ARLINGTON, Texas — Tony Romo’s season might be over, and the Dallas Cowboys’ season might as well be.
As for Eli Manning and the New York Giants, everything’s clicking.
Romo broke his left collarbone in the second quarter, then his teammates let a 13-point lead turn into a 41-35 loss Monday night that helps send both teams in opposite directions in the NFC East.
The Giants (5-2) won their fourth straight and moved a full game ahead in the division. Dallas slumped to 1-5, its worst start since 1989. That was the year Jerry Jones bought the team, Jimmy Johnson took over as coach and the Cowboys went 1-15. Everyone knew that team would stink. This club, however, had Super Bowl hopes.
Coach Wade Phillips acknowledged this is the most frustrating of his 34 seasons in the NFL. He also said he told the team to keep fighting.
“We’ve got some guys I think will step up and make plays,” he said. “They fought hard all the way. It looked like we were way out of it, and we still had a chance.”
Any logical chance of turning this season around ended 12:07 before halftime when Romo went down. Recovery time is generally eight to 10 weeks and, by then, there may not be any reason to rush back. Only one team in NFL history has recovered from 1-5 to make the playoffs.
Phillips said he had no immediate timetable for Romo.
Romo was drilled by blitzing linebacker Michael Boley. It was a clean hit but certainly a kill shot — Boley was untouched, and Romo was vulnerable after having thrown a pass. He went down hard on his left shoulder.
X-rays showed the break before halftime, but Romo was back on the sideline for the second half, his arm in a sling. He wore a headset and tried to encourage teammates.
The Cowboys were up 10-7 when Romo left and stretched the lead to 20-7. Then New York scored on its next five possessions, a 31-point flurry that sent home much of the crowd by the third quarter.
Dallas backup Jon Kitna hadn’t played since Oct. 5, 2008, when he was part of Detroit’s winless season. Whether it was the long layoff, being 38 or both, he looked rusty.
Kitna ended up throwing two touchdown passes to rookie Dez Bryant in the final 3:17, but Dallas failed to recover onside kicks after each.
