Image via Complex Original
Poor, Tony Romo. There's not much more you can say about the 33-year-old quarterback. Even though Romo has the franchise record for passing yards (4,903) and touchdowns (36) in a season, and holds the all-time career record in the month of November (24-5), people will always point to his lack of productivity when it matters most. But with good reason, because that ability to shine in those clutch moments is what tends to separate the good ones from the greatest to ever play the game.
Yesterday, the Dallas Cowboys took on the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium and after posting some incredible numbers in the first half, the team completely fell off on both sides of the ball in the third and fourth quarter. This decline paved the way for an incredible, record-setting 23-point comeback by the Packers. In the 'Boys final two possessions, Romo threw back-to-back interceptions which led to Green Bay taking the lead and securing the 37-36 win, respectively.
If Cowboys fans felt a strange sense of deja vu after witnessing Romo's collapse yesterday, they're not alone. Throughout his eight-year career as a starter for Dallas, Romo has gone from being considered one hell of a quarterback to having people wonder what the hell is wrong with this quarterback. We focus on those latter moments. From pairing his career-best game against the Denver Broncos this season with a crippling game-ending interception to that infamous slippery pigskin disaster during the 2007 NFL Playoffs, here's Ranking Tony Romo's Biggest Fails.
13. The Curse of Jessica Simpson
Date: 12/16/2007
Game: Eagles @ Cowboys
From 2007 thru 2009, it was the best of times and the worst for Tony Romo. Because, even though Romo was going out with one of the hottest WAGs of all time, his game was struggling. And after Jessica was seen presiding over a Cowboys loss in Jerry Jones' box in that pink and white monstrosity of a jersey, 'Boys fans immediately pointed fingers at Ms. Simpson for jinxing Romo. As we've come to find out, Romo can do bad all by himself. Oh sorry, Tyler Perry Presents: Romo Can Do Bad All By Himself.
12. Late-Game Pick Six Against Steelers
Date: 12/7/2008
Game: Cowboys @ Steelers
The Dallas collapsing in the fourth quarter under Romo narrative started getting its legs around this point. The Cowboys faced the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers and had them beat for the first three quarters. That last one was the trickiest for Dallas, as Pittsburgh made its way back from a 10-point deficit to win 20-13. That pick six Romo threw to Deshea Townsend didn't help much.
11. Eli Manning Lays Claim to Cowboys Stadium
Date: 9/20/2009
Game: Giants @ Cowboys
It seems like so long ago when Eli Manning wasn't the butt of the joke in the Cowboys-Giants rivalry. Tony Romo was once again a turnover machine in a 2009 thriller in the Cowboys' new stadium. Manning led a drive that led to a game-winning field goal kick as time expired. Don't sleep on Romo contributing to Dallas's 33-31 loss with his three interceptions including an incredibly fancy one that went off Jason Witten's heel and into Kenny Phillips's hands. New stadium. Same ole shit.
10. E.J. Henderson Ruins Tony Romo
Date: 10/17/2010
Game: Cowboys @ Vikings
The Vikings linebacker snagged both of Tony Romo's interceptions in this Cowboys loss, including one in the fourth quarter that turned into three points for the Vikings. That ended up being the margin of victory in the Cowboys' 24-21 loss.
9. Romo Fails to Qualify for Golf's U.S. Open
Date: 5/9/2011
Game: N/A
Not everyone can be a great two-sport athlete. In 2011, Tony Romo tried his hand at his other love, golf, by attempting to join the sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open. In the back nine, Romo shot a bogey in the No. 11, 12, 14, 15 and 17 holes, as well as a triple bogey at the 16th hole. Wait, Romo failed to come through in the latter portion of a competition? Where have we seen that before?
8. Romo Keeps the Door Open for a Jets Comeback
Date: 9/11/2011
Game: Cowboys @ Jets
This collapse was a wild one. Cowboys only had to play competent football to get the win over the Jets, but they failed to do so thanks in part to two huge Romo mistakes in—you guessed it—the fourth quarter. Dallas led 24-10 but collapsed because of two costly mistakes from Romo. The first was missing the dagger by fumbling at the Jets' three-yard line. The second was when he turned the dagger on his own team with an interception to Darrelle Revis on a potential game-winning drive. Mark Sanchez said, "It was the ultimate team win," because "Thank you, Romo." Sounds inappropriate. True, but inappropriate.
7. Romo Throws Five Picks in a Game...Again
Date: 10/1/2012
Game: Bears @ Cowboys
The Bears did lead the league in takeaways in 2012 with the help of 24 interceptions. That's not really an excuse for Romo's abysmal play against the Bears, however. Chicago never had five interceptions in one game until the team went to Dallas. The extremely potent defense also had two pick-sixes as it burned the Cowboys 34-18.
6. Romo Misses Checkdown Man, Costing the Cowboys the Game Against the Broncos
Date: 10/6/2013
Game: Broncos @ Cowboys
If you're watching a game where both teams combine for almost 100 points, chances are you're going to pick Peyton Manning over Tony Romo to come out on top of that game. It's not necessarily only because Manning is going to takeover in all his Manning-like glory; Romo is just going to lose this one. The Cowboys quarterback failed to see an underneath, obscenely wide open receiver and instead tried to force it into coverage for a pick that gave Denver the 51-48 win. Romo had 506 yards (50 yards short of the single game passing yards record), five touchdowns, and one interception. Guess which stat received the most notoriety.
5. Romo Is a Turnover Machine Against the Lowly Lions
Date: 12/31/2006
Game: Lions @ Cowboys
You're not supposed to screw up this much when you're up against a Lions team that's on its way to a 3-13 season and is ranking in the bottom five in the league for yards allowed. But Romo still found some way to fail by throwing a pick and losing two fumbles. The Cowboys ended up losing 39-31, blowing their chances at an NFC East title that year.
4. Season Finale Fail
Date: 12/30/2012
Game: Cowboys @ Redskins
There aren't too many situations that inspire less confidence than pairing Romo with a "Win and You're in" type of situation. The Cowboys lost the playoff-clinching season finale the year prior to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Giants. This time they were up against a competent Redskins team and the rookie buzzsaw known as Alfred Morris. The running back owned the Dallas defense with 200 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. A game-winning drive was still possible in the fourth quarter, but Romo once again blew it with a pick that kept the Cowboys out of the playoffs yet again.
3. Tony Romo Throws Interceptions in Back-to-Back Possessions
Date: 12/15/2013
Game: Packers @ Cowboys
To be fair, Tony Romo didn't just hand the Packers the ball during those back-to-back interceptions. Romo's first one—a pass to Miles Austin—wasn't ridiculously off, so credit goes to Sam Shields for stretching to make the grab (Quick side note: the man used to play wide receiver in college before switching to cornerback in his final year). There was miscommunication on Romo's next interception, but Tramon Williams had to dive and focus to make that interception. Still, no credit goes to Romo for making those throws.
2. Tony Romo Fails Against Giants in 2008 Playoffs
Date: 1/13/2008
Game: Giants @ Cowboys, Divisional Playoffs
Going into their divisional round matchup against the New York Giants in the 2008 NFL Playoffs, the Dallas Cowboys seemed poised for a championship run. A 13-3 record, the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and back-to-back wins versus the Giants this season all made it look Iike the 'Boys had everything they needed to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. But there was only one problem. Big D had Tony Romo under center for them.
Following his first playoff appearance where he botched the game-winning field goal opportunity against the Seahawks in the 2007 playoffs, Romo failed to come through in the clutch, throwing a game-ending interception to R.W. McQuarters. But, the most memorable moment of that whole game may have come from the postgame press conference when teammate Terrell Owens came out with his whole "that's my quarterback!" line. Classic.
1. Botched Hold Against Seahawks
Date: 1/6/2007
Game: Cowboys @ Seahawks, NFC Wild Card Playoff
Just put the ball down and let Martin Gramatica make that easy 19-yarder. What seems so easy in concept turned into a struggle for Romo at the 2007 Wild Card round against the Seahawks. The quarterback bobbled the snap, and what was supposed to be a path to the next round turned into another moment in the hard knock life of Tony Romo. The reports of him crying in the locker room afterward probably didn't help his image much either.
