The Sports Xchange

IRVING, Texas — Tony Romo may not yet be considered a big game quarterback. He won’t get that until he shines in the playoffs.

But there is no question he is a great clutch and comeback quarterback.

Romo has the second-highest fourth quarter quarterback rating in NFL history (102.0) and holds the franchise record for comeback victories in the fourth quarter or overtime.

The Dallas quarterback proved his mettle again in miraculous fashion in leading the Cowboys to a 27-26 comeback victory over the New York Giants in the season opener for both teams.

Romo rallied the Cowboys from a 10-point deficit with two touchdowns to tight end Jason Witten in the final five minutes, including the game winner with 13 seconds left.

The Cowboys outgained the Giants 436-289 and dominated time of possession, 37:10 to 22:50. But they found a way to win despite losing the turnover battle, 3-0, which the Giants turned into 17 points.

“Any win is big, but obviously this one was against a division rival in our first week,” Romo said. “We moved the ball up and down the field but giving them the scores was tough.

“The fact that we came out with a win was big to keep that mental toughness throughout the game.”

It’s Romo’s 24th comeback victory in the fourth quarter or overtime and it has the Cowboys 1-0.

Owner Jerry Jones said there no other quarterback he would rather have in that situation.

“Not me,” Jones said. “No. Not the Cowboys. No. We’ve got the guy we want and he did a great job. It shows you his competitiveness. It was as loud and clear as I’ve ever seen it.

“I don’t know if we’ve seen a better competitor. He just has a will to step out there and win. If you can get him within distance, he’s a threat to win every time.”

Romo was at his best when it mattered most. He completed 11-of-12 passes on the final two drives, including 5-of-6 on the game winner.

The last pass came on a bad snap from center Travis Frederick, yet Romo was undeterred and in a zone.

He did it all with the team’s best receiver, Dez Bryant, in the locker room because of a broken bone in his right foot.

“He was fantastic,” coach Jason Garrett gushed. “He has great poise. He has a great understanding about what he wants to do. His patience was outstanding. The defense gets on their heels and he does a really good job just making the play, making the play, making the play, not making the bad play and obviously cashing in at the end.

“The big throw to (Jason) Witten, the touch was unbelievable. Tremendous amount of confidence in that huddle, and a lot of it comes from the confidence the quarterback projects to the team. Everybody responded the right way.

“It’s easy when you’re in that situation, down two scores in the middle of the fourth quarter, it’s easy to get out of whack. It’s easy to get a little impatient, try to do too much, but I thought he did a really good job maintaining his poise, his discipline, throwing to the right guy. He made a lot of big plays, now you come back and you trust your defense to give you another chance, and obviously the last drive was really remarkable.”

REPORT CARD VS. THE GIANTS

PASSING OFFENSE: A-minus — Quarterback Tony Romo threw two interceptions but only one was his fault. The other was the result of a drop by Devin Street. He was undone by two other drops, or perhaps we talking about a near-flawless performance. Still, Romo only missed nine passes all night, completing 36-of-45 for 356 yards with two touchdowns. He was near perfect on the final two drives, completing 11-of-12 passes and two touchdowns, to rally the Cowboys to victory.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus — The Cowboys ran the ball 23 times for 80 yards. That includes 16 carries and 65 yards for Joseph Randle and six carries for 16 yards for Darren McFadden. They didn’t run it with the same commitment of a year ago. They didn’t run it all in the red zone. The Cowboys got away from physical style that had been their calling card. Yet, the running backs combined for 131 yards on 12 receptions, so they were effective.

PASS DEFENSE: A — In what was the first game without top cornerback Orlando Scandrick, the Cowboys pass defense held up, giving up only 193 yards passing and no touchdowns. Odell Bechkam Jr. was held in check, catching five passes for 44 yards. It was a huge win for cornerback Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne and nickel back Tyler Patmon.

RUSH DEFENSE: B — The Giants rushed 24 times for 99 yards. But in the end, they didn’t do enough on the ground to hurt the Cowboys, considering that 53 of the 99 came in the fourth quarter. Sean Lee led the Cowboys with nine tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A — The Cowboys didn’t get any big returns but their coverage was very strong against the Giants. Dwayne Harris had three yards on two punt returns. Dan Bailey sailed six kickoffs out of the end zone. Chris Jones averaged 52 yards per punt. Bailey nailed two field goals and all of his extra points.

COACHING: A — Coach Jason Garrett preaches daily to his team about fighting regardless of circumstance and playing with a relentless spirit. It was on full display against the Giants as the Cowboys lost the turnover battle, 3-0, but never gave up and ultimately found a way to win in miraculous comeback fashion. Credit coach Jason Garrett as much as the magic of quarterback Tony Romo.