The life of a quarterback in the NFL is a tenuous one. Just ask Drew Bledsoe and Jake Plummer. One minute you're the hero with an entire city screaming your name, and the next you're riding the bench.
But for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and while veterans may be forced to the sidelines, young guns are getting their chance to shine.
For Tony Romo, Sunday was a chance to prove why he, and not Drew Bledsoe, is leading the Dallas Cowboys. With a 23-20 win over the divisional rival New York Giants, the Cowboys now stand in first place in the NFC East and owe much of their success to Romo. It was the fourth win in five games for the young quarterback and his fifth win overall since taking over for Bledsoe against the Giants on Oct. 23.
Romo finished the game with 257 yards on 20-of-34 passes with two interceptions, including a 42-yard pass to Jason Witten in the game's final minute just moments after the Giants tied the game at 20-20. The drive set up kicker Martin Gramatica, who delivered with the game-winning field goal. Gramatica replaced Mike Vanderjagt, who was cut by coach Bill Parcells.
The Giants lost their fourth-straight game despite Eli Manning's 24-of-36, 270-yard, two-touchdown performance. Manning looked sharp, especially in the fourth quarter when he drove his team down the field and tied the game on a five-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress. But the defense simply could not hold the Cowboys' offense.
While Romo has found success off the bench, the Denver Broncos are hoping that rookie quarterback Jay Cutler will soon find his footing and straighten out the team after a three-game skid. Cutler went 10-of-21 with 143 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle emerged with the 23-20 win despite dismal halftime stats, including 39-passing yards from Matt Hasselbeck, and 15 rushing yards from Shaun Alexander. In spite of this, the Seahawks were able to capitalize on enough mistakes by Cutler and the Broncos (five turnovers) to come away with the win.
With the score tied 20-all after a 71-yard touchdown pass from Cutler to Brandon Marshall, Hasselbeck drove his team from its own 14 with 2:31 left to play. His drive set up kicker Josh Brown for a 50-yard field goal. Brown had already missed from 40 and 53 yards during the game, but the third time was a charm and his kick split the uprights.
While turnovers killed Denver, the New England Patriots overcame their miscues to defeat the lowly Detroit Lions. Tom Brady connected on 27 of his 38 passes for 305 yards and one interception, as well as a fumble that yielded a safety. Although running back Laurence Maroney was sidelined after reportedly getting the wind knocked out of him in the first quarter, a less-than-stellar performance by the Lions' defense allowed Brady to find Reche Caldwell for eight receptions and 112 yards. In the absence of Maroney, Corey Dillon scored three touchdowns for the Patriots.
The Lions killed themselves with three turnovers in their final possessions. Quarterback John Kitna threw for 314 yards but was picked off three times and coughed up a costly fumble after Rosevelt Colvin sacked him with about five minutes left to play. Lions' wide receiver Mike Furrey turned in a strong game with nine receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Their second sloppy game in a row, the Patriots will have to get their act together and get over their complacency bug, especially with a Week 17 game against the resurgent Tennessee Titans, who handed the Indianapolis Colts their second loss of the season with a game-winning 60-yard field goal.
