'Boys fall to Giants, lose Romo to injury

ARLINGTON, Texas - Tony Romo's season might be over, and the Dallas Cowboys' season might as well be.

As for Eli Manning and the New York Giants, everything's clicking.

Romo broke his left collarbone in the second quarter, then his teammates let a 13-point lead turn into a 41-35 loss Monday night that sent the teams in opposite directions in the NFC East.

The Giants (5-2) won their fourth straight and moved a full game ahead in the division.

Dallas slumped to 1-5, its worst start since 1989. That was the year Jerry Jones bought the team, Jimmy Johnson took over as coach, and the Cowboys went 1-15. Everyone knew that team would stink. This club, however, had Super Bowl hopes.

Any chance of turning this season around ended when Romo was drilled by blitzing linebacker Michael Boley in the second quarter. Recovery time is generally eight to 10 weeks, and by then, there may not be any reason to rush back.

Romo went down hard on his left shoulder and remained flat on his back. X-rays showed the break before halftime, but he was back on the sideline for the second half, his arm in a sling and covered by a jacket. He wore a headset and was trying to encourage teammates, but there wasn't much to cheer about.

The Cowboys actually were up only 10-7 when Romo left and stretched it to 20-7. Then New York scored on its next five possessions, a 31-point flurry that sent home much of the crowd by the middle of the third quarter. The Giants were ahead by the time Romo's injury was diagnosed.

Dallas backup Jon Kitna hadn't played since Oct. 5, 2008, when he was part of Detroit's winless season. Whether it was the long layoff, being 38, or both, he sure looked rusty.

His first and third passes were tipped. The next time he dropped back, he was sacked for a 10-yard loss, forcing Dallas to punt from its own end zone. The Giants took advantage of the short field to score the go-ahead touchdown.

Kitna's next pass was fumbled by Jason Witten, setting up Lawrence Tynes' long field goal. It got so bad that there was a mock cheer when he completed a pass for a first down early in fourth quarter.

Kitna ended up throwing a pair of touchdown passes to rookie Dez Bryant in the final 3;17, but Dallas failed to recover onside kicks after each.