Jason Garrett yanked the gorilla off his shoulder and secured his job.
DeMarcus Lawrence got instant gratification in the form of almost immediate redemption.
Jerry Jones got to hug Chris Christie.
And Tony Romo, best of all, earned the right to extend a giant middle finger to his legion of passionate, stubborn critics who for years have bellowed that he’d never lead the Cowboys to a playoff win. Because of Romo – and an assist from the referees Sunday against the Lions – the Cowboys are headed to Green Bay and the decade-long Romo-haters are sulking quietly in the corner of their Crappy New Year.
He’s a choker.
He’ll never win a big game.
He’s Tony Homo.
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In his ninth year as starting quarterback, No. 9 has endured all the putdowns and catcalls. But after a late-season surge that thrust him into the MVP conversation, Romo on Sunday both rallied the Cowboys and forced his critics to stuff a sock in it.
He’s now 2-3 in the playoffs, and our memory of that bobbled snap in Seattle just got a little more fuzzy.
Romo succeeded against the Lions by doing what a lot of folks have yelled for him to do forever: Eat the ball instead of forcing mistakes. He took six sacks against the Lions’ blitz. Maddening, yes. But the old Romo – desperate to make a play for an inferior team – would’ve thrown up a couple jump balls that might have turned into interceptions.
Romo was perfect on his touchdown passes to Terrance Williams, and patient on the game’s key offensive play – the 21-yard completion to Jason Witten on 4th-and-6 with seven minutes remaining.
He isn’t a Super Bowl champion. Or an MVP. But it’s what Romo isn’t that has half of DFW sobbing and silent at their keyboards this morning: A loser.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
