Doug Clawson 10y

Romo gets it done late more often than not

AP Photo/Tim Sharp

Tony Romo and Jason Garrett have had plenty to celebrate the last three seasons.

Because of the up-and-down nature of Tony Romo's last few seasons, here's a stat that may get overlooked.

Romo has 10 game-winning drives in fourth quarter or overtime since the start of the 2011 season, tied for the most in the NFL over that span.

Here's a brief recap of each one:

September 18, 2011 (Week 2) at 49ers

Cowboys overcome 10-point fourth-quarter deficit


The Cowboys overcame a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit in San Francisco to beat the 49ers 27-24 in overtime. Romo threw a 77-yard pass to wide receiver Jesse Holley on the Cowboys first play in overtime to set Dallas up for the chip-shot field goal.

September 26, 2011 (Week 3) vs Redskins

Romo’s long pass sparks win


A week later, Romo was at it again. He completed a 30-yard pass to Dez Bryant on third and 21 with the Cowboys at their own 30, trailing by one point and 2:20 left in the fourth quarter. Dallas went on to win 18-16 after a Dan Bailey 40-yard field goal.

November 20, 2011 (Week 11) at Redskins

Romo beats Redskins again in similar fashion


Romo broke the Redskins hearts again, this time in overtime as he completed a 26-yard pass to Dez Bryant on 3rd and 15 near midfield. The Cowboys won 27-24 on a Bailey field goal three plays later.

November 24, 2011 (Week 12) vs Dolphins

Cowboys win as time expires on Thanksgiving


Four days later, Romo instrumented his fourth game-winning drive of the season. He led the Cowboys down the field on a 10-play, 54-yard drive and Dallas won 20-19 on a Bailey field goal as time expired.

October 21, 2012 (Week 7) at Panthers

Romo’s first of five game-winning drives in 2012


Romo led the Cowboys past the Panthers 19-14 with his first of five game-winning drives in 2012. Romo engineered a short drive that ended with a Bailey field goal with 3:28 left in the fourth quarter to push Dallas ahead.

November 18, 2012 (Week 11) vs Browns

Cowboys survive in overtime


Romo survived seven sacks in the game to lead the Cowboys on a fourth-quarter comeback after trailing 13-3 entering the quarter. He led a drive to tie the game at 20 with six seconds left. They went on to win 23-20 against the Browns in overtime. A key play was a 28-yard touchdown pass to Bryant erasing that 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

December 2, 2012 (Week 13) vs Eagles

Romo posts 95.5 Total QBR in comeback win


Romo threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns and posted a 95.5 Total QBR as the Cowboys scored 21 fourth-quarter points in a 38-33 win. Romo threw another key pass to Bryant, a go-ahead 6-yard touchdown with 5:40 left to put the Cowboys up for good.

December 9, 2012 (Week 14) at Bengals

Cowboys overcome nine-point fourth-quarter deficit


A week later, Romo led the Cowboys past the Bengals overcoming a 9-point deficit in the fourth quarter. This included a 27-yard touchdown pass to Bryant with 6:44 left and a 13-play, 50-yard drive resulting in a Bailey game-winning 40-yard field goal as time expired (Cowboys win 20-19).

December 16, 2012 (Week 15) vs Steelers

Romo’s third straight game-winning drive in the fourth quarter/overtime


Romo engineered his third game-winning drive in as many weeks with a 27-24 overtime win against the Steelers. It wasn’t much of a drive as Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass picked off by Brandon Carr, Romo kneeled down on Dallas’ first play and Bailey kicked a 21-yard field goal to win.

November 3, 2013 (Week 9) vs Vikings

Romo throws go-ahead TD with 42 seconds left


And last Sunday Romo went from goat to hero in one quarter. His fourth-quarter interception with 4:35 left dropped the Cowboys’ win probability to 21.4 percent. But he got a second chance and engineered a nine-play, 90-yard drive to put the Cowboys ahead of the Vikings with 42 seconds left, including a key 34-yard pass to Bryant.

Romo will look to work the same magic against the Saints this Sunday that almost gave the Cowboys a miracle comeback win last season against New Orleans. The Cowboys trailed 31-17 with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter when Romo led two quick touchdown drives (1:10 and 1:14) to send the game to overtime. This included a 19-yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin on 4th and 10 with 21 seconds left. Dallas went on to lose 34-31 in overtime.

He'll also be fighting the Cowboys history under the prime-time spotlight.

This will be the 24th time in the last five seasons that the Cowboys will play a prime-time game, the most in the NFL. The Cowboys are 10-13 in their previous 23 primetime games in the last five seasons and only 2-8 in such games on the road since 2010.

Evan Kaplan also contributed to this post.

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