Cowboys vs. Bills: Jason Garrett Saves Tony Romo from Himself

Tony Romo played immaculate ball in the Dallas Cowboys' 44-7 win against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. One could have waited all game for Romo to blow a big Cowboys lead, but it didn’t happen. Romo kept his cool the entire game.  Head coach Jason Garrett deserves some credit for keeping Romo under control.

The Cowboys had jumped out to a 21-point lead in the second quarter. An uninitiated observer could have presumed the game was decided by that point. Other teams maintain big leads through the second half.

However, Romo doesn’t captain the Cowboys the way other quarterbacks captain their teams. Romo lacks the surety that assures a win. Unlike elite quarterbacks, Romo is often capable of game-changing mistakes.

Romo blew two big leads earlier this season. On opening week, Romo fumbled the ball on the New York Jets 2-yard line and threw a last-minute interception to drop a 14-point fourth quarter lead to the Jets. In Week 4, Romo threw three interceptions to blow a 24-point second-half lead to the Detroit Lions.

Both blown leads were unprecedented in Cowboys history. In both cases, Garrett could have prevented losses by focusing on the running game and handcuffing Romo.

Garrett called the game against the Bills brilliantly. He let Romo fly early in the game. Romo threw three touchdown passes on the first three Cowboys drives, including a 56-yard bomb to Laurent Robinson.

Then, Garrett slapped the handcuffs on Romo. Garrett made clear that the Bills—who led the league in interceptions entering the game—wouldn’t feast on Romo. After the Bills scored to make it 21-7, the Cowboys became conservative.

This was evident on the next touchdown drive. Romo and the Cowboys offense methodically pounded the Bills defense. While eight of the 13 plays on the drive were passes, none were deep passes. Romo threw only one that went even eight yards through the air.

Romo threw his first of three incompletions on that drive, but it was harmless since his pass intended for Jason Witten flew to a spot where only Witten could catch the ball.

Most passes on that drive were screens and check downs.

In the second half, Garrett kept it safe. He focused on the running game. Only eight of 18 offensive plays run by the Cowboys were of the passing variety. That includes one play were Romo scrambled out of the pocket on the run.

Romo never aired the ball out in the second half. All of his passes in the final 30 minutes were short. He avoided costly mistakes.

Garrett can be thanked for keeping Romo from making big mistakes. Romo didn’t have a chance to give a nugget to the Bills defense. Garrett kept Romo to short, quick passes.

As quick as Romo throws, a quick dump pass can hardly find its way into the hands of a defender.

Romo came away a remarkably accurate performance. He was 23-of-26 and threw no interceptions. That’s as important as the 270 yards and two touchdowns.

Previously, Romo had wasted 300-yard passing games with his mistakes. Romo threw for 300 yards against the Jets and Lions. He was ice cold before burning out each time.

Romo’s struggles have come against winning teams. With the win, the Cowboys are 2-3 this season against winning teams.

The Cowboys don’t face another test until their Week 14 showdown with the New York Giants. Hopefully, Garrett can keep Romo safe until then.