It's a Tough Morning to Be a Cowboys Fan After All Those 4th Quarter Miscues

Let’s start with the first gaffe, shall we? 3rd down and goal from inside the five with nine minutes left and Tony Romo reverted to swashbuckling 2008 Tony Romo. Trying to play hero, Romo attempted to split Mike DeVito and Bart Scott – for a nanosecond, it appeared Romo might score – but fumbled on his way to the goal line. The Jets recovered.

Four minutes later, the Cowboys had a special teams meltdown. The middle of the line opened, Jets backup running back Joe McKnight darted through and blocked the punt with one hand. Isaiah Trufant, who was just picked up by the team this week, calmly scooped up the ball and scored to tie the game. (PS – Great call, Al Michaels.)

This one could be on Dez Bryant. He may have ran the wrong route. Nevertheless, everyone’s going to pin it on Romo because quarterbacks take all the heat. (Fortunately, this is his wife, so life isn’t all bad for the guy.) Nick Folk went on to kick the game-winner. Final: Jets 27, Cowboys 24.

Three turnovers in a nine minute span? Romo and the Cowboys had no problems through three quarters with the Jets’ defense, but the 4th was forgettable. The tough-to-swallow loss was the first time Dallas has lost a game in which it led by 14 or more in the fourth quarter. But I wouldn’t be too nervous if I were a Cowboys’ fan – Dallas rang up 400 yards of offense, the front seven completely shut down the Jets’ rushing offense, and the secondary was depleted due to injuries. Dallas will be fine.