ST. LOUIS — Even on the road, the chorus of “Romo!, Romo!” from Dallas Cowboys fans was easily audible at the start of the second half.
Tony Romo told the coaching staff after pregame warm-ups he wasn’t up to playing with a broken right pinkie. He was in uniform, giving fans false hope, but they were stuck with Brad Johnson.
The 40-year-old backup couldn’t keep up with a suddenly potent St. Louis Rams’ offense, throwing three interceptions. Steven Jackson ran for 160 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns and the Rams (2-4) looked like contenders instead of sad sacks for the second straight game under new coach Jim Haslett in a surprisingly easy 34-14 victory Sunday.
“It was a tough day for all of us,” Johnson said.
The Rams’ response to Haslett, beginning his second stint as a head coach, has exceeded expectations.
“I think it’s just the will of the players, more than anything,” Haslett said. “I thought they played extremely well today, in all three phases.”
St. Louis’ defense did its part, forcing four turnovers for the second straight game as the Cowboys lost for the third time in four games.
Romo looked fine throwing in pregame warm-ups with his hand wrapped. The team originally believed the injury would sideline him a month but held out hope Romo could play until game day.
“He ended up making that decision for us, actually, and that’s the way it should have been,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “He just felt like he couldn’t help us.”
Johnson was 6-for-18 for 66 yards in the first half as the Cowboys fell behind 24-7. His only touchdown pass was to Martellus Bennett with 1:50 left in the game.
