The Cowboys would face a Tony Romo conundrum if Dak Prescott actually struggles
Tony Romo made everything so much easier and so much more comfortable for everyone in the Dallas Cowboys organization, from quarterback Dak Prescott to Coach Jason Garrett to owner Jerry Jones, when he delivered what sounded like equal parts concession speech and farewell address Tuesday.
The four-time Pro Bowler, injured since the preseason, said that Prescott’s exploits while he has been sidelined mean the rookie rightfully is the team’s quarterback. So now, if all goes according to the revised script, Prescott will help the Cowboys to accomplish bigger and better things on his way to a memorably great career in Dallas, while Romo will bide his time for the remainder of this season before moving on to begin anew elsewhere next year.
But there is one potential wrinkle to all of that: What if the Cowboys actually end up having to turn back to Romo this season?
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“That’s football,” Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts said this week. “Nobody is immune to it. You have very little control over some circumstances in the game. You just have to make sure when you get the opportunity, you’re ready for it. [Romo] has to realize he’s still in this. All it takes is Prescott getting hurt, maybe Prescott not playing well, and he’s back in there. You never know. He’s still in this. The being down, the depression part, is real. But you have to be able to put it aside and be ready to play. Maybe.”
Romo, who suffered a compression fracture of a vertebra in his back during the preseason, is in line to be the Cowboys’ backup quarterback beginning with Sunday’s game at home against the Baltimore Ravens.
“We’re hopeful that he can practice well this week and he can be the backup quarterback, and he has to prepare to play,” Garrett said at a news conference. “That’s job number one. Then obviously be a positive influence on our football team, which he will be.”
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Garrett’s decision would be clear-cut if Prescott were to get hurt, in which case Romo’s presence as an overqualified backup would be a major blessing.
But Garrett would face a far more difficult situation if Prescott has a few subpar performances and the Cowboys suffer some losses. How quickly would he face questions about whether a move to Romo is being contemplated? What would it take for him to make that move?
Romo, after all, isn’t a typical backup. He played at a near MVP-caliber level the last time he was healthy for a full season, throwing for 3,705 yards and 34 touchdowns with only nine interceptions in 2014 as the Cowboys won the NFC East title.
“Quarterback controversies are never comfortable for anybody — the starter, the backup, the coach, the owner,” Fouts, an analyst for CBS who will call the Cowboys-Ravens game, said in a phone interview. “Well, maybe not the owner in this case. I’ve been waiting for Prescott to have one of those days. Everybody has. But he continues to play through these things. We’re talking about a bunch of ifs now. You keep playing and you deal with the circumstances as they are and as they come up.”
Prescott, indeed, has been remarkably resilient and dependable for a rookie. He has orchestrated eight straight victories since a season-opening defeat to the New York Giants. He has thrown only two interceptions all season, and he really hasn’t had what could be construed as a poor performance since the opener.
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During the winning streak, he has had a passer rating above 100 in seven of the eight games. In the other victory, he struggled to a passer rating of 79.8, but he threw a late touchdown pass to wide receiver Dez Bryant to tie the game and a touchdown pass to tight end Jason Witten in overtime to beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Cowboys have a very good thing going on offense, with Prescott more than doing his part while the team’s powerful offensive line makes the going easier for him and rookie tailback Ezekiel Elliott.
“It all starts up front,” Fouts said. “This offensive line is the best in the game and it has a chance to be one of the best of all time. The ingredients are all there. … When you’re a defense and you have to face a power running game, that’s the worst thing you can face. Then when you add in the play-action [passing] game and a quarterback who is mobile, that’s really tough on a defense. … [Prescott’s] calm and poise are the first things you notice. Then it’s the accuracy, not only the completions but also the ball accuracy as far as making the proper throw based on how the receiver is being covered.”
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Romo said Tuesday that Prescott has “earned the right to be our quarterback.” But he also made it clear that he wants to play again.
“If you think for a second that I don’t want to be out there, then you’ve probably never felt the pure ecstasy of competing and winning,” Romo said. “That hasn’t left me. In fact, it may burn more now than ever.”
Whatever happens from here, Romo’s legacy is intact.
“He put it out there,” Fouts said. “It was a foregone conclusion. But everyone was waiting to see how he would react. He’s got to be terribly disappointed. But there’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to deal with it.”
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