TAMPA, Fla. –

Tony Romo made it look easy, shredding Tampa Bay’s secondary at will and helping the Dallas Cowboys get back on track in the NFC East.

“This was an important game,” Romo said after throwing for three touchdowns and running for a fourth first-half score Saturday night to lead the first-place Cowboys to a 31-15 rout of the struggling Buccaneers.

“Really the playoffs started for us; that’s the way we approached it. Guys came out with great energy and it was a great week of practice. We just had to go forward.”

Dallas stopped a two-game losing streak in which it blew fourth-quarter leads to allow a seemingly solid grip on the division lead slip away.

The victory gave the Cowboys (8-6) a half-game lead over New York. Although the Giants hold a tiebreaker advantage after beating Dallas 37-34 last week, the Cowboys can claim the division title and host a playoff game by finishing with wins the next two weeks over Philadelphia at home and the Giants on the road.

“I think it showed our character, our resolve, what we’re made of,” Dallas linebacker Keith Brooking said. “It was obviously doom and gloom around Valley Ranch for the past couple of weeks — kind of the world was caving in on us. But we just kept fighting and kept plugging away, and we still control our own destiny.”

The Bucs (4-10), meanwhile, lost for the eighth straight time and played a miserable first half that certainly didn’t do anything to help coach Raheem Morris make a case for keeping his job.

Romo threw a pair of 8-yard TD passes to Miles Austin and Dez Bryant in the first quarter, then finished a seven-play, 89-yard drive with a 9-yarder to Laurent Robinson to make it 21-0 with just under 5 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Romo increased the lead to 28 points on a quarterback sneak in the closing seconds of the opening half.

“I thought he just had a good feel for what we were doing against what they were doing,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “I thought he got back quickly and got the ball out of his hands, and when he had to move and make plays, he was able to do that too. He made a lot of big plays and not many bad plays.”

Tampa Bay managed just one first down and was outgained 279 yards to 55 in the first two quarters, yet found a way to make it more interesting in the second half.

The Bucs, who had yielded 69 consecutive points dating to the second quarter of the previous week’s 41-14 loss at Jacksonville, finally got on the scoreboard in the third quarter when rookie Adrian Clayborn sacked Romo from behind, forcing a fumble that linebacker Dekoda Watson returned 4 yards for a TD for a much-needed spark.

Josh Freeman’s 13-yard TD pass to Dezmon Briscoe and a two-point conversion throw to Kellen Winslow cut it to 31-15 heading into the final quarter.

The Cowboys have led in the fourth quarter in five of their six losses, however there wouldn’t be a late collapse this time. Tampa Bay turned the ball over on downs twice in the last 6 minutes, and Sammy Morris picked up a first down inside the Bucs 10 to give the Cowboys an opportunity to run out the clock.

“Too little, too late,” Morris said about Tampa Bay’s comeback. “Not enough … at the beginning. You can’t dig holes like that for yourself.”

Austin’s TD midway through the first quarter was set up by Tampa Bay’s NFL-leading 32nd turnover, a fumble by Freeman on the fifth play of the game.

The Tampa Bay quarterback scrambled 25 yards on third-and-5 to march the Bucs near midfield, but the opening possession of the night came to an abrupt halt on the next play when Freeman took off again for a 7-yard gain and was stripped of the ball at the Cowboys 44.

Linebacker Bradie James recovered and it took Romo seven plays to get Dallas in the end zone for the first time. The Cowboys marched 69 yards in 10 plays on their next possession, with Romo finishing the drive by finding a wide-open Bryant in the back of the end zone to make it 14-0.

In three career games against Tampa Bay — all lopsided victories — Romo has thrown for 908 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. He was 23 of 30 for 249 yards and was sacked twice Saturday night.

“I was just finding guys who were open and the guys do the rest,” Romo said. “I thought the offense played good as a whole.”

Felix Jones, back in the starting lineup after DeMarco Murray broke his right ankle last week in a 37-34 loss to the Giants, broke a 38-yard run on the drive leading to Robinson’s TD and finished with 108 yards on 22 carries — his second straight 100-yard performance had 67 yards rushing on 12 carries at halftime.

Eli Manning was steaming. A simple screen pass was tipped,
bounced off the shoulder of a linebacker and was intercepted,
setting up a touchdown that could’ve buried the New York Giants in
this game, and this season.

Only, he wouldn’t allow it.

Manning channeled his anger into energy, leading the Giants to
two touchdowns in the final 3:14 and Jason Pierre-Paul blocked a
field goal in the closing seconds, giving New York a 37-34 victory
over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

“He was really upset over the interception, but he comes right
back and takes the field and away we go,” New York coach Tom
Coughlin said. “Sometimes I wish I was in that huddle so I could
hear what’s being said. He obviously made some great plays down the
stretch.”

Just like that, the Giants’ four-game losing streak was done.
And the NFC East race is cracked open, with New York reclaiming the
inside track.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve had that winning feeling,” said
Manning, who pulled off his sixth fourth-quarter win this season.
“It’s good to have excited guys with a lot of smiles in the locker
room.”

New York’s recent skid was filled mostly with narrow losses to
division leaders. The Giants (7-6) appeared headed to another
setback trailing 34-22 with 5:41 left, but a series of clutch plays
on their part and meltdowns by Dallas changed everything. The teams
are tied, with the Cowboys headed to the Meadowlands for a
season-ending rematch on New Year’s Day.

“We knew what was on the line,” Cowboys linebacker Bradie James
said. “But those guys made one more play than we did.”

Dallas has gone from winning four straight to losing two in a
row, both in dramatic, frustrating fashion that involved missed
kicks by rookie Dan Bailey, who’d been so good for so long this
season. The Cowboys also lost running back DeMarco Murray to a
broken right ankle, ending his record-setting rookie season.

“We certainly know we’ve got our work cut out for us,” team
owner Jerry Jones said in a brief statement.

Neither team led by more than five points for most of this
back-and-forth game until Tony Romo threw a 50-yard touchdown pass
to Dez Bryant with no one else around. He strutted into the end
zone, putting Dallas up 34-22 with 5:41 left.

Yet instead of that ending the excitement, the fun was just
beginning.

Manning mounted an eight-play, 80-yard drive capped by an 8-yard
touchdown pass to Jake Ballard. The play had to withstand a video
review to make sure he really got the ball past the front of the
goal line before his knee landed inches shy of the stripe.

New York’s defense followed with a three-and-out, and the Giants
got another break when Dallas’ usually reliable punter, Mat
McBriar, had a 33-yarder, letting Manning take over at his 42 with
2:12 left.

Two penalties on the Cowboys’ defense helped, as did completions
of 21 and 18 yards to Ballard. Brandon Jacobs scored on a 1-yard
run with 51 seconds left and D.J. Ware followed with the 2-point
conversion.

Romo still had 46 seconds left. He hit Miles Austin for gains of
22 and 23 yards to set up Bailey for a 47-yard field goal that
would force overtime. The rookie who’d made four winning kicks, but
was coming off a game-losing debacle the previous week, split the
uprights _ only it didn’t count because Coughlin called a
timeout.

On the do-over, Bailey’s kick was clipped by the outstretched
arms of Pierre-Paul. He’d been a disruption all night, sacking Romo
for a safety early in the game and forcing a fumble in the second
quarter.

“I rushed the center, put my hands up and got the block,”
Pierre-Paul said.

Manning was 27 of 47 for 400 yards and two touchdowns. It was
his third 400-yard outing this season, and the club racked up 510
yards, its most since having 512 in December 2009.

Jacobs ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Hakeem Nicks had seven catches for 154 yards, including an early
64-yarder. Mario Manningham had two catches for 62 yards, including
a 47-yard touchdown reception.

“Guys stepped up and made some big plays,” Manning said. “It
won’t mean anything unless we finish the season strong. That’s the
mindset. We can’t relax now or feel great about ourselves.”

Romo was 21 of 31 for 321 yards with four touchdowns, two in the
fourth quarter.

Laurent Robinson caught four passes for 137 yards and a
touchdown, with a 74-yarder. Austin, who’d missed the previous six
weeks with a hamstring injury, caught four passes for 63 yards with
a touchdown.

Felix Jones ran for 106 yards, and caught six passes for 31
yards. He started the season as Dallas’ featured running back, and
will end it that way, too, now that Murray is gone. The rookie got
his foot twisted awkwardly at the end of an 8-yard run in the first
quarter. He finished his season with 897 yards, with a
franchise-record 253 coming in one game.

“This one’s going to hurt, it’s going to sting, but we’ve got to
figure out how to do things a little better and play our best game
of the season next week,” Romo said. “We need to get a win next
week and get back going.”

The Cowboys have lost six straight Sunday night games. They are
0-3 against the Giants at Cowboys Stadium. Romo also continued his
trend of winning in November, then slumping in December.

Read More: Laurent Robinson (WR – DAL), Miles Austin (WR – DAL), Tony Romo (QB – DAL), Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

Laurent Robinson took over for the Dallas Cowboys as Miles Austin was out due to injury, but even with Austin back in the lineup for their game against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football, the veteran was able to find the end zone. Tony Romo connected with Robinson midway through the second quarter to give the Cowboys a 14-12 lead.

Robinson has just one reception and one target thus far in the game, but he made it count as it ended with a trip to the end zone. The video below will show just exactly how it happened.

Following Romo’s safety on the Cowboys’ first possession of the game, the Dallas quarterback has completed seven of his nine passing attempts for 55 yards and a pair of scores. This game might not end up as ugly as it started for the Cowboys quarterback after all.

For more on the Giants head over to Big Blue View. For more on the Cowboys, check out Blogging The Boys. Follow the rest of week 14 at SB Nation NFL.