The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants will engage in a shootout on New Year’s Day. There’s no doubt the game will see 60-plus total points scored, unless the Cowboys’ have a Christmas Eve hangover from a bizarre loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Assuming Dallas will play its typical style of play at New York, this game will require a truckload of points scored and no missed opportunities by Tony Romo for the Cowboys to have a chance.
Romo says he will play against the Giants despite a bruise on his throwing hand he suffered against the Eagles. No one has questioned the toughness of the Cowboys’ signal-caller this year after he battled through broken ribs and a punctured lung for tough wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins early in the season. However, his talents were never more needed than they are now.
Although Romo is capable of putting up a ton of points, especially against a weak defense like the Giants’, he can’t control what happens on the other side of the ball.
Romo threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns the last time these two teams met, but it didn’t matter. The Cowboys’ defense gave up 400 passing yards to Giants quarterback Eli Manning and blew its third 12-point, fourth quarter lead of the season.
Indeed, Romo will have to put up 40 points to win this game. However, even that might not be enough if the Cowboys’ defense gives up 41.
To ask Romo to do better than 321 yards and four touchdowns is outrageous. However, it may literally take 400 yards and five touchdowns for the Cowboys to clinch the NFC East. Of course, a team that pass-happy will never advance in the postseason.
Dallas absolutely must utilize running backs Felix Jones and Sammy Morris to help Romo. The Cowboys’ offense knows it won’t get any help from its defense, so Romo and co. have to capitalize on every opportunity.
For whatever reason, the Cowboys’ secondary is completely incapable of covering opposing NFL receivers. Manning has torched Dallas in every contest between the two teams over the past few years and that won’t change on New Year’s Day.
However, the Giants’ pass defense has been almost as bad. From that point of view, the game really is in Romo’s swollen hand. He simply must torture the Giants’ defense worse than Manning will do to his. A literal showdown between two gunslingers for the NFC East title; who would have thought?
Realistically, the Cowboys are at a critical disadvantage heading into this contest. Romo says he’ll play, but no one knows how his hand will feel six days from now. The Cowboys are in a state of awkward uncertainty after a meaningless, bizarre loss to the Eagles.
This game is about maturity, something for which Dallas is not known by any stretch of the imagination. It takes extremely focused players to rebound from a morbid game like the Cowboys’ loss to the Eagles and the Dallas faithful have no reason to believe their team can accomplish that. Is that last sentence considered an oxymoron or a paradox?
Where art thou, Rob Ryan? Why can you not teach Terence Newman and Orlando Scandrick to stay in between their man and the ball? Their porous play is ruining any chance of a respectable playoff run by the Cowboys and the fans are showing it by the recent decline in home game attendance.
Romo can’t be asked to score 40 points every game and then hold the ball the entire fourth quarter to keep his defense off the field. Besides the absurdity of request like that, neither he nor Jason Garrett is mentally capable of such a feat. Cross your fingers, but good luck finding a four-leaf clover in this cold, gloomy Texas weather. The Cowboys’ rough holiday season is just beginning.
Follow Jeric Griffin on Twitter @JericGriffin
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Jeric, I agree. If the Cowboys don’t put up TD’s they will go home a loser. Neither defense is great and Dallas has proven very soft at times. Manning is a big game QB and if Romo wants to shake the monkey on his back, he’ll have to make good decisions. The Giants have the advantages, but those are tenuous at best. At home, but only 4-3 there on the year. Dallas is also 0-6 on Sunday Night Football and we are all aware about how Romo seems to unravel in Dec/Jan!