ends up playing—and leading Dallas to a win—on Monday night, it will go a long way to change his reputation around the league.

Remember, perception is everything. When a guy wilts late in games or in key situations, people automatically assume that he's not tough. Fair or not, that's the way it goes.

Romo has a chance to alter his perception if he can lead the Cowboys to a win on Monday night.