When Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo inked his six-year, $108 million contract extension in March, a common reaction was to compare Romo's salary to some of the top quarterbacks in the league. While Romo is certainly being paid like an elite quarterback, his lack of postseason success and 1-6 record in win-or-go-home games were immediately brought to the surface.
Following a season where a poorly thrown pass in the final minutes resulted in a Romo interception and a Week 17 loss to the Washington Redskins, eliminating the Cowboys from a postseason berth, pointing out Romo's shortcomings became far more popular than noting some of the 33-year-old's impressive career statistics.
Yes, Romo will not be mentioned among QBs like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger unless he wins a Super Bowl. But that doesn't mean his accomplishments should go unnoticed.
The Cowboys released their media game notes for the season opener on Tuesday. And inside were several interesting Romo-related stats. Here are a few.
– Romo is 4-2 in season openers, completing 131-of-195 passes for 1,949 yards, 14 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 115.1 QB rating.
– Of Romo's 177 career touchdown passes, 56 have come in the fourth quarter. Twenty-six have come in the first quarter, 51 in the second, 43 in the third and one in overtime.
– Highest all-time fourth quarter quarterback rating: Romo 101.9, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers 100.2, former 49ers and Buccaneers quarterback Steve Young 97.9, New England's Tom Brady 92.4, former Rams, Giants and Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner 91.9.
– Most touchdown passes of 50-or-more yards since 2006: Romo 29, Brady 21, Rodgers 20, Eli Manning 20, Drew Brees 17.
– Romo has 93 starts under his belt. Here's how he compares to other Cowboys quarterbacks through their first 93 starts: Romo 174 TDs, 88 INTs; Roger Staubach 116 TDs, 87 INTs; Danny White 147 TDs, 120 INTs; Troy Aikman 92 TDs, 82 INTs.
– Cowboys quarterback win-loss records through their first 93 starts: Staubach 69-24, White 64-29, Aikman 57-36, Romo 55-38.
– Other notable current NFL quarterback records through their first 93 starts: Brady 69-24, Ben Roethlisberger 65-28, Philip Rivers 61-32, Romo 55-38, Eli Manning 54-39.
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