game!"
Woo-hoo.
The victory, of sorts, was by one point, although had this been a regular-season game, Houston coach Gary Kubiak surely would have kicked the extra point with 2:05 remaining to tie the game at 23. So let's not get too carried away with a victory, that just as easily could have been a loss had Sage Rosenfels' two-point conversion pass not been dropped in the end zone by Jacoby Jones.
But that wasn't as important, at least not to the Cowboys, as was just the efficient performance by the offense, and really for the most part the defense, which gave up 13 points before the subs started trickling in late in the third quarter - and three of those points were earned after the Texans gained all of 11 yards after the game-opening kick-off return to the Cowboys 37. Yes, that again, a discussion for another time.
This is about the offense, and more specifically Romo, who appears to be picking up where he left off if the third preseason game is any indication. He finished his half of play completing 15 of 19 passes for 166 yards, with a six-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton and the one pick, totaling a 98.7 QB rating. In Romo's half of play, the Cowboys totaled 266 yards, which multiplied by two had he needed to play the second half comes to 532 yards. The Cowboys also converted three of four third-down opportunities into first downs.
Can you say efficient, minus the one glitch?
Now you know your quarterback must have arrived when no one asks the head coach after the game about him. Nor the offensive coordinator. Romo was that good, and no matter what else, that's what you want to see out of your Pro Bowl quarterback. In three preseason games now, Romo is 24 of 31 for 232 yards, one touchdown and one interception, with a QB rating of 95.1
And I'm telling you, had this been a real game, Romo would have run that one in from the one for a touchdown, erasing the silly interception and soaring his QB rating to 108.5.
You'd hope Romo knows better, and for sure, Garrett does, saying, "Obviously the interception is not good. You don't want a red zone turnover."
Obviously not. But you must take heart with the efficiency of this offense. Romo now, in eight preseason possessions has led the Cowboys on five scoring drives, breaking down to three touchdowns, two field goals and an interception at the Houston one. Now I'm not no genius on any of this, but I'm guessing if your quarterback is leading you to scores on 62.5 percent of your possessions - as Romo has in three preseason appearances - your offense might be pretty good.
And in the NFL, if your offense is pretty good, then your team has a chance to be darn good. Check out last year's Top 10 offenses. Of the 10, only two of the teams (New Orleans and Cincinnati) had losing records, both 7-9, and one (Philadelphia) finished .500. As for the rest, six qualified for the playoffs, two were the conference champs and one advanced to the Super Bowl.
So when you look back at this third preseason game, go ahead, worry some about the special teams, and if you must, the defense, too, since it still seems invariably a down or three short of shutdown. Plus the mounting injuries might be a tad disconcerting at this point of the summer.
But when it comes to the Cowboys offense?
Sleep well.