Tony Romo led a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to steer the Dallas Cowboys to a 31-28 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night. Our takeaways:
- Odell Beckham is the ultimate silver lining. Even in a lost season, Giants fans can take solace in watching an absolute superstar and perhaps the most exciting player in the league. Just as broadcast analyst Cris Collinsworth was praising an uncoverable Beckham as the quickest receiver ever, in and out of his breaks, the hyper-athletic rookie came down with the most amazing catch we have ever witnessed. Beckham is averaging eight catches and 126 yards since entering the starting lineup a month ago. He would have added another 87-yard touchdown Sunday night had Eli Manning looked his way as he was running wide open with no defenders within 15 yards.
- Tony Romo looked noticeably more limber coming out of the bye week. As long as he doesn't take another bone-jarring hit to his torso, he should be out of the woods on the back woes. His 143.4 passer rating ranks the top five for his career and is the third time in his past four games that he has been over 135.0. He's on the periphery of the MVP discussion, along with DeMarco Murray.
- Murray reached the century mark for the 10th time in 11 games. Murray is now on pace for 388 carries, 1,956 yards and 10 touchdowns. There's no reason to believe the Cowboys will lighten his workload while fighting for the division title and a playoff berth.
- Dez Bryant continues to make big plays late in games. He scored twice in the final 16 minutes Sunday night, highlighted by the game-winning 13-yard touchdown with just a minute remaining. He is the only NFL player with at least 10 touchdown catches in each of the past three seasons.
- This was a big win for the Cowboys, as it allowed them to keep pace with the Eagles in the NFC East. The two first-place teams square off twice in the next three weeks. A tightly contested NFC wild-card race means two of the following teams will miss the playoffs: Cowboys, Eagles, Packers, Lions, Cardinals, Seahawks and 49ers.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Sunday game from Week 12 and discusses Ryan Tannehill's progression. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
