Tony Romo shouldn’t play for Dallas Cowboys Sunday

I’ll be frank: I thought Tony Romo‘s season was over Monday.

When he got kneed in the back against the Washington Redskins, I could see the Dallas Cowboys’ surprising start going down the drain. I even panicked so much to the point where I thought maybe it was a career ending injury, considering he got hit in “the spot.”

But Romo is fine, thankfully. However, this latest back injury seems worse than the initial diagnosis of a “back contusion” as Romo is day-to-day and essentially a game time decision for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.

We can talk all we want about if Romo should have even come back in the game and if Jerry Jones was meddling too much. The bottom line is that’s in the past, and the Cowboys and Romo have a decision to make about his status for Sunday.

I personally don’t think Romo should play against the Cardinals.

Romo got hurt partly because Washington blitzed and blitzed and blitzed and blitzed. Guess what the Cardinals’ defensive specialty is? Blitzing and blitzing and blitzing and blitzing. The Cowboys have been one of the surprises in the league this year and have a chance to win the division and make the playoffs, but they’ll need Romo to make that happen. Yes, playing the Cardinals will be a good measuring stick of how the Cowboys stack up against another NFC power like the Cardinals, but risking Romo’s health isn’t worth it.

Sitting him this week would pave the way for him to return the week after against a bad Jacksonville Jaguars team in London, and then the bye week would follow that. Things are going to get tough after the bye with a road game against the New York Giants and a home game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving. Dallas will need Romo badly in those games. Theoretically, they could even think about sitting Romo through the bye week to make sure he is completely right.

It isn’t worth risking Romo’s health for the rest of the season by playing him. He may be tough as nails and may want to go out there no matter what, but the reality is when the clock hits noon on Sunday, Romo won’t be ready. He hasn’t practiced all week and will be on short rest anyway. I don’t want 50 percent of Tony Romo out on the field, because that’s a recipe for disaster. Remember what happened against San Francisco in week one when he wasn’t right? No one wants a repeat of that.

Plus, the Cowboys losing Sunday wouldn’t be the end of the world. They’d fall to 6-3, which is still a pretty darn good record for team nobody thought had a chance.

And, I still think the Cowboys would have a chance on Sunday if Romo is held out. The way they play by running the ball with DeMarco Murray will give them a chance against any team, for the most part. Brandon Weeden would be the one handing the ball off to Murray and running the offense if Romo is out. Believe it or not, Weeden looked like a competent quarterback on Sunday when Romo got hurt. He completed 4 of 6 passes for 69 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Not bad for someone that many, including myself, were down about.

The combination of the Cowboys’ offensive line, Murray and Dez Bryant should help Weeden look good again on Sunday if needed. With Romo being held out every Wednesday, Weeden has gotten the chance to work with the first string a lot this season and I do think he would give the Cowboys a chance to win the game if called upon.

We all knew that Romo probably wouldn’t play every snap, or even every game of the season. It all comes down to one thing: Romo is the most important player on this team. Him being hurt long tern will destroy whatever playoff chances this team has. Even if this isn’t related to the back surgery he had, Romo needs to sit on Sunday.