Tony Romo shines in Cowboys loss to Eagles, 27-13

Jan 1, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) runs out of the tunnel before the start of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) runs out of the tunnel before the start of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dallas Cowboys veteran quarterback Tony Romo shined in his regular season debut, as the team lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, 27-13.

All week, the Dallas Cowboys preached that this Sunday’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles was anything but a meaningless game. That’s despite the fact the result of the contest would have absolutely no impact on either team’s postseason.

For the Cowboys, they’ve already locked up first place in the NFC, home field advantage and a first round bye in the playoffs. As for the Eagles, their 6-9 record placed them on the outside looking in. Sunday and it would be the Birds final game of the season regardless of the outcome.

Although the Cowboys talked a big game all week, their coaching staff certainly treated this outing as meaningless as a preseason contest. Dallas rested several of their starters, including linebacker Sean Lee and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott. The result was a 27-13 loss to the Eagles in Philly.

The big story of this game was the play of the Cowboys three quarterbacks. Dallas’ terrific rookie Dak Prescott started the game under center, playing in the first quarter. He completed four of his eight passes for 37 yards.

Veteran quarterback Tony Romo entered the contest in the second quarter and played just one series. Despite Romo’s limited playing time, the 36-year gunslinger looked red hot. He completed three of his four passes for 29 yards and threw for the Cowboys only touchdown of the day.

Back-up quarterback Mark Sanchez had a terrible outing in the final game of the regular season. San-chise completed just nine of his 17 passes and threw two interceptions.

The lone bright spot in a game full of Cowboys back-ups, outside of the play of Romo, was defensive end Randy Gregory. The second-year rusher who made his debut just last week after serving a 14-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, had a breakout game in Philly. Gregory was all of the field, recording seven-total tackles and the first sack of his career.

Next: Why Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott will not win league MVP

The next stop for the 13-3 Dallas Cowboys is the playoffs. They’ll rest next weekend during the Wildcard portion of the postseason and instead will play in the divisional round of the playoffs at AT&T Stadium in two weeks.