CLEVELAND - Maybe Tony Romo can get his name back now.

Yeah, with a performance like that here Sunday in the season opener, just maybe he can be referred to as Tony Romo, the Cowboys quarterback, or even one of the best quarterbacks in the entire league.

He can be called a team captain, a team leader, or the guy steering the wheel on this tour bus, which was on cruise control here in Cleveland as the Cowboys wiped out the Browns, 28-10.

But he was certainly a lot more than just "Jessica's boyfriend" on this day, or any day for that matter.

All this talk about off-the-field distractions affecting his play, or the concentration of the team . . . and he goes out and does that.

He completes his first nine passes of the season, ends up 24 of 32 for 320 yards and one touchdown, and probably should've had two had the officials decided to review a play in the second quarter.

It didn't matter. Romo engineered four touchdown drives and with the defense playing the way it did, that was more than enough to cruise to a season-opening win.

There weren't many hiccups for Romo, although he did need 13 stitches to stop a huge cut on his chin. Did a young-Troy Aikman come to mind for anyone other than me in seeing Romo with that huge gash on his chin? Early in his career, Aikman seemed to have a bloody chin just about every game.

And honestly, that really wasn't the only resemblance between the two in this game.

But Romo's chin wasn't the only injury. Also, X-rays were negative on his left hand, which he injured on a third-quarter play. And yes, there was the interception in the end zone that probably would've made the final score resemble more of the domination the Cowboys had on this day.

They had plenty of stars, like they always do.

But the quarterback usually leads the way, and this was no exception. Romo shined the brightest, spreading the ball to his top three receivers, who all had more than 82 yards of receiving.

That, in essence, opened up the running game, which racked up 167 yards on the ground.

Sounds easy? Romo said it wasn't.

But he did sound like this was just a super-intense, highly-attended practice.

"It wasn't easy. But we were prepared," Romo said. "We treat each practice at a high-tempo. If a guy comes free, I throw the ball away. So it's not going to be anything new when the game starts. We're going to treat it the same way in practice. I think it's allowed us to not have new situations every time something goes up."

And whatever Cleveland was throwing in the Cowboys' direction, it was stopped. Actually, more like blocked.

The simple fact that Romo left the game with a bruised left hand and a gashed-chin is amazing, considering at halftime he was in a tie for the cleanest-uniform award with punter Mat McBriar, who only had one boot in the first two quarters.

But Romo wasn't getting touched. He had all day to throw and he took advantage, slicing up the Browns' defense.

Obviously, Cleveland thought less pressure and more help in coverage was the way to go. Not exactly.

"They rushed three guys a lot," Romo said of the Browns' attack, or lack of one. "That's one of the things you work on, to find the right guy. If you can get yourself to understand what to do when they rush three guys, you're going to have more time."

And with more time, you're going to find your Pro Bowlers, like Terrell Owens, who had five catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. It sure did look like he crossed the goal line for what would've been a second score just before halftime, too.

But if wasn't T.O. getting the ball, Jason Witten was, picking right up from last year's All-Pro season. Witten appeared to be open all afternoon, especially over the middle. The tight end led the Cowboys in receiving yards (96), along with his six catches. Patrick Crayton also had six grabs for 82 yards.

"That's what he does, he spreads it around to everyone," Crayton said of Romo. "That's what makes him that good. He's not just looking at one guy. He understands that if he goes through his reads, that we're all going to get involved and that makes us better as an offense. But that's what we're used to. He's the same way in practice and the games."

But hearing all this talk, mostly from the national media, not the ones that see him every week, you might think he doesn't practice at all.

No, Romo just takes off on vacations every week. And he blows off film sessions and practice to go qualify for the U.S. Open. Yeah, the rest of the team is at Valley Ranch preparing for the Browns, but Tony and Jessica are playing Blackjack in Vegas or snorkeling on the Keys.

Seriously?

You see it everywhere. Just how focused is Tony Romo? Can he lead this team to a championship? Does this team's ride to the Super Bowl include the Red Carpet?

Really, it's all a discredit to how hard he actually works. When his critics wonder if all this is a big distraction, it's a huge injustice to a guy that never can watch enough film. And he never does throw enough passes.

This is the guy, that on a family trip this past off-season, pulled his dad basically out of bed because he found an empty spot in a hotel parking lot and wanted to throw a few more passes. Poor Ramiro, just wanted to sleep. But no, he has to go catch Romo lasers in the dark, because his Pro Bowler of a son wants to get better.

"The best thing about Tony, he works discreetly," Witten said. "I left on Friday, thinking I was one of the last to leave and I see Tony. He's finding a room in the corner to watch some more film. He's always finding different ways to improve himself."

And no player on the team probably knows Romo better than Witten, who admits he's seen a new fire from his quarterback this year.

"He's always been focused. But I think he's more driven now than he's ever been," Witten said. "He's focused on winning and leading this team. You see it in his face and his actions. He's driven more now and he's more competitive than I've ever seen him."

And he competed rather nicely here Sunday. Sore hand, bloody chin and all, Romo guided this team to an impressive victory.

It won't silence every critic. That won't happen until he wins a playoff game. But Sunday was a good start.

If anything, he should get his name back for a few days.

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