Dallas Cowboys: Playing the Blame Game

The Dallas Cowboys seemed to have total control going into halftime of Sunday's game vs. the Green Bay Packers, leading 26-3.  However in the 2nd half it was a totally different ballgame when the Cowboys got outscored 10-34 and ended up losing the game by 1 point, 36-37 and still remain a game behind the Philadelphia Eagles for the lead of the NFC East.  After such a heart breaking loss many Cowboys fans will look to place the blame on their last rated defense and others on the QB who always seems to get himself in these types of situations, Tony Romo.  I am here to say that they both deserve the blame equally.

In the first half the Dallas Cowboys defense played like a top rated defense rather than the worst, allowing a field goal and 159 yards.  The Packers seemed to have looked lost after the first 2 quarters, and all hope was lost.  Then in the 2nd half it looked like both the Packers offence and Cowboys defense flipped a switch, when the Cowboys D allowed the Packers to score touchdowns on all 5 of their 2nd half drives.  This is one of the worst defensive collapses that I have witnessed in all my years watching football, however the game should not of come down to the defense either, and that's why there still is one other person to blame....

Of course that is Tony Romo.  It seems to me it happens to ofter, Romo gets in these types of situations where all the Cowboys need to do is run the clock out and Romo ends up making the game losing mistake.  Just as often it seems like some Cowboys fans or TV Networks need to pass the buck away from Romo.  The fact is even with the defensive collapse, this offense was playing well enough to put this game out of reach for Green Bay.  However they failed to do so, abandoning the run almost totally running the ball 3 times in the 2nd half. When they had a the ball up 36-31 with 4:17 to go in the game, they decided to run the ball only once and when they had a run play called Romo checked out of it and passed the ball which ended up being the costly turnover that allowed the Packers to score the game winning touchdown.  Why would the Cowboys totally abandon the run like that? They were facing a defense that couldn't stop the run, a defense that let DeMarco Murray to 18 carries and 134 yards. That's 7.4 yards a carry! But instead Romo wanted the ball in his hands and once again threw a costly pick. I don't get why you would trust the guy who has the most interceptions (7) in the 4th quarter when either tied or leading that ended up resulting in a loss.

In the end, the Cowboys will remain to be a mediocre team if they can't accept their weaknesses and adjust their game plan to their strengths.  Romo has to learn to avoid these mistakes, that seem to only happen to him year in and year out.  Their is a reason some label him as a choker and as he proved this past Sunday.  Some times he does deserve it....no matter how bad the defense plays.