Tony Romo has gone an entire month without being blamed for the destruction of the Dallas Cowboys. We're pretty sure that's some kind of record, though we must note how close the quarterback came to donning the goat horns yet again Sunday.
With Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey lining up to attempt a game-winning field goal in overtime against the Redskins, Romo -- in the role of holder -- attempted to call timeout as the play clock approached zero. But Dallas already had used its allotment of two timeouts in the extra period, meaning the Cowboys would've been flagged for a 15-yard penalty had officials granted Romo's request.
Fortunately for Romo, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan also was attempting to call timeout at that moment. Shanahan's request was honored, Romo's was not.
After the timeout, Bailey converted the kick to give the Cowboys a 27-24 win. Crisis in Big D averted.
"I think we were out of timeouts," Romo said, according to The Dallas Morning News. "I noticed that after the fact. And I guess you get two timeouts in overtime, not three. The clock was running down there. I was trying to stop it there with one second, but they (the Redskins) helped us out."
On NFL Network
"NFL Replay" will re-air the
Cowboys' 27-24 OT win over the
Redskins on Tuesday, Nov. 22
at 9:30 p.m. ET.
If Romo's request was granted, Bailey's makable 39-yard attempt would've become a tenuous-at-best 54-yard affair.
Of course, had that happened, Bailey would've been forced to kick the ball at a lower angle, which, of course, would've led to a block and game-winning touchdown return for Washington, which, of course, would've led to Romo being perceived as the worst thing to happen to Dallas since Lee Harvey Oswald.
Instead, Shanahan saved Washington's arch-rival thanks to the infernal notion of "icing the kicker." One day, we'll remember this strategy in the same way we view medical practices during medieval times.
Primitive and dumb.
