Tony Romo: Ranking His Performances in the First 8 Games

Tony Romo had a topsy-turvy first half of the 2011 Dallas Cowboys season.  Romo has struggled to put together good performances in consecutive games. 

Sometimes Romo has tossed the ball particularly well.  In other games, Romo has cost the Cowboys the game.

Twice Romo led the Cowboys to comeback victories while injured.  In two other games, Romo was the largest cause of defeat for the Cowboys.

All four of those games came in the first four weeks.

The last three games have been somewhat less dramatic—both for his health and the game results.  However, that didn't prevent fluctuation in his performance.

Which performances would Cowboys fans like to forget?  Which ones would they most want to save for their memory bank?

Following is a ranking of Romo's performances in the first eight games of the season.

8. Week 1

Romo and the Cowboys seemed to be sailing smoothly for the first 46 minutes against the New York Jets on opening week.  After an early fourth quarter touchdown by Felix Jones, the Cowboys looked ready to coast to victory.

Besides, the Cowboys had never blown a 14-point fourth quarter lead.

With help from Mat McBriar, Romo changed that.  After the Jets marched down for a touchdown, Romo seemed ready to rebut them.  Unfortunately, Romo couldn't save himself from himself.  Three plays after nailing Jason Witten for a 64-yard pass, Romo lost a fumble at the 2-yard line.

The Cowboys only unraveled from there.  McBriar watched Joe McKnight return a blocked punt for a touchdown.  Romo only had to control the ball and put the Cowboys in scoring range.  He couldn't hold on.  As soon as Darrelle Revis could haunt him in the final minute, he did.  Romo made a bad read and threw it into Revis' hands.

After a quick Jets field goal, Romo had a chance to make one last gasp.  Despite making one good pass, Romo couldn't salvage the wreckage that he created in that quarter.

Few nightmares will haunt Cowboys fans as much as this historic loss.

7. Week 4

Cowboys fans could have prayed never to see a game like the Jets loss ever again.  One reason why Romo isn't God is that he doesn't answer prayers.

After comeback wins in consecutive games, Romo wasn't ready to let Cowboys fans rest easy.  The game against the Detroit Lions went along swimmingly for the first half.  By the early part of the third quarter, Romo had thrown for 197 yards and three touchdowns.

Many people might have been ready to call the game finished after the Cowboys took a 27-3 lead, but Romo was just warming up—or cooling down.  Romo matched his three touchdowns with three interceptions.

Far be it from Romo not to have two interceptions returned for touchdowns in a single quarter.  Maybe he could have asked Bobby Carpenter not to take his first career interception back for a touchdown.  Besides, Carpenter should act nice to the man who had him as the best man at his wedding.

Romo might have reached 300 yards passing for the third time this season against the Lions, but that was all for naught since the Cowboys blew a 24-point lead for the first time in franchise history.

Some might argue that this was a worse defeat than that suffered against the Jets.  However, the Jets loss happened more swiftly.  Also, turnovers that turn into points in the fourth quarter, such as those by Romo and McBriar against the Jets, are more disheartening than those committed in the third quarter.

Nonetheless, this will endure as a similarly nightmarish affair to the loss in Week 1 to the Jets.

6. Week 8

In all aspects, the Cowboys loss on October 30 against the Philadelphia Eagles was forgettable.  Tony Romo wasn't the least of the disappointments.

Romo struggled mightily.  He could hardly hit receivers.  Romo completed 18-of-35 passes.  The game was his least accurate performance since September 20, 2009, when he was 13-of-29 against the New York Giants.

One throw was intercepted.  However, the blame for the interception fell on Martellus Bennett who bobbled and swatted the ball in the direction of Nnamdi Asomugha.

The loss was a tough one, a big setback for Romo and the Cowboys.

5. Week 3

Romo might have overcome a broken rib and a punctured lung to beat the Washington Redskins, but it wasn't his win.  The Cowboys might have come back to beat the Redskins, but the comeback doesn't belong to Romo.

The comeback win belongs to Dan Bailey because his leg produced all 18 Cowboys points.  On one drive midway through the fourth quarter, Romo led the Cowboys to a first down at the Redskins 2-yard line.  They weren't close enough.  Bailey had to chip a 23-yard field goal to bring them within one.

To Romo's credit, the last drive was a matter of making something out of nothing.  After two solid passes totaling 27 yards, Phil Costa broke the rhythm with a botched snap.  Romo followed an incomplete pass with a 30-yard pass to Dez Bryant with 15 yards added for a face mask penalty on DeAngelo Hall.

Soon, Bailey stepped in with the winning field goal.

Romo didn't have his best game due to injury.  He was only 22-of-36 and threw an interception.  Romo's injury, as well as Costa's six botched snaps, made the win a relief as much as anything else.

4. Week 6

Romo almost outplayed Tom Brady in the Cowboys Week 6 loss to the New England Patriots.  The Cowboys hung with the Patriots throughout the game.  Both teams started slow.  For his part, Romo threw an interception early in the first quarter and saw another drive sputter out on incomplete passes.

In the second quarter, Romo made up for his mistakes with a masterful scoring drive.  Romo hit John Phillips on a sharp pass in the middle of the field to put the Cowboys at the 5-yard line.  Then, Romo threw a nice touchdown pass to Jason Witten.

Romo nearly had another touchdown in the third quarter.  If DeMarco Murray hadn't have dropped a pass, Romo could have put the Cowboys ahead.

The fourth quarter separated Brady and Romo.  Brady led the Patriots on a touchdown drive, whereas Romo couldn't manage.  Romo blew a drive on a bad incomplete pass and a misguided shovel pass.  His last gasp after the Patriots go-ahead touchdown was no good.

Romo threw for 300 yards again, but it wasn't as good as winning would have been.

3. Week 7

The Week 7 win against the Rams was a breeze for Romo and the Cowboys.  Romo likely felt relieved to be able to ride DeMarco Murray's hot performance.  The game was the first in which the Cowboys ran the ball more than they passed.

Romo fared well.  He threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-24 passing.  No interceptions.  No challenge.

While Romo failed to throw for more yards than the opposing quarterback for the first game this season, the win was good enough.  Romo could sleep well with a mistake-free game.

2. Week 9

Romo played a fine game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.  He was 19-of-31, recovering from his least accurate game thus far.  Throwing for 279 yards and two touchdowns against a decent Seahawks defense was very nice.

What is most important is that Romo didn't turn the ball over.  Romo resisted throwing interceptions and handled the ball surely.  A turnover-free victory served very well.

Romo put himself and the Cowboys back on even keel midway through the season.  Hopefully, the cool, even performance leads to more.

1. Week 2

The first win of the season for the Cowboys was the stuff legends are made of.

Romo suffered a broken rib on the third play of the game.  One could hardly imagine him coming back at that point.  Nevertheless, Romo willed his way back into the game.  At first, he struggled.  Romo, at one point, was 9-of-19 for 150 yards.

Soon, Romo would rise to the occasion.  Romo brought the Cowboys back from a 24-14 deficit to force overtime.  Early in the extra period, Romo put the Cowboys in position and Bailey finished the job with his leg.  In the comeback, Romo completed 11 of his last 14 passes.

For a day, Romo was legendary.  Cowboys fans might wish he could do it every week.