Romo gives thanks with 5 TDs

Nov 29, 2006, 16:10 GMT

- Dallas quarterback Tony Romo passed the main course and side dishes on Thanksgiving and went straight to the dessert, throwing for five touchdowns in a 38-10 rout of Tampa Bay.

Romo put on a show at Texas Stadium on Thursday and probably made fans and a few coaches wonder why he didn't spell incumbent starter Drew Bledsoe sooner. In his fifth start this season, Romo passed for 306 yards with no interceptions and improved to 4-1 as a starter.

The holiday effort staked the Cowboys to a 7-4 mark and first place in the NFC East division ahead of the New York Giants, who suffered a tough loss against Tennessee on Sunday.

The Cowboys have the same record they had following last year's Thanksgiving game, but won two games the rest of the way and missed the playoffs.

Dallas, though, has ripped off three straight wins thanks to Romo, who became the only quarterback to throw five TD passes at Texas Stadium. It was also the ninth time a Cowboys quarterback has thrown five touchdown passes in a game, and Romo became the first to do so since Hall of Famer Troy Aikman in 1999.

Romo, the NFL's highest-rated QB, played so well that Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden compared him to Aikman, who led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in the 1990's. That's a pretty strong compliment coming from Gruden, who has been in the league long enough to know what quarterback talent looks like. This time, Gruden had plenty of nice things to say after watching Romo and the Boys rack up 435 yards of offense.

'I'm impressed to the fact that he didn't turn the ball over and he's managing the game well,' Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells said. 'And that's what he's supposed to do. I think he's a football guy, and he's interested in playing well. But we've got a ways to go here. So put the anointing oil away.'

Parcells certainly has a right to feel that way, because the Cowboys still have work to do before the playoffs. Dallas could lose out the rest of the season and watch currently struggling teams like Philadelphia or Atlanta rebound and sneak in. But if Romo stays hot with the one-game-at-a-time- approach, the Cowboys will be sitting pretty for the postseason.

He completed 13 consecutive passes from the second to the fourth quarter on Thursday, tying the second-longest streak in club history. Steve Pelleur (1986) and Randall Cunningham (2000) both had 14 consecutive completions. Romo became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history with five TD passes in one of his first five starts. The last was Kurt Warner, who turned the trick in 1999 when the St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl.

Dallas avoided a letdown from last week's emotional victory over the previously-unbeaten Indianapolis Colts, but did open Thursday's game in sluggish fashion. Tampa Bay grabbed a 7-0 lead early on, but never took control and trailed 21-10 by halftime. Two more TD passes by Romo and a field goal by Mike Vanderjagt sealed the deal in the second half.

That would be Vanderjagt's last field goal in a Cowboys' uniform, as he was released on Monday. Dallas signed veteran Martin Gramatica to take over for the inconsistent Vanderjagt, who made 13-of-18 field goals this season and was originally signed to a three-year deal worth $5.4 million.

Romo is certainly sitting pretty right now, especially with rumors of him dating mildly attractive singer/actress Jessica Simpson. Romo's confidence got another boost after fans donned a faux Ring of Honor banner with his name on it prior to Thursday's kickoff. Maybe someday that will come true.

'Yeah, someone pointed it out before the game and that was pretty fun,' Romo said of the bogus banner. 'But that's an injustice to those guys. Every single one of them has had unbelievable careers. That's something you aspire to one day. Maybe if I can play another 15 years.'

The former Walter Payton Award winner will definitely win himself honors if he has Terry Glenn and Terrell Owens as his receivers for the next 10 years. Glenn caught four passes for 89 yards and two TDs, while Owens led the charge with 107 yards and a score on eight receptions. Running back Marion Barber III contributed three yards and a pair of touchdown on two catches.

Barber has been an excellent compliment to starter Julius Jones this season and leads the team with 11 touchdowns, the most since Emmitt Smith had 13 during the 1999 season. Barber also had 83 rushing yards on 16 carries. Jones ran the ball 11 times for 40 yards.

Romo and the Cowboys definitely feasted on Thursday, and will now prepare for a huge showdown with the Giants on Sunday at the Meadowlands. He better wear his Burlington High School t-shirt under his pads again, as he has during each of game of his brief starting career, if he wants to remain the hottest topic in the NFL right now.

DEFENSE SETS TONE VS. BUCS

The Dallas defense has played better football as well since Romo was injected into the starting lineup. The defense has forced at least one turnover in each of Romo's five starts, with safety Roy Williams coming up with his team- leading fifth interception of the season in Thursday's win.

Linebacker Akin Ayodele also intercepted a Bruce Gradkowski pass to give the Cowboys 13 takeaways in five games, a figure that leads the league over that span.

'We're developing an identity right now,' Cowboys linebacker Bradie James said. 'In order to be a great defense you've got to stop the run, eliminate big plays and get some turnovers, and now that's what we're doing.'

Dallas did enough to stop the run, limiting Bucs running back Cadillac Williams to 78 yards on 17 carries. The inability to run the football made life even harder for Tampa Bay's offense, leaving Gruden crunching his nose all day on the sideline.

UP NEXT: DALLAS VISITS NFC EAST-RIVAL NEW YORK

Five weeks ago, the Cowboys owned a 3-3 mark after a rough 36-22 loss to the Giants on Monday night at Texas Stadium.

But that was way back when, when Drew Bledsoe played under center.

Now the Cowboys are riding a three-game winning streak and their confidence is brimming.

Against the Giants back on October 23, Tiki Barber recorded 146 all-purpose yards and Eli Manning threw for 189 yards and tossed a pair of touchdowns.

Bledsoe completed 7-of-12 passes for 112 yards with an interception for the Cowboys before being benched in the third quarter. Romo took over and was not much better, connecting on 14 of his 25 passes for 227 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Dallas leads the all-time series by a 51-35-2 margin, but has dropped two straight and four of the last five meetings. Don't expect the same New York team that has posted its current three-game losing streak, because Tom Coughlin will have his team ready for this division matchup.

© 2006 The Sports Network