IRVING, Texas - One game in one day.
That seems to be the mindset for the Cowboys this week, especially for one Tony Romo. The fans and media might be talking about playing two games in a five-day span or three games in 12 days. But for the Cowboys, it's about one game – against the Giants Sunday night in the Meadowlands.
Maybe Romo is playing coy and really has a two-week plan in place. But, he's certainly not sharing it to the media in his weekly interview session in the Cowboys' locker room on Wednesday.
"It's really about this week and getting ready for the Giants," Romo said. "Once that game is over, I'll set up a different plan and talk to trainers and coaches, and we'll go from there. But this week it's not about thinking about next week at all. You've got to get yourself ready to play in this one game and against the Giants. This is a very important game, a big game for us."
And that last sentence will likely be a repetitive theme throughout the rest of the season. At 7-3 and currently tied for first with Philadelphia for the NFC East lead, all of the games will likely be big from here on out, especially the four within the division, including two against the Eagles.
But like Romo said, it's not about Philly just yet. Of course, the Eagles will come to AT&T Stadium on Thursday, four days after the Cowboys get back from a Sunday night game with the Giants.
And Romo's back will undoubtedly be a topic of discussion – as it has been all year – because he has been taking off Wednesday practices each week to prepare for the upcoming game. And even coming off the bye week, Romo again sat out Wednesday and is expected to resume his practice regimen on Thursday.
Next week, obviously there will be some major changes in the Cowboys' schedule and it will affect Romo's plan as well.
But as the quarterback had to reiterate several times Wednesday, he's not ready to focus on that. Romo was even asked point-blank if he's purposely not thinking about the Eagles game and any of the preparation that comes with the short week.
"That's accurate, yeah," Romo said. "I think more than anything is this game right now in front of us is the most important thing and worry about next week next week. I think after the game against New York, we'll reassess everything."
Romo tried to point out how beneficial the bye week has been in getting ready for the Giants, a team the Cowboys already beat back on Oct. 19. In that game, Romo had a 135.7 passer rating, completing 17-of-23 passes for 279 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
"Right now, I have a full week plus the bye from last week to be able to get yourself ready and that was big," Romo said. "The week off was good. It came at a good time. I think just the ability to grind out, grind out, grind out then the ability to rest and improve in some areas that you might not be able to."
One of the areas Romo said has to improve is turnovers. The Cowboys have a minus-1 turnover ratio (18 turnovers, 17 takeaways). Of the five other teams that would be in the NFC playoffs if the season ended today, four have better turnover ratios, including Green Bay and its +14 margin.
"As the games get later in the year, if you're lucky enough to be a team that's going to be playing in January and late in the year, the turnovers are going to be what ultimately decides your season," Romo said. "You can play a great football game and you can be a better team, but if you give up the ball, you're not going to be able to accomplish your goals. So, I think that's a very big key for us."
Almost as big as keeping the starting quarterback ready for each game.
