Dallas Cowboys: What if we could go back in time?

January 6, 2007 — NFC Wild Card Game vs. Seattle, Qwest Field

Tony Romo had just begun to make a name for himself. He hadn’t been at the helm long for the Dallas Cowboys, but he’d already started making some big plays. The undrafted free agent from Eastern Illinois supplanted Drew Bledsoe as the starting QB earlier that season.

From there, he went 6-4 as the starter and the Cowboys finished 9-7 overall as a Wild Card team. For that, they earned a date with the NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks in the first round.

He botched the snap, picked up the ball and darted for the goal line.

With 6:48 left in the game, Dallas had controlled most of the game. On a 4th and goal at the Cowboys two-yard line, Seattle actually failed. This was the break Dallas needed.

Although they were pinned deep, the Cowboys had the ball and were up 20-13. On the very first play though,Terry Glenn fumbled the ball in the end zone. It was initially ruled a touchdown for Seattle, but a Dallas challenge turned it into an end zone fumble out of bounds for a safety.

The Seahawks took the ball and surged for a quick score thanks to a 37-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Stevens for 37 yards and a 21-20 lead. They went for two and failed, leaving Dallas enough time to move into field goal range. They did just that, and Romo’s most famous blunder ensued.

He botched the snap, picked up the ball and darted for the goal line. With it being fourth and one from the two yard-line, he had a shot at a first down. Over a minute remained, so he time didn’t really factor. Had he gotten the first down or if the kick had gone through without a blunder, Dallas would’ve led with a minute to go.

Perhaps the Seahawks could have responded with another go-ahead score. But maybe on an even bigger scale, this would have set a different tone for Romo’s career. Had his tenure with the Cowboys started differently, maybe later blunders would have been wiped out as well.