Tony Romo: Historic Dallas Cowboys Collapses Are Unacceptable

Tony Romo has a way of abusing Dallas Cowboys fans. 

After all of the mishaps that occurred in previous years (not the least of which is his botched hold on a field goal in the 2006 playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks), Cowboys fans might still have trusted him when he declared in the offseason that he had become a true competitor.

Three of four games this season should make Jason Garrett wish Romo would simply make it happen.

First came the Week 1 collapse against the New York Jets, in which he threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter as the Cowboys blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead for the first time in franchise history.  Last Monday, Romo struggled through communication issues to come back to defeat the Washington Redskins.

Romo couldn't even push the Cowboys for a touchdown against the Redskins.  He needed Dan Bailey to rack up six field goals for the win.

Sunday brought another historic Cowboys collapse against the suddenly-vaunted Detroit Lions. 

Romo was brilliant for the first two-plus quarters, throwing for 197 yards and three touchdowns.

Once the Cowboys had established a 27-3 lead, one might have thought that the Cowboys had wrapped up the game.

Romo wasn't ready to have the final word—or maybe it was that Romo had decided to give the Lions the final word.

Quickly, he managed to throw interceptions to Chris Houston and former-teammate Bobby Carpenter—the first interception of Carpenter's six-year career.  Both came back for touchdowns, dropping the Cowboys' lead in an instant.

Houston had played good ball to start the season, but Romo could have managed to keep him out of his sights.

One more interception did the trick to negate Romo's 330-yard, three-touchdown game and mark the biggest collapse in Cowboys history.

Romo needs to keep his head on straight before he turns into Rex Grossman.

Cowboys fans could rationalize the issue.  One could say that Romo is still shaking off cobwebs after missing most of last season with a broken collarbone.

One could brush it off on the leaky offensive line or the injury-plagued receiving corps.

Questions could be asked of Garrett.  Why didn't Garrett turn to the running game after the Cowboys had reached a 24-point lead?

Why didn't Garrett calm Romo down after the first interception?

Why didn't Garrett put a leash on him in the second half, encouraging him to check down more often?

Nevertheless, the onus is on Romo to play well for all 60 minutes in every game.

Romo wouldn't want to earn the title of the folding chair.  Already, Sports Illustrated's Peter King has called the Cowboys "the NFL version of the Boston Red Sox."

That's after only four games.

The Cowboys are 2-2 heading into the bye week, when they could be 4-0.  Teams that play better than their record suggests often miss the playoffs.

This team is too good not to make the playoffs—and Garrett knows it.

While elite quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady have made history in a positive way in the first four weeks, Romo has made history in a negative way.

As other Cowboys players, such as Miles Austin, use the bye week to heal, Romo needs to use the bye week to clear his head.