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Tony Romo was great for three quarters, and then boom. His usual inefficiency (to be gentle) in the fourth quarter came flashing out, and the Cowboys dropped a 14 point lead to have the game tied at 24. Romo, at 24-24, threw an interception which Darrelle Revis retruned to Dallas 34. Nick Folk wrapped things up with 27 second to go with a 50 yard field goal, giving the Jets a 27-24 win.

This was the first time that the Cowboys have lost a game with a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter. They were 240-0-1 previously. Tony Romo and the Jets’ defense are to be given thanks. Big plays – offense, defense and special teams.

With five minutes to go in the fourth, Joe Mcknight blocked a punt and Isaiah Trufant ran the blocked punt into the end zone, making it 24-24. Mark Sanchez struggled early on, but found Plaxico Burress in the end with 11:56 left in the fourth to give the Jets a fighting chance. They fought their way to victory.

The defenses, on both sides, had plenty to be pleased about. Both teams got 4 sacks, with Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware notching up two. There was no running game what so ever – 64 for the Cowboys, 45 for the Jets. Dallas led, slightly, in pretty much every statistical category. They messed up in the end, in the little things, and two big ones – the Punt block and Romo’s interception.

The Cowboys knew they were going to have an issue this year with their protection, getting Felix Jones much more involved with blocking than actually looking for gaps and running. It took a toll, but the former Arkansas tailback did a good job. For the Jets, LaDainian Tomlinson did a great job in receiving, finishing with 89 yards from scrimmage.

Dez Bryant was unstoppable in the first quarter, but Romo wasn’t able to complete a pass to him afterwards. He settled for his favorite target, Jason Witten (110 yards, six receptions) and Mario Austion (90 yards, 1 touchdown). Romo had another huge FAIL moment, fumbling the ball with 8:59 left, while the Cowboys still had the lead. It was on the Jets’ 3. Talk about blowing huge opportunities.

Romo, at least, took responsibility for the loss. I’m not sure too many Cowboys fans think that makes up for anything – It was a dumb decision by me, too reactionary. That was my fault. (On the interception).It’s just disappointing and frustrating right now because we win that football game if I don’t do what I did. It’s hard to swallow knowing we lost the game because of me. We work very hard to make sure that we’re put in those positions to win the game. I have to do better. That’s the bottom line. 

For the finishing stat line – The Dallas Cowboys are 1-6 in Romo’s last seven starts. He missed most of last season due to injury. Are they actually better off without his terrible decision making in the fourth quarter?