Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was sacked twice in the team’s preseason victory over the Bengals on Saturday, once on the first play of the game and again late in the second quarter. But the new-look offensive line, which featured Doug Free at right guard, Mackenzy Bernadeau at left guard and Jermey Parnell at right tackle, was solid enough to allow Romo to piece together a 131.0 passer rating.
Romo’s line: 13 of 18 passing for 137 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“When you are able to have that kind of time you can do a lot of things as a quarterback, moving a lot of different people a lot of different ways,” Romo said, per ESPN Dallas. “That's a testament to the guys up front giving me that kind of time.”
The best example of Romo’s comfort in the pocket was probably the 12-yard touchdown pass to Austin. With the pocket holding firm around him, the Dallas signal caller went through his progressions at a relatively leisurely pace before stepping up and hitting Austin between the numbers in the back of the end zone.
“That play doesn’t happen over time in the past per se, so that was a (tribute) to the guys, how well they were playing and the stuff they are doing,” Romo said. “That touchdown doesn’t happen unless they are playing at a high level up front.
“To me there is a lot of stuff I can do to help this football team if you are afforded that opportunity. They have been doing that. That is going to pay dividends as the season goes on.”
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