Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a chance to silence some critics if his team wins Sunday in Washington. (Photo: Tim Heitman, USA TODAY Sports) You know they are out there. They are lining up, maybe even like it's Black Friday or something. They are large in numbers, loud and sometimes unruly, especially when calling in to participate on talk-radio shows. The Tony Romo Haters. If the Dallas Cowboys don't complete this mad dash to the playoffs by taking the win-or-else regular-season finale at Washington on Sunday night, regardless of how the quarterback plays, you know who will get the blunt end of the blame. Romo can torch the Redskins for 416 yards and four touchdowns with no picks -- as he did in the overtime loss to the Saints last weekend -- and if the Cowboys don't win the primetime showcase and claim the NFC East title, we already know who stands poised as the representative of fault. Antonio Ramiro Romo. He understands. This comes with his job description as the marquee face of one of the NFL's most popular franchises. Romo has repeatedly expressed, like a broken record, that it really doesn't matter that he owns a slew of franchise passing marks -- single-season yardage, touchdowns, completions, career 400-yard games and all that jazz -- when quarterbacks named Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach won Super Bowls for that franchise. WEEKLY PICKS: Can Romo get the job done? Quarterbacks are defined by winning big, and to this point Romo, 32, and his teams have been pretty small when it matters most. Since Romo became the starter in 2006, the Cowboys have won one playoff game. And on an 8-7 tightrope at the moment, they are flirting with a third consecutive season of missing the playoffs. Has it all been Romo's fault? Of course not. Fair or not, quarterbacks typically get more credit than deserved and more blame. In Romo's case, though, there's still that image of the bumbled field goal snap in the final seconds of a 2006 playoff loss at Seattle that wound up as Bill Parcells' last game as coach. Or the upset loss to the Giants in the divisional playoffs a year later, when Dallas squandered its No. 1 seed. This season, the lowlights included a four-interception outing against the Giants and a five-pick, primetime disaster against the Bears. That's the image that Romo is always fighting against, even when he's rolling. Consider a great one, like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, and chances are the dominant image is wrapped in success. Like winning a Super Bowl. Or taking over the game and carrying the team on his back. PHOTOS: Romo among most polarizing NFL players Truth is, lately that's pretty much what Romo has done -- put the team on his back -- with the Cowboys surging to rally from a 3-5 midseason mark to have a chance to slip into the playoffs on the heel of the New York Giants' collapse. In the past eight games, Romo has passed for 17 touchdowns with three interceptions --- a stark contrast to his first seven games, when he threw an NFL-high 13 picks. He has protected the football and given his team a chance to win. The hot streak has flowed with the emergence of Dez Bryant, who in his third season has demonstrated why the Cowboys remained patient and supported through the receiver's assorted off-the-field issues. Bryant has logged seven consecutive games with at least one TD reception, broken finger and all. The career-best numbers (88 catches, 1,311 yards, 12 TDs) underscore that he is more polished, precise and focused. More to the point, he's in better rhythm with Romo, whose trust in the talented wideout is bolstered by the confidence that is gained with production. When Bryant is where he's supposed to be, Romo will find him. Helps, too, when Bryant breaks arm tackles by DBs like he's Bronko Nagurski. Throw in the long-term security blanket, Jason Witten, often-steady wideout Miles Austin and the balancing factor that can be had with the violent running of DeMarco Murray, and there are no excuses that Romo won't come to FedEx Field with enough weapons. With the defense sagging and Robert Griffin III on the other side, it will pretty much rest with Dallas' offense to dictate the flow on Sunday night -- and fair or not that always has so much to do with Romo. History is not in Dallas' favor. Last year, the Cowboys went to MetLife Stadium with a similar winner-take-all mission and got clobbered by the Giants. They have a reputation of wilting down the stretch. This marks their first winning December since 1996, and with Romo at quarterback they are 2-4 in regular-season finales. But maybe it's time for Romo. In NFL Year 10 of his improbable journey from Burlington, Wis., (city motto: The town with tall tales) to Eastern Illinois to undrafted free agent to record-setting quarterback, he still has a chance to leave a legacy that doesn't end with his amazing stats and season-ending doom. History can still be flipped, along with the monkey off Romo's back. As a bonus, Romo has a chance to upstage RGIII -- the magnificent rookie headed to the Pro Bowl -- in his own backyard. Of course, it's not all on Romo. Just try selling that to the Romo Haters. PHOTOS: NFC PRO BOWL TEAM Story Highlights
