Romo leads Cowboys to playoff berth
Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys survived a test from the Green Bay Packers - and their own costly bobble - to lay claim to the best team in the National Football Conference.
Romo threw four touchdown passes and the Cowboys knocked Brett Favre from the game in a 37-27 NFL victory over the Packers last night.
Patrick Crayton had a pair of TD receptions and Terrell Owens caught seven passes for 156 yards and a touchdown as Dallas (11-1) notched its sixth consecutive victory.
It marked only the second matchup of teams with records of 10-1 or better since 1970. The last time a pair of 10-1 teams met came in December 1990, when the New York Giants squared off with the San Francisco 49ers.
Favre was knocked out of this game with 10:11 to play in the first half when he hurt his right elbow following a blitz by cornerback Nate Jones.
Aaron Rodgers played superbly in Favre's absence, completing 11 straight passes at one point and leading the Packers back from an early 27-10 deficit.
A first-round pick in 2005, Rodgers finished 18-of-25 for 201 yards and a TD. Ryan Grant rushed for 94 yards and two TDs for the Packers. Favre, who fell to 0-9 all-time in Dallas, including three playoff defeats, completed 5-of-14 passes for 56 yards and two interceptions.
The game featured some wild momentum swings and a number of big plays - most of which were made by the Cowboys.
Owens had a monster first half, pulling in six receptions for 147 yards and having a hand in all three touchdowns.
But he also had a huge gaffe in the first minute of the fourth quarter, bobbling a sure touchdown pass that Al Harris intercepted with Dallas leading, 27-24.
Romo drove Dallas back down the field on its subsequent possession, helped by a huge pass interference call that set up a
1st-and-goal at the 5-yard line.
Three plays later, Romo threw his second scoring pass to Crayton from four yards out to build the lead back to double digits at 34-24 with 7:51 left to play.
Taking advantage of two interceptions of Favre, the quick-strike Cowboys offence needed only eight plays to score three touchdowns and grab a 27-10 lead just over five minutes into the second quarter.
Romo's first touchdown pass to Crayton gave Dallas a 13-3 lead with 1:44 left in the first quarter, but Grant's burst up the middle for 62 yards on the Packers' next possession cut their deficit to
13-10 with one second left in the period.
Undaunted, the Cowboys struck back quickly on the next possession, moving 76 yards in only three plays to restore the
10-point cushion.
Romo found Owens for 48 yards and one play later tossed a 26-yard touchdown pass to tight end Anthony Fasano for a 20-10 lead with 13:20 left in the first half.
Dallas continued to put the pressure on, knocking Favre out of the game when he was hit by a blitzing Jones, leading to an interception by Terence Newman with 10:11 left in the half.
The Cowboys cashed in when Romo threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Owens to build the cushion to 27-10.
Rodgers relieved Favre and directed a late-scoring drive to cut the deficit to 27-17 at the half.
The former first-round pick went 4-of-4 for 66 yards on the drive, capping it with an 11-yard scoring pass to Greg Jennings with 31 seconds left in the half.
The Packers carried the momentum into the second half, with Rodgers going 6-of-6 in directing a 69-yard drive that was capped by Grant's one-yard plunge to slice the deficit to 27-24 with 5:15 left in the third.
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