Friday, December 2, 2016

Cowboys can clinch home field next week, may be Romo time

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 20:  Tony Romo #9 of the Dallas Cowboys looks on as the Dallas Cowboys take on the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium on November 20, 2016 in Arlington, Texas.  (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)With Dak Prescott an MVP candidate, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is firmly planted on the bench. But there’s still a chance that Romo will get more playing time than Prescott for the rest of the season, even if Prescott stays healthy.
That’s because the Cowboys could be as little as one game away from clinching home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. If the Cowboys beat the Giants next week to improve to 12-1, and if they get some help in the form of losses from the other top teams in the NFC, they can have home-field advantage clinched with three games left in the season.
At that point, the Cowboys will have a decision to make: Keep their foot on the gas pedal, or rest their starters? If they choose the latter, that would mean putting Prescott on the sideline to keep him healthy, and putting Romo on the field.
Giving Romo some playing time would offer the Cowboys the opportunity to showcase him for a trade: If he plays well and stays healthy for the last few games of the season, he’d be attractive to teams looking for a veteran quarterback in the offseason.
But that will be a secondary consideration for the Cowboys, as the most important question will be the risk-reward of playing or pulling Prescott. Play him, and you risk injury. Pull him, and you risk that the rookie with the hot hand is rusty when the playoffs start.
That’s a tough decision, but it’s a decision the Cowboys will be happy to have.

No comments:

Post a Comment