Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo Gies 19-25; Cowboys Beat Seattle Seahawks 13 to 3

I think too much is made of Drew Bledsoe sitting out. There are three more games and a lot of time for him to get work. This was a good move by Cowboys Coach Bill Parcells to get his backup ready.

Tony Romo goes the distance in Cowboys' win

NFL.com wire reports

SEATTLE (Aug. 12, 2006) -- Dallas coach Bill Parcells wanted to see Tony Romo play, and the quarterback was happy to oblige.

Drew Bledsoe's backup played the entire game and completed 19 of 25 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown in the Terrell Owens -less Cowboys' 13-3 win over the sloppy Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night.

Owens, who stayed back in training camp with other injured Cowboys, may or may not have watched from Oxnard, Calif. Dallas' newest star is recovering from a strained hamstring.

Bledsoe watched from the sidelines wearing a full uniform and a blue baseball cap, simply because Parcells wanted to see Romo play.

And he did. Impressively.

Romo was especially sharp in the first half, going 12-of-15 for 154 yards on scoring drives of 12 and 15 plays.

He also mimicked his veteran coach afterward. When asked about Romo shining, Parcells said, "Why don't we start on the other end? He fumbled two snaps. You can't do that."

Romo's initial assessment of his most -- and most successful -- playing time since he was a Division I-AA national player of the year at Eastern Illinois in 2002?

"Honestly, I think more about the things I didn't do," said Romo, who didn't throw a pass in the regular season in his first three years in the NFL. "Two fumbled snaps ... that stuff sticks with me after a game."


Tony Romo guided the Cowboys offense to two first-half scores.
After his first dropped snap on Dallas' mistake-filled opening drive, Romo completed 12 passes in a row. Six were on Dallas' 15-play, 89-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown throw to Patrick Crayton late in the opening quarter.

Crayton ran past Pro Bowl linebacker Lofa Tatupu and in front of safety Mike Green, who was starting while Michael Boulware recovers from offseason knee surgery. Two other Seahawks defensive starters were out with injuries.

Crayton limped off at halftime with a sprained right ankle and did not return. Parcells said he doesn't think the injury was too serious.

Romo completed five more in row with the second-team offense on Dallas' second scoring drive. Three of those completions came in succession against Seattle's top draft pick, rookie Kelly Jennings, who is battling veteran Kelly Herndon for the starting left cornerback job.

Crayton's 33-yard juggling reception and run against Jennings set up Mike Vanderjagt's 21-yard field goal late in the first half.

Jamaica Rector made a spinning, leaping catch behind Jennings for 18 yards on a third-quarter drive. That ended with backup kicker Shaun Suisham plunking a 34-yard field goal off the center of the crossbar.

"I've got to work on that underthrown fade route," Jennings said.

Reigning league MVP Shaun Alexander rushed six times for 13 yards before leaving with the rest of the defending NFC champions' starting offensive backs and receivers early in the second quarter. Matt Hasselbeck was 4-of-6 for 43 yards passing.

His backup, Seneca Wallace, played until midway through the fourth quarter and was 11-of-17 for 117 yards. He was sacked four times.

Seattle's first-team offense, which led the league in scoring last season, gained 56 yards on 14 plays and scored three points.

"That wasn't us out there," Hasselbeck said.

Coach Mike Holmgren said: "On the whole, I thought we were a little bit sloppier than we have been in other first preseason games.

"I was a little disappointed, to be honest."

Anthony Fasano, Dallas' second-round pick in the draft, started at H-back. A Romo pass sailed high through his hands to end the opening drive.

That play included Seattle safety Ken Hamlin 's first true hit since he fractured his skull in an October street fight -- a first that Holmgren had acknowledged he was anxious to see. Hamlin came in late on Fasano and pushed his hands and head at the rookie's face.

"I'm all right," Hamlin said. "I was fooling around, having fun. This was just a tease for the regular season."