Tony Romo knocked out of game with apparent left shoulder injury; out 8-10 weeks

Things were going just fine for the Dallas Cowboys, up 13-0 in the third quarter at the Philadelphia Eagles, when their worst nightmare happened.

Already down star receiver Dez Bryant, who has a broken foot and could miss 10-12 weeks, quarterback Tony Romo went down after a sack and a fumble and clutched his left shoulder. It looked a lot like when he fractured his left clavicle in 2010.

Obviously the Cowboys would have a much tougher time replacing Romo than Bryant, and being without them both will likely be ruinous. Romo was hit on a pass play, braced his fall with his left arm, and then Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks fell on Romo with all his weight and Romo stayed down grabbing his left shoulder.

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GIF: Couple of looks at Tony Romo being driven into the ground pic.twitter.com/4gGReGioXT 3:29 PM - 20 Sep 2015

Romo was taken back to the locker room right off the field. Brandon Weeden is the only other quarterback on the Cowboys' roster. The Cowboys had Super Bowl hopes coming into the season, but obviously that would be almost impossible without Romo and Bryant for a long time.

 

UPDATE

This was supposed to be the year when the Dallas Cowboys had a true chance at a Super Bowl. Now they must fight to stay atop the NFC East without their franchise quarterback and their franchise receiver. Tony Romo is out eight-to-10 weeks with a broken left clavicle, according to an ESPN report with more tests pending Monday. Dez Bryant is out with a broken foot, and on Sunday NFL Network reported that he may miss up to 12 weeks.

As the Cowboys walked off the field Sunday, having crushed the rival Eagles 20-10 to go 2-0 on the season, it was hard to sense what they had truly accomplished. Two division wins also bequeathed two season-threatening setbacks. Few of the Cowboys smiled, or spoke, as the players entered the victorious locker room.

"It was a great victory," said defensive end Jeremy Mincey. "But a huge loss."

Mincey said he hurried over to Romo on the sideline when he emerged from the locker room in a sling.

"You all right?" Mincey said, hopefully. "Everything good?"

Everything wasn't good. At all.

"He looked sad," Mincey said. "I seen it in his eyes."

Romo indeed looked glum after the game, walking slowly into the locker room with a jacket over his sling. A team official asked Romo if he needed help carrying his bag. It was a poignant moment – the guy in charge of carrying the whole franchise's hopes suddenly being asked if he needed someone to help with his luggage.

"I felt it," Romo said of the injury. "It has a little bit of a pop to it. Obviously I've felt it before. Your body kind of goes into a little bit of shock."