Somebody Perform The Heimlich Maneuver: Tony Romo's Choking Again!

We heard it all week from the analysts and band-wagoners.

Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys are back. After losing Romo to injury in Week Six in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Cowboys went 1-2 with Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger at the helm, looking absolutely horrific in all three games.

Romo returned in Week 11, and brought the Cowboys confidence with him as they defeated their rivals, the Washington Redskins in a must win game 14-10.

Romo didn't look great, but a win is a win, right?

In the next two weeks, the Cowboys faced two teams with a combined 7-19 record in the 49ers and the Seahawks on Thanksgiving; Dallas giving the Seahawks thanks for an easy win.

They were supposed to take care of business in those games, so with the Steelers looming in Week 14, everyone forgot that the Steelers have the best defense in football, and Big Ben Roethlisberger.

Mike Tomlin didn't forget.

Now, neither will Romo, after a crushing 20-13 defeat in which he shot himself in the foot a la Plaxico Burress. (I promise, no more Plaxico jokes) With the loss, Romo continues his December slide and propensity to turn the ball over at the worse times.

Since 1997, the Cowboys sport a 18-32 record in December/January games. They are 0-2 in the playoffs with Romo as a starter, and in each of those losses Romo made the big mistake to lose the game.

Nothing changed yesterday.

There is so much wrong with the way Romo finished that game Sunday. To be a star QB in the NFL, Romo sure chokes a lot in the 4th quarter. Maybe the Cowboys should give him a bib to prevent him from getting messy, and have paramedics on call for when he predictably chokes on his meal.

I'm just saying.

Let's look at the way that game ended, and give Romo the benefit of the doubt.

With eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys had a 10-point lead with the score at 13-3. As Jay-Z once said, "you can't change a player's game in the 9th inning." In this case, it's the 4th quarter.

Romo is who he is, a gun-slinging, risky QB who can make plays that other players can't, but can make turnovers that can kill you at the end of games.

Dallas' special teams fails them, as Santonio Holmes returns a punt for 35 yards to the Cowboys 35-yard-line. After the Dallas defense made a goal line stand earlier in the quarter, all Romo and the offense had to do was get a few first downs.

After just getting 1 first down, Jason Garrett seemed to get scared of Romo's potential to turn the ball over, so he ran Tashard Choice on third and five. It was a draw play that worked earlier in the game, but wasn't the right call for that situation.

Jason Garrett, you have Tony Romo and Terrell Owens, Jason Witten and Roy E. Williams and you run a draw play on an important third and manageable?  Why?

Lack of confidence in Romo.

Just like that, the Steelers find themselves in field goal position without gaining a yard. As the Cowboys defense had done all day, they got the stop by sacking Roethlisberger on third and two.

Jeff Reed connected on a 41-yard FG, and the score was 13-6, Cowboys.

No need to panic, as that much heralded offense can still get some first downs to wear the clock down, and maybe add points. Not against this Steelers 2008 Steel Curtain D.

Reed makes a huge mistake and kicks the ball out of bounds, which gave Dallas great field position at their own 40. Three first downs would be enough to be in FG range, and Dallas could do that, right?

Romo gets himself sacked for a loss of 6 yards, and throws a three yard pass to Witten on 3rd and 15, which became a 9 yard gain because of Witten's effort, and it's 4th down.

Suddenly Dallas defense becomes open, and Roethlisberger worked his magic.

Two passes to Nate Washington in front of Ken Hamlin net 35 yards, and Roethlisberger scrambled for another 10 yards, none more important than his QB sneak on fourth down for mere inches.

All of a sudden it's first and 10 at the Cowboys 22-yard-line, and Roethlisberger connects with Washington again for 16 yards to the Dallas six.

At this point I knew the Cowboys were as fried as KFC chicken, but I didn't expect the next three minutes.

First and goal at the six, Ben in the shotgun. Going after Hamlin again, Roethlisberger hit TE Heath Miller for a touchdown and Reed came on to officially tie the game. You could see the Dallas special teams trying HARD to block Reed's extra point attempt, probably sensing that the game wouldn't end the way they'd like.

But like this?

Pacman Jones (screw it, I'm calling him that) fumbled the kickoff for the second time, and only returned the kick to the 15. What a disappointment he's been. Maybe he was scared, as when he hit the sideline on a previous return, the mic's on the field picked up a Steelers player telling Pacman, "Pacman, we gon' hurt yo ass tonight!"

Anyway, first and 10 from the 15, and Choice runs for two yards. Why are you running Choice right now? He was the most effective offensive player for Dallas, but you need to cover field and besides, you have Tony Romo!

Romo on the next play showed the world why Garrett kept running an inexperienced Choice in crucial situations. Witten runs what appeared to be the wrong route, and Romo throws a pick-six to DeShea Townsend, and there's the game.

No matter if Witten's route was wrong, the throw was just downright terrible. Witten tried to take heat off of his QB by pointing to himself, but he knew better. That throw was intended for exactly who caught it, DeShea Townsend.

With 1:40 on the clock, Dallas had one more chance. Yeah, one more chance for Romo to screw up. Here's the last five plays the Cowboys ran to end the game:

1st and 10- Romo to Roy E. Williams, 10 yards and first down.

1st and 10- Romo incomplete pass to Tashard Choice.

2nd and 10- Romo incomplete pass to Tashard Choice.

3rd and 10- Romo incomplete pass to Terrell Owens (not even close)

4th and 10- Romo incomplete pass to Jason Witten (appeared to be another mix up between the two)

Game over. Romo continues his legacy as a big-game failure, and the Cowboys drop to 8-5 in a game they clearly had won. With the Giants, Ravens and Eagles as opponents in the next three weeks, Dallas may very well miss the playoffs.

Had the Falcons won a game they had a great chance of winning against the Saints, the Cowboys would be on the outside looking in right now.

Tony Romo hardly looked good against the Steelers D, tossing three interceptions and nearly another in that TD pass to Terrell Owens that could've went either way. Apparently Wade Phillips tried to make an excuse for Romo's play, citing the cold weather.

These guys are football players, and the cold weather shouldn't make you perform like that. Roethlisberger didn't look like Joe Montana, but he didn't throw any INT's and came through in the clutch, something Romo failed miserably at.

As Death Cab for Cutie said in a great song titled "Grapevine Fires", "It was just a matter of time before we all burn." It has seemed that it's just a matter of time before the Cowboys all burn as a team, and their up and down season may have hit it's last firestorm.

In the same song, the band also says, "I knew everything would be alright."

Does Wade and the Cowboys know that? It sure doesn't seem like it, and as the opus ends, "the firemen worked in double shifts, with prayers of rain on their lips, they knew it was just a matter of time," the Cowboys season may be on the clock.

And I don't mean the NFL Draft.