Tony Romo Blows The Game For the Dallas Cowboys Against The Jets; Mark Sanchez Shows Improvement

In what was a really good statistical performance for Tony Romo (23-36 for 346 yards; two tds, one interception, one fumble),  the Dallas Cowboys lost to the New York Jets 27-24.

Why? Tony Romo. (See my subsequent posts re: Romo blowing game against Lions)

He played for three quarters in a fairly efficient way, despite being under constant pressure from a swarming Jets defense. He made no crucial mistakes, and seemed to have matured from the sometimes erratic qb he has been in the past. ((See: Romo Can Lead Cowboys To Super Bowl))

However, his fumble at the Jets three-yard line in the fourth quarter is probably the difference in the game.  It was 3rd and 2, and clearly no one was open.  Scrambling, he attempted to dive forward and the ball was knocked from his hands.  The Jets recover the ball, and instead of the Cowboys kicking a field goal and going up by 10 points, the game stayed within one score.

Then next it was his interception later in the fourth quarter when the game was tied with a minute to go.  I'm not sure what was most disappointing: that he threw to a gimpy Dez Bryant that was double-covered, or that he threw to the side Darrelle Revis was playing.

In either case, it was a horrible throw and the return set up the Jets' game-winning field goal.

For Mark Sanchez, he had a relatively good game.  He went 26-44 for 335 yards, two tds, one interception, and one lost fumble.  While he made some excellent throws (and clearly enjoys having Plaxico Burress on the team), he still struggles with accuracy at times.  In two years, his career completion percentage is 54.4.  Tonight it was 59%.

If he makes a few better decisions, and also gets some of his shorter throws on target, he will finally live up to the promise of his "Sanchize" nickname.