Did Tony Romo give away the game in the 4th quarter?

It was an emotional game for both teams tonight as the New York Jets took on the Dallas Cowboys in East Rutherford, N.J. The Cowboys had a comfortable 14 point lead in the fourth quarter. But careless mistakes by Dallas and player injuries ultimately cost them the game.

The Cowboys struck gold early with Dez Bryant. In the first quarter, Bryant caught three receptions for 71 yards including a leaping three yard touchdown. Bryant struggle the rest of the game with cramps and didn’t make another catch all game. He just looked “spent”.

Rob Ryan’s Dallas defense was able to stop New York’s offense from scoring until the last minute of the second quarter. Quarterback Mark Sanchez found tight end Dustin Keller for a 4 yard touchdown at the back of the endzone. Dallas took a 10-7 lead into halftime.

The Dallas defense, already without corner back Terence Newman, also lost starting corner back Orlando Scandrick at halftime due to an ankle injury. The other starting corner back, Mike Jenkins struggled with a shoulder injury after an explosive Plaxico Burress block in the third quarter.

The Cowboys extended their lead to 17-7 after Miles Austin made a tremendous catch against Antonio Cromartie. The 36 yard touchdown throw was actually caught by both players, but Austin was able to pull the ball away from Cromartie once they both fell into the endzone. Find out where the tide turned, after the break: (more…)