Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher (59) sacks Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) during the second half at FedEX Field. (Photo: Brad Mills, USA TODAY Sports) LANDOVER, Md. -- Tony Romo had such a golden opportunity to rewrite his personal history of doom and disaster in the clutch and seize the moment. He blew it again. This time, the defining moment for the Dallas Cowboys quarterback came on a soft swing pass toward running back DeMarco Murray in the left flat late in the fourth quarter. Murray never had a chance. Rob Jackson peeled off his coverage, leaped toward the football heavens and snagged Romo's pass as if it were air-mailed for special delivery. BOX SCORE: Redskins 28, Cowboys 18 Like that, a potential comeback rally was over. Season finished. Go home. It was Romo's third pick of the night, another installment in his horrendous series of magnanimous failings when it mattered most. "I wish I had made a better decision at that time," Romo said afterward. No kidding. Romo left FedEx Field a battered man on Sunday night. He was bruised physically and mentally, wincing as he entered an interview room for a postgame news conference after suffering an apparent rib injury. Mentally, he was in pain, too. "It definitely stings more when you lose a game like this," he said. "You fight like heck to get in this position and all you can think about is what you didn't accomplish." Romo should have been thanking his lucky stars that the Cowboys were even still in position to win the NFC East crown -- down by three points, with just more than three minutes to play -- considering how their battered defense was shredded by the Washington Redskins' top-ranked rushing attack. But here they were, after a great punt-return here, a three-and-out there and a quick touchdown pass and conversion. This sequence played out before the most hushed crowd of 82,000-plus that you may ever witness at FedEx Field. They were nervous. The momentum had shifted in a hurry. The Cowboys mere needed to keep moving the chains. The last thing they needed was to not hand the game away on one play after gallantly battling back. RECAP: Resilient Redskins pound Cowboys It was the type of situation that has made Tom Brady and Peyton Manning the NFL's best two quarterbacks of this era. It's what made Joe Montana and John Elway great. Crunchtime. This is not Romo's time. Maybe it never will be. He's had plenty of chances to prove otherwise. But over and over again, he comes up short. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been a solid Romo supporter, and has repeatedly maintained that the quarterback will finish his career with the marquee franchise. Yet after another gaffe in the clutch, Jones may be forced to reconsider whether he wants to sign Romo -- with one year remaining on his contract -- to a long-term extension. The Cowboys would be foolish to not at least start planning for the next generation of the team's most important position. It is what it is: Good Romo vs. Bad Romo. Good Romo, who ranks among the likes of Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers for stat-sheet productivity, helped the Cowboys rebound from a 3-5 mark at midseason. Heading into Week 17, they won five of their previous seven games, with Romo passing for 16 TDs and just three interceptions during that stretch. In December, the ratio was 10-1. Story Highlights