The Dallas Cowboys can finally take a little sigh of relief, as they ended their 14-year playoff drought with a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles.  Tony Romo, who has been labeled a choke-artist, was probably most relieved.  The talented quarterback had a QB rating of 104.9, throwing 2 touchdowns on 23/35 for 244 yards.  He also led the Cowboys to a huge second quarter, helping the Cowboys easily put away the Eagles by outscoring them 27-7 in that quarter.  Romo got a ton of help from his running backs too, with the Cowboys gaining 198 rushing yards as a team.  Felix Jones had a huge day, rushing for a touchdown and 148 yards on 16 carries for a great average of 9.3 yards per carry.  Tashard Choice helped as well, working hard for 42 yards and 1 touchdown on 14 carries.

The Cowboys defense was outstanding in this game too, forcing the Eagles into 4 turnovers and holding them to just 56 rushing yards.  They sacked Donovan McNabb twice, but they pressured him all game holding him to 230 yards on 19/37 passes, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.  Bradie James was a nightmare for McNabb, as the linebacker had 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 QB hits, and 1 pass defensed.  The Cowboys completely dominated this game on both sides of the ball and it was an emphatic way to end their playoff-win drought.  The Cowboys have won four straight and are looking more and more to me like the favorites to come out of NFC playoffs.  They will have to go through Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings next week in Minnesota.

29-year old Tony Romo is proving to be one of the best QBs in the NFL despite constant criticism of his game.  Romo played in all 16 games for the Cowboys this season and he completed 347 of 550 passes (63.1%) for 4,483 yards with 26 TD passes and 9 INTs (97.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 35 times for 105 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Romo has now played in 77 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,178 of 1,857 passes (63.4%) for 15,045 yards with 107 TD passes and 55 INTs (95.6 QB Rating).  Romo has also carried the ball 130 times for 375 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  Romo is one of the best QBs in the NFL so the critics need to leave this guy alone as he could at least start for 25 other teams in the NFL right now.

37-year old Jon Kitna is the back-up and he didn’t even get on the field this season for the Cowboys.  But, he does have a lot of experience and he would likely do well if forced into the starting line-up due to a injury to Tony Romo.  Kitna has played in 128 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,462 of 4,114 passes (59.8%) for 27,293 yards with 152 TD passes and 151 INTs (76.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 279 times for 811 yards (2.9 ypc) with 10 TD runs in his career. 

Tony Romo has been outstanding all season long and he is playing well in December.  In his two games in December, Romo has completed 60 of 85 passes (70.6%) for 641 yards with 5 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Romo has now played in 13 games this season and he has completed 276 of 444 passes (62.2%) for 3,574 yards with 22 TD passes and 7 INTs (97.4 QB Rating).  Romo has also carried the ball 27 times for 88 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run this season.  The Cowboys will need Romo to be at his best this weekend if they are going to beat the Saints in New Orleans.

It has to drive 25-year old running back Tashard Choice nuts that he is currently third on the depth chart in Dallas at RB behind Marion Barber and Felix Jones as he would probably start for half of the teams in the NFL.  He has played in 11 games for the Cowboys this season and he has carried the ball 58 times for 330 yards (5.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Choice has also caught 15 passes for 132 yards (8.8 avg) so far this year.  He has now played in 27 games in his two years in Dallas and he has carried the ball 150 times for 802 yards (5.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  Choice has also caught 36 passes for 317 yards (8.8 avg) in his time in Dallas.  It will be interesting to see what Dallas does when someone calls them on draft day next April about Choice.

27-year old DeMarcus Ware is still by far the best player the Cowboys have to offer on defense.  He has played in all 10 games for the Cowboys this season and he has 39 tackles, 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and he has defensed 5 passes.  Look for him to be living in the Raiders’ backfield tomorrow afternoon.  He has now played in 74 games in 5 years with the Cowboys and he has 338 tackles, 60.5 sacks, 18 passes defensed, 20 forced fumbles and he also has a interception that he has returned for a TD.  Look for Ware to continue to dominate as he tries to will his team to get to the playoffs this season.