Tony Romo and the 4 NFL Players Who Must Step Up in Week 6

When a team is struggling, a marquee player must step up and right the ship.

That's what separates the good players from the great ones.

Which players need to make a statement this week?

Tony Romo

As usual, all eyes will be on Tony Romo. Will we be watching to see him shred the Patriots secondary or make his typical bone-headed mistake in crunch time?

Probably a little of both.

If the Cowboys stand a chance against the King of Foxborogh, Mr. Tom Brady, Romo must deliver a strong performance, minus the late-game miscues.

Eagles defense

Wasn't this supposed to be a top-flight unit?

I mean, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Nnamdi Asomugha—what more could you want?

Actually, probably some bulky linebackers that could tackle.

The Eagles have been torched by opposing running backs all season and need to step up against the stable of backs Mike Shanahan will throw at him this week.

Matt Ryan

Ryan hasn't been bad this year, but we all expected more in his fourth season as the Falcons' starting quarterback.

He led his team to a 13-3 record last year and all signs pointed to Ryan taking that next step into the "elite" quarterback realm.

Seven touchdowns and six interceptions aren't going to cut in the extremely competitive NFC South.

With Cam Newton coming to town, the pressure is on Matty Ice.

Matt Schaub

He's playing without star wideout Andre Johnson, which makes things that much harder for Schaub.

His statistical production over the years would make many believe he's a top-level quarterback, but in the Texans' most pivotal games, he's fallen short—just look at the interception in the end zone against the Raiders at home last week for an example.

Houston travels to Baltimore to face a Ravens team fresh off their bye week, and if he wants prove his doubters wrong he needs to step up huge in this one.