The stars certainly came out as Romo, Terrell Owens (despite one huge misstep with a drop that turned into an interception), along with the offensive line and the defense shined with a key 37-27 win over the Green Bay Packers Thursday at Texas Stadium.
Romo hit on 19 of 30 pass attempts for 309 yards and four touchdowns, breaking the TD mark of 29 set by Danny White in 1983. Owens, who had seven catches for 156 yards and a TD, also broke Frank Clarke’s TD mark of 14 set in 1967.
The victory moved Dallas to 11-1, clinching a playoff berth.
“The team was ready to play and the crowd was really great,” Dallas coach Wade Phillips said. “The crowd really got the team going. It’s great to be 11-1.”
The much-hyped Romo vs. Brett Favre fizzled early as the Cowboys jumped out to a 27-10 lead.
Then Favre was knocked out of the game with elbow and shoulder injuries early in the second quarter.
Backup Aaron Rodgers came in and played well, keeping his team in the game before a late drive by Dallas milked the clock and resulted in a clinching field goal by Nick Folk.
“I thought we played well against the first quarterback (Favre),” Phillips said. “We weren’t really prepared for the second quarterback with his scrambling.
“We’re happy to be 11-1, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
The Cowboys have the inside track for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a big advantage considering the top seed from their conference has advanced to the Super Bowl the last three years.
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At halftime, the Cowboys honored two of their five Super Bowl champion teams — 1977 and 1992.
The 1977 team, quarterbacked by Roger Staubach, defeated the Denver Broncos, 27-10, in Super Bowl XII in New Orleans. Other Pro Football Hall of Famers on that team, along with Staubach, represented were running back Tony Dorsett, offensive lineman Rayfield Wright, defensive back Mel Renfro, and defensive lineman Randy White. Other popular Cowboys from that team at the game were Drew Pearson, Cliff Harris, Charlie Waters, Preston Pearson, Butch Johnson and Hollywood Henderson.
The 1992 team, quarterbacked by Troy Aikman, defeated the Buffalo Bills, 52-17, in Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena, Calif. Aikman, along with Michael Irvin, are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Some of the others represented Thursday were the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith; along with Nate Newton, Russell Maryland, Darren Woodson, James Washington and Larry Brown.
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Meeting of the QBs
During warmups, veteran QB Brett Favre and the kid, Tony Romo, met at midfield and enjoyed a conversion.
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Traveling Fans
Just as the Cowboys are famous for fans on the road, the Packers are as well. There were plenty of cheeseheads and No. 4 jerseys in the crowd at Texas Stadium.
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Moment of Silence
Before the game, Texas Stadium observed a moment of silence to honor slain Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who died in Miami earlier this week.
The teams also wore his No. 21 on their helmets.
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Big Guns
Befitting the playoff atmosphere, the Cowboys brought out two of their all-time greats — quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman — for the coin toss. The Packers, however, won the flip and chose to receive.
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Top Matchup
When both the Cowboys and Packers won on Thanksgiving Day, it set up a historic meeting. For only the second time since 1970 and for only the eighth time in NFL history, two 10-1 — or better — teams faced off.
The previous meetings:
Dec. 4, 1926 — Frankford (12-1-1) vs. Chicago Bears (11-0-2)
Dec. 12, 1926 — Chicago Bears (11-1-2) vs. Pottsville (10-1-1)
Nov. 11, 1934 — Detroit (10-1) vs. Chicago Bears (11-0)
Dec. 12, 1948 — Chicago Bears (10-1) vs. Chicago Cardinals (10-1)
Dec. 17, 1967 — Los Angeles Rams (10-1-2) vs. Baltimore Colts (11-0-2)
Dec. 7, 1969 — Los Angeles Rams (11-0) vs. Minnesota Vikings (10-1)
Dec. 3, 1990 — San Francisco 49ers (10-1) vs. New York Giants (10-1)
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National Anthem
The Los Lonely Boys, Willie Nelson’s favorite group, sang the Star Spangled Banner and received an ovation for their performance.
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Playoff Meetings
The Cowboys and Packers have met six times in the playoffs with Dallas having won the last four. The Packers won the first two, which were NFL Championship games — the first on Jan. 1, 1967 in Dallas (34-27) and the last on Dec. 31, 1967 in Green Bay, Wis., (17-14, the famous in Wisconsin or infamous in Texas Ice Bowl).
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Throw Them Out
It took 12 games, but the Cowboys wore their throwback uniforms, just in time for the Christmas shopping season. They wore the white helmets with the blue star and blue jerseys with blue stars on the white shoulders.
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Bills vs. Redskins
The next game most of America will not see is the Buffalo at Washington game Thursday. It will be broadcast by the NFL Network.
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Next Up
The Cowboys hit the road for three of the next four weeks. Next up is a game against Detroit at Ford Field in Detroit on Dec. 9. Kickoff is noon. The Cowboys then play host to Philadelphia (Dec. 16) with road games at Carolina (Dec. 22) and Washington (Dec. 30).
For those planning ahead, the NFL Network is televising the Cowboys’ game with the Panthers on Saturday, Dec. 22.
The Packers are home as well on Dec. 9 as they play host to the Oakland Raiders in a rematch of Super Bowl II. Other remaining games for Green Bay are at St. Louis (Dec. 16), at Chicago (Dec. 23) and against Detroit in Green Bay on Dec. 30.
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