The Dolphins sent a free rusher through the Cowboys line. Tony Romo saw the defender, made him miss, and found a streaking receiver to move the chains.
There’s a reason you don’t know exactly what play from Thanksgiving I’m talking about: That exact sequence happened numerous times in the final 20 minutes of Dallas’ 20-19 victory on Thursday.
Romo and the Cowboys have become expert escape artists.
Their victories over the Redskins and Dolphins the last two weeks haven’t been pretty, but they set Dallas up well in the NFC East at 7-4.
This was vintage Romo, warts and all. He threw two interceptions in the first half, but the Dolphins didn’t take advantage. Over the last 20 minutes, he made play after play that perhaps no quarterback in the league except Ben Roethlisberger could pull off.
Romo authored a ridiculous nine-play, 77-yard drive to score a touchdown to start the fourth quarter. Romo extended plays, delivered passes while being hit, and threw on the run. Laurent Robinson continue his remarkable season with two touchdowns. It was the most impressive drive we saw all year.
Miami had chances to put the game away. They settled for a short field goal to go up 19-17, then Matt Moore just missed a third down conversion that would have helped run out the clock late in the game. This is a good Dolphins team despite their record, but they consistently find ways to lose when they outplay the opponent.
Romo was given one last chance just under three minutes left. On second and ten from the Cowboys 36 yard-line, he showed great poise while getting hit to find Jason Witten for a huge 23-yard gain.
DeMarco Murray and the revived Cowboys running game did the rest, setting up Dan Bailey’s 28-yard field goal as time expired.
The Cowboys aren’t a perfect team, but they are balanced on both sides of the ball. They are finding ways to win games they are used to losing.
This type of game explains why I still think Romo can win big games deep into the playoffs. There’s no escaping the fact Romo can find ways to beat the perfectly called defense.