Romo revels in rout of Cardinals

Nov 14, 2006, 22:25 GMT

- Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo knows he has the skills to succeed in the NFL.

In Sunday's 27-10 rout of the Arizona Cardinals, Romo enjoyed his best day as a pro, and passed for 308 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing. Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Romo is 2-1 and having a blast.

'These guys did a great job,' Romo said of his teammates. 'We didn't try to go to just one guy...I never do that. I'm throwing to whoever is open and we had a lot of guys get free and make plays.'

Romo hit five different receivers at University of Phoenix Stadium, and recorded a career-best 126.8 passer rating in doing so. His performance helped the Cowboys to a 5-4 record and second place in the NFC East. The Giants still lead the division by one game over both Dallas and Philadelphia.

With the win, Dallas shook off its last-second loss at Washington of the week before. Receiver Patrick Crayton helped do that with 104 yards and a touchdown on five receptions, while Terrell Owens was right behind with 96 yards and a score on five catches. Tight end Jason Witten caught five balls for 58 yards.

The trio came up big while star receiver Terry Glenn missed the game due to a leg injury. Rookie wideout Sam Hurd started in Glenn's place and had four catches for 42 yards. The timetable for Glenn's return to the field is unknown.

The running game helped a lot for Romo and the offense as well, as Julius Jones and Marion Barber combined for 110 yards on 29 carries. Barber had 14 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown and Jones ended with 15 carries for 45 yards.

Romo threw for 300 yards for the first time in his career, and leads the NFC with a 101.2 rating in five games, including three starts. In five games this season, Romo has completed almost 70 percent of his passes for 1,124 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. He has averaged 287.3 yards in his three starts, totaling 862 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.

He has thrown for more than 250 yards in three consecutive games, becoming the first Cowboys quarterback to accomplish that feat since Hall of Famer Troy Aikman threw for more than 250 in the first four games of the 1993 season.

Romo is heating up at the right time, with the undefeated Indianapolis Colts coming to town. The Cowboys didn't appear as if they were looking past the Cardinals, but will have their hands full with Peyton Manning and company.

Dallas' defense shut down Arizona's running game and contained perhaps two of the top receivers in the game. Cardinals' wideouts Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald combined for eight catches for 133 yards on Sunday.

That's nice, but Indianapolis has two threats of its own in Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. That duo was shut down by Buffalo over the weekend, even though the Colts squeezed by for a 17-16 win, and will be looking to increase their production in Big D.

COWBOYS LOSE ELLIS FOR SEASON

Cowboys defensive end/linebacker Greg Ellis will miss the remainder of the 2006 season with a left Achilles' injury suffered against Arizona.

Ellis is expected to undergo season-ending surgery and is concerned for his future, since these types of injuries take almost a year to heal.

'I wanted to walk off the field initially because you deal with the reality of stuff,' Ellis said. 'I don't plan for it to be my last game, but in case it is, I can say I went back out there and walked off without somebody carting me off. That's important to me.'

Ellis worked hard in training camp and preseason to make the move from defensive end to outside linebacker for the first time in his career. The switch paid off for the Boys, but Ellis' encouraging season came to a crashing halt on Sunday. Ellis posted three tackles and two quarterback hurries against Arizona.

Rookie first-round pick Bobby Carpenter replaced Ellis, mostly in pass-rush situations, for the rest of the game, while veteran Al Singleton took over in goal line plays.

'Maybe if I get (Carl) Banks out of retirement,' head coach Bill Parcells said in reference to former Giants linebacker Carl Banks. 'This is not a good day to ask me that one. Let me just figure it out and we will see what we do.'

UP NEXT: THE UNBEATEN COLTS

Dallas could certainly use Carl Banks and Lawrence Taylor in this matchup, but instead, Parcells will have to find a replacement for Ellis and get Romo ready for the most important game of the youngster's career to date.

The Cowboys lead the all-time series against the Baltimore/Indianapolis franchise by a 7-6 margin. The Colts, though, have won three straight since suffering a six-game losing streak, including a 20-3 win in the previous meeting on November 17, 2002.

© 2006 The Sports Network