ARLINGTON, Texas – Tony Romo will have his ribs X-Rayed Monday morning, but he's not too concerned about them.
The way Romo was lying on the turf of AT&T Stadium late in the first half of Sunday's win against New York, it was hard not to envision the Cowboys' $108 million quarterback might miss some time.
Having watched the face of his franchise take a hit from three Giants defenders at once, even Cowboys' owner/general manager Jerry Jones said he was braced for bad news.
"It's hard not to go to the worst, so we were concerned," Jones said.
Fifteen minutes later, Romo was back in at quarterback, where he completed 73 percent of his passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns with one interception on the night as the Cowboys held on for a 36-31 win at AT&T Stadium.
"It's just part of playing football," Romo said. "You take some hits sometimes and you've got to come back from it. We had plenty of guys do the same thing tonight, and it was no different."
Romo will still undergo X-Rays on Monday, but he wasn't too interested in discussing them – "There's no excuses for anybody – no one really cares. That's the truth for people who are banged up in football."
That's nothing new for Romo, who has had to fight off nagging injuries on plenty of occasions in the past. However, Romo said Sunday night's rib pain doesn't compare to the 2011 injury in San Francisco, when he came back to play with a punctured lung – an injury that forced him to wear a rib protector for several games.
"There's always going to be thing throughout the season that are there, but that's part of playing," he said. "I don't think I've ever gone through a season and didn't have some things that linger, I guess you could say."
What Romo did want to talk about was a monstrous performance from his defense. After years of late-game deficits and the need for heroics, Romo's defense did the heavy lifting for him Sunday night. Just when it looked like Romo might have to don his helmet for a last-gasp victory drive, the Cowboys' defense returned its third interception for the game-sealing touchdown.
Rather than wait to answer a question, Romo even went as far as to broach the topic himself.
"That was a heck of a performance. I don't think I've been a part of … how many turnovers did they have? Six? Six turnovers in the football game," Romo said. "I just think it's pretty exciting to see what our team defensively has been able to do here in training camp and the preseason and into the season."
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Normally quick to finish his press conferences, Romo took one more opportunity to speak his mind before departing AT&T Stadium with his first win of the year. Romo laid heavy praise on his home crowd, which numbered 85,348 as the Cowboys downed the Giants.
"I just want to say that's as good as I've seen our home stadium. The crowd was exceptional," he said. "They were outstanding from the moment we started until the end of the football game. If they continue to do that, this is going to be a tough place to play."
