Cowboys' Romo scramble a game-changer vs. Eagles

TONY ROMO was running for his life. The Cowboys' season was delicately hanging in the balance.

There was 2 minutes and 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Dallas was trailing 17-10. Romo, a pocket passer with a penchant for pussyfooted plays, had already been sacked twice by a mostly toothless Eagles pass rush.

It was third-and-5. Moments earlier, Nick Foles had led the Eagles on a field goal drive.

Romo snapped the ball. He sidestepped Fletcher Cox, who was the first to get into the 'Boys backfield. Romo ran left, scrambling.

Jason Babin was in hot pursuit. The crowd inside Lincoln Financial Field roared in delight, like bloodthirsty Romans inside Caesar's Colosseum. Surely, Babin would bring him down.

Romo ducked, Babin missed. Cullen Jenkins whiffed. Romo's jersey must have been coated in butter.

But his eyes were focused downfield, where 25 yards away, Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie and Nate Allen bit harder on the botched play than that lion unleashed by Caesar.

Miles Austin's wide-open grab on the sideline was the beginning of the end on Sunday, not just for that contest, but for the entire Eagles' season. One play perfectly encapsulated the Eagles' demise. Three plays later, Romo connected with Dez Bryant for a touchdown; 3 minutes later, a 17-10 lead turned into a 31-17 disaster.

"That play, that's the play that's eating me up right now," Jenkins said after the game. "I feel like, regardless of the other stuff, we were up seven. If we get that play, they punt the ball and we get off the field, who knows how the game goes. That play hurt.

"It all goes downhill after that."

Rodgers-Cromartie said Romo's escape cut holes in the Eagles' zone. No telling what it did to fans' hearts.

"It was a broken-down play, we've just got to plastic [wrap] that one, everyone needs to find a man in their zone and just stick up to him," Rodgers-Cromartie explained. "We didn't do that. It was critical. We had them on the ropes."

"It could have been one of the turning points of the game," Cox said. "So many of us had the chance to make that play. He escaped and was able to get the ball down field. He felt pressure and was able to get away."

Could have, should have, would have: the motto of the 2012 Eagles' defense.

The review questioning whether Bryant actually made the touchdown catch two plays later seemed to matter little; Rodgers-Cromartie was flagged for pass-interference on the play in the end zone anyway. The Cowboys would have netted a first down near the goal line and four fresh cracks.

Few teams other than the Eagles actually squander those opportunities, you know.

Before that, it looked like the Eagles' defense was actually making progress - perhaps even given a lift by Foles' debut on offense. They finished the game with three sacks, after entering with season with a second-to-last total of 11. Dallas was just 3-for-11 on third downs before that play. They finished at 5-for-13 (38 percent) and no third down mattered more.

Instead, the Eagles allowed Romo to not only escape with what could be a season-saving victory, but also with a decent statistical outing. Romo completed nearly 75 percent of his passes, missing only seven times (19-for-26) with two touchdowns.

The Eagles are now 0-3 under new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

"We were getting off the field and it was a competitive ballgame," Bowles said. "It was a tough game and we made a lot of plays, but then they started making some plays. Until we got out on the scramble, it kind of went their way after that."

For the fifth week in a row, more questions remain than answers. The big play is still escaping the Birds - on both sides of the ball.

"The things we do cause these situations," Jenkins said. "If we make the plays we are supposed to and do all of that, this talk is not happening. That is a big thing. When you look at any championship team, they go through tough stretches, but when they have to make a play, they do."

It all makes you wonder: What could have been? One scramble, one sack, one season.

"We came out clicking," Rodgers-Cromartie said. "Somewhere, somehow, it just went south. I ain't got no words for that."

" @DNFlyers

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