IRVING, Texas – Despite all of the back issues this year, which has caused Tony Romo to manage the injury on a weekly basis, the quarterback is still having one of his best seasons of his career.
Romo has the Cowboys at 10-4 and on the verge of making their first playoff berth in five years.
But is this Romo's best year? Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones chose not to answer the question just yet, but seemed to agree with the notion.
"Oh, I don't want to say that, because we're not through," Jones said. "But it has the potential to be his best season. I guess the factor that would impact the most in my mind would be if we do have the kind of season that we're all dreaming about here, then it would be his best. Of course, he's played well at the position. He's played well as a quarterback, all of his percentages are certainly qualified to be one of his best. But we'd all say let's see how many wins we've got, and let's see what the wins get for us."
This year, Romo is 10-3 as a starter, missing one of the home losses back in November against the Cardinals. Dealing with the constant rehab required with the back surgery, Romo has come up with a way to manage it. For the most part, he's skipped Wednesday practices, giving another day of rest before getting back in the mix on Thursday. That was the schedule Romo continued this week as he tries to lead his team to its 11th win.
On Thursday, Jones was asked if he felt easier about Romo's future with the team, knowing how he has managed this injury throughout the year.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say it's not going to be an issue," Jones said. "Is it going to be an issue that limits him being a potential, the top quarterback, or in the top handful of quarterbacks in giving us a chance to win a championship? I don't think that that's an issue. His managing will mitigate any of the health issues. Now, this isn't uncommon as a player gets on to his later years of his career."
Jones said he believes Romo's competitive nature to play other sports, particularly in the offseason, keeps him sharp and focused on improving his craft with football.
"What is neat is that Tony has always gotten A-pluses, really the way he thinks about competing and the way he really analyzes and breaks down competing," Jones said. "I've seen him preparing himself to play quarterback with his golf game, seen him preparing himself to play quarterback with playing basketball – all of those things. I think that's going to be an advantage for him as he works through the latter years of his career. Maybe the best advantage of having that analytical ability that he's got, it may show up better for him at the end of his career than it has for some of the other great quarterbacks."
Romo ranks second in the NFL with a 110.5 quarterback rating, only behind Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. His previous career-high is 102.5 in 2011, the first of three straight 8-8 seasons.
What's more remarkable is Romo's play on the road, where the Cowboys are 7-0. Romo has thrown 18 touchdowns to just one interception in road games.
