Tony Romo is actually a clutch player, and the stats prove it

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, but Tony Romo is doing his best to alter perceptions that he is not a clutch player.

For most NFL fans, their introduction to the Dallas Cowboys quarterback came when he botched a snap in the playoffs eight years ago against the Seahawks, leading to a loss in a game many thought was in the bag. From there a penchant for turning the ball over at the worst times possible led to a reputation that Romo was a guy who always made mistakes when the game was on the line. Heck, all one needs to do is look at the replies he received following his first ever tweet to see the public sentiment of him.

But the reality is the mistake against Seattle occurred a long time ago — January 2007 to be exact. When he made many of those big errors, he was still just a young, developing QB. He also has not benefited from playing for America’s team, resulting in every mistake he makes being magnified to the highest degree.

Over time, we have learned that Romo actually is a clutch QB. And we have the numbers to prove it.

In Week 1 of this season, Romo wasted no time adding to his growing legend as a clutch player. Dallas’ offense was having trouble finishing long drives and had to settle for field goals on a number of occasions against the Giants on Sunday night. Romo’s receiving core was not helping much either. A Cole Beasley fumble was returned 57 yards for a touchdown, and Jason Witten was unable to haul in an easy catch that was intercepted on the following possession. On top of the offensive mistakes, the Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver, Dez Bryant, went down with a foot injury early in the fourth quarter. With all that was going wrong, the Cowboys were still in the game with 1:27 seconds left down 26-20. Romo marched his team down the field and finished off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown strike to Witten for the game-winning score with seven seconds on the clock.

That comeback was one of many in what has become a growing trend for Romo.

Since 2006, Romo has the most fourth quarter comebacks in the NFL with 24 and leads the league in game-winning drives with 29. He is 23-5 in the month of November, which is good for the highest winning percentage in NFL history. Romo also has the highest fourth quarter passer rating in NFL history with a mark of 102.9. His 93.1 passer rating in the final two minutes of a game is the highest among active quarterbacks and is good for fourth all-time, per pro-football-reference.com.

Sure, we could throw stats at you all we want, but maybe some concrete examples will refresh your memory.

Here is a look at some of the most memorable comebacks of Romo’s career:

– Week 5 @ Buffalo 2007: Romo throws a TD to Patrick Crayton with 20 seconds left to make it 24-22 Buffalo. Dallas recovers an onside kick, and Romo drives them to a game-winning FG as time expires. Dallas wins 25-24.

– Week 2 @ San Francisco 2011: Jon Kitna starts second half for Dallas. Cowboys are down 24-14 in fourth quarter. Romo returns to the game and leads Dallas on an 80-yard scoring drive to cut it to 24-21. Defense holds. Romo marches the team down the field for game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. Dallas wins in OT on a game-winning FG by Dan Bailey.

– Week 14 @ Cincinnati 2012: Cowboys trail Bengals 19-10 heading into the fourth quarter. Romo leads the offense to ten unanswered points, including a 40-yard game-winning FG at the end of regulation.

– Week 12 @ New York Giants 2014: Dallas trails 28-24 with 3 minutes left. Romo marches down the field and throws a 13-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant with 1:11 remaining to go up 31-28. It was part of a 21-7 second half comeback.

– Wild Card Game vs. Detroit 2014: The Cowboys trailed 20-7 with under three minutes left in the third quarter. Dallas scored 17 unanswered points to win 24-20, including Romo’s go-ahead TD pass to Terrance Williams with under three minutes to go.

Bash him all you want — and we certainly have done our fair share after horrendous games like this one — but it’s time to forget everything the narrative has taught you and accept a new reality. His performances over time and the stats both show that Tony Romo is a clutch player.

Photo: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports