The Dallas Cowboys sit at 2-6 and haven’t won a game since Tony Romo went down, but according to Jerry Jones, tanking is absolutely not on the agenda.
Jones said on Tuesday that the team has no intention of sitting Tony Romo once he returns, even if they’re out of the playoff race.
“When he gets on the field against Miami, and it most assuredly will be at this juncture, there’s no set of circumstances that we wouldn’t play him and play him with hopes of winning that game and winning the rest of the ballgames,” Jones told Dallas’s 105.3 The Fan, via ESPN. “I think not only our game but sports in general, if you’ve got an opportunity, if you got a chance to win this thing, then you take it.”
“I know I’m talking in generalities, but specifically, we have a team that could really, from the standpoint of the personnel that’s on the field, really be a top team as we get into the last half of this season,” he continued. “We want to show our fans that.”
Thanks to the weakness of the NFC East, the Cowboys remain in the hunt, as the division-leading Giants are just two games ahead of Dallas in the loss column at 5-4. The Cowboys will also only be without Romo for one more game against the struggling Buccaneers.
Even if Romo comes back strong and the Cowboys starts winning games, they may need help from elsewhere, a fact that Jones conceded.
“We haven’t looked at the rest of the league, but we’ve been doing math as far as the rest of the division,” Jones said. “Your players aren’t doing that. Your players are aware, but they are focused on the preparation for Tampa in this case.”
Jones remained optimistic, though, arguing that the problems that have impacted the Cowboys this season could happen to the Giants or any other division rival.
“But certainly to the extent that we know if we won out or win a significant part of these games, we know that the same things have impacted us could impact any of these teams ahead of us,” Jones said. “But all of that is conjecture. You know, teams have injuries. Teams have various challenges along the way and that could happen to anybody that’s ahead of you right now, New York or some of those, and they could start playing at a level that gives us a shot.”
Romo has begun throwing and is on track to return from injured reserve on November 22. If he can come back and win some games, the Cowboys may have a shot. If not, well, it seems he’ll be playing anyway.
