Tony Romo almost had a Chris Webber moment that could have cost the Cowboys in overtime against the Redskins Sunday. With the game tied at 24, the Cowboys quarterback called for a timeout prior to kicker Dan Bailey’s 39-yard field goal attempt. Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan also called for timeout at the same time. Luckily for Romo, the officials awarded the timeout to Washington.
The problem is that the Cowboys had already used the two timeouts they were allowed during overtime. Had the timeout been charged to them, the Cowboys would have been penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and the field goal attempt would have been from 54 yards away.
“I think we were out of timeouts,” Romo said. “I noticed that after the fact. And I guess you get two timeouts in overtime, not three.
“The clock was running down there. I was trying to stop it there with one second but they helped us out.”
Romo isn’t the only quarterback who recently learned about overtime rules, but that doesn’t make it OK. He’s lucky he got away with that. Romo has played well lately, but that’s the type of bonehead mistake that could have cost his team.
UPDATE: The rules state officials should have ignored Romo’s request, and the team would have been assessed a five-yard penalty for delay of game had Shanahan not called timeout.
