IRVING, Texas -- Terrell Owens was on the verge of tears, his bottom lip quivering and his voice wavering.
While his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, he couldn't hide his disappointment -- or his loyalty to quarterback Tony Romo -- after the Cowboys' 21-17 playoff loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.
"This is not about Tony. You guys can point the finger at him, you can talk about the vacation, and if you do that, it's really unfair," Owens said, his voice cracking. "It's really unfair. That's my teammate. That's my quarterback. You guys do that, it's not fair. We lost as a team. We lost as a team, man."
A week after Romo's well-documented bye weekend getaway to Mexico with Jessica Simpson and a couple of teammates, the Cowboys' season is over. After a 13-3 regular season that clinched the NFC's top seed, Dallas instead made it 11 straight seasons without a postseason victory.
Romo's fourth-and-11 pass -- intended for Terry Glenn, not a double-covered Owens -- was
Owens pushed his helmet awkwardly on top of his head and walked toward the sideline after the play.
Defeated and deflated, there were no more chances for T.O. and the Cowboys.
As promised, Owens was back on the field for the Cowboys after missing the regular season finale and 2 1/2 weeks of practice because of an ankle sprain. He finished with four receptions for 49 yards and a
Good thing he didn't wait, because there won't be another one this season.
"They kind of doubled T.O. on the outside and Terry had a guy running with him up the middle," Romo said. "I tried to throw to the one guy in one-on-one and hope for something lucky."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press