The Romo Era: Dallas Cowboys Record in December and January
A lot of research went into this post (that was meant to drop last week), so this one’s pretty lengthy.
THE ROMO ERA – RECORD IN DECEMBER/JANUARY
2006 – Romo takes over for Bledsoe in Week 7 against the Giants, knocking off the undefeated Colts at home in Week 11. Last year of the Tuna.
Dallas Cowboys: 7-4 entering December.
Week 13 – Win @NYG 23-20. The Martin Gramatica game. Cowboys move to 8-4, four-game winning streak. (NYG: 6-6 after loss)
Week 14 – Loss v. NO 42-17. My Tony Romo jersey (throwback version of course) leaves the shelves of the gift shop. Drew Brees throws for like a million yards. 8-5. (NO: 9-4 after win)
Week 15 – Win @ATL 38-28. DeMarcus Ware runs in a fumble for a touchdown. T.O. scores 2. 9-5. (ATL: 7-7)
Week 16 – Loss v. PHI 23-7. Offense does nothing. Philly wins division (basically) in Texas Stadium. 9-6. (PHI: 9-6)
Week 17 – Loss v. DET 39-31. Not the 0-16 version, but pretty damn bad. Kitna comes in and kills the defense. Playoff spot is unchanged. 9-7. (DET: 3-13)
2006 December record: 2-3. Playoffs made, L @ Seattle. (Need I say more?)
2007 – A bit of a tough year to look at the December record for a couple of reasons. One – the Cowboys beat the Packers on Thursday night (Favre knocked out, Rodgers plays well, but ‘Boys win) November 29. So the rest of the league played in December that week. Also, the last week of the season was meaningless. (A Wade excuse, I know, but when Romo plays only a quarter, the Dallas Cowboys probably aren’t going win if Tony Romo doesn’t play the whole game.)
Dallas Cowboys: 11-1 entering December (including Week 13 Nov. 29 W v. GB)
Week 14 – Win @DET 28-27. This one along with the Buffalo game probably should have been losses. Another ugly game against Detroit in December. 12-1. NFC East title clinched. (DET: 6-7??? after loss)
Week 15 – Loss vs. PHI 10-6. Pretty much the same story as the game the year before, except with a better defensive performance. 12-2. 1st round bye clinched. (PHI: 6-8 after win)
Week 16 – Win @CAR 20-13. T.O. gets hurt early a week after Romo bruises his thumb. Defense wins the game for the Cowboys. 13-2. (CAR: 6-9 after loss)
Week 17 – Loss @WSH 27-6. Romo pulled in the third quarter, lots of players rested as home field was clinched before the game. 13-3. (WSH: 9-7 after win)
2007 December record: 2-2. Playoffs made. The stomach punch.
2008 – Similar to 2006. Playoffs were up in the air, but this year had by far the toughest schedule so far. Things in the locker room were probably falling apart though.
Dallas Cowboys: 8-4 entering December.
Week 14 – Loss @PIT 20-13. A very winnable game that the Dallas Cowboys simply should have won. 17 4th quarter points for the Steelers. 8-5. (PIT: 10-3 after win)
Week 15 – Win v. NYG 20-8. A win amid a tornado of controversy that was thought to have saved the season (sound familiar?). 9-5. (NYG: 11-3 after loss)
Week 16 – Loss v. BAL 33-24. The last game in Texas Stadium turns into an embarrassment when the Ravens have two huge rushing TD’s in the 4th. 9-6. (BAL: 10-5 after win)
Week 17 – Loss @PHI 44-6. The worst Cowboys game I’ve ever seen. 9-7. (PHI: 9-6-1 after win)
2008 December record: 1-3. No playoffs. All Dec. opponents made playoffs.
2009 – A couple of surprisingly underwhelming performances in November, but the Dallas Cowboys still lead the NFC East heading into the final month.
Dallas Cowboys: 8-3 entering December.
Week 13 – Loss @NYG 31-24. Big play after big play kills the Cowboys in a game the Giants have to have. 8-4. (NYG: 7-5 after win)
Week 14 – Loss v. SD 20-17. Cowboys leave 10 points on the field early, Chargers pull away late. 8-5. (SD: 10-3 after win)
Week 15 – Win @NO 24-17. Defense forces three turnovers, offense comes out firing. Season temporarily saved. 9-5. (NO: 13-1 after loss)
Week 16 – @Washington (4-10)
Week 17 – v. Philadelphia (10-4)
2009 December record (so far): 1-2. Playoffs? TBD.
Overall December/January record (including playoffs): 6-12. Yikes.
Some brief analysis: that 2006 team wasn’t really that good. Basically a rookie quarterback in there, and if not for the Detroit game, it would have been a 10-6 team. Still blew the Seattle game, although the fumble by Terry Glenn that turned into a safety was just as big as the fumbled snap.
2007 and 2008 were both horrible. No excuses for the play in ’08 especially. 2007’s only excuse should be for the Washington game, but they were lucky to beat Detroit and laid an absolute egg against the Eagles.
2008 might have just been victimized by the schedule. The three losses were to three of the four conference championship participants, and the win was over the NFC’s #1 seed. Still, the Pittsburgh game was winnable, and it could be argued that the Baltimore contest could have been won as well.
This year? The Saints game looks like it might have saved the season, but it won’t matter with a loss to Washington this Sunday. Tony Romo looks like he’s in the zone, though, so hopefully he stays that way.
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