COMMENTARY

Forget stats, Romo needs to throw it

— One of the NFL’s most misleading statistics is the Dallas Cowboys’ 0-4 record when Tony Romo passes for 400 yards.

It suggests the Cowboys need to go into Washington for their biggest game of the season - their final game if it does not go well - and present the Redskins with a balanced offensive attack.

They need to do nothing of the sort.

The Cowboys’ best hope to win - the only one that they can actually strive for as opposed to hoping that breaks and loose balls bounce their way - is for Romo to come out firing.

Dez Bryant is the hottest-scoring receiver in the league with 10 touchdowns in seven games. Let him direct his anger at being overlooked for the Pro Bowl - he can manufacture some if he doesn’t really harbor a grudge - at one of the most porous secondaries in the league.

Let Jason Witten take the single season record for receptions he set last week and put it out of sight for future tight ends. Let Miles Austin - somehow the forgotten man in this mix - remind people he caught the Cowboys’ most recent touchdown pass, a fourth-down desperation heave that sent the New Orleans game into overtime.

The Cowboys have lost three times this season when Romo passed for 400 yards, but one of those was the Saints game that went to overtime. Another was the Giants defeat, in which Bryant was out of bounds by a finger on a potential game-winning catch.

It’s crazy to think that if the Cowboys throw it too much, they have no chance. Romo has averaged 36 attempts and 281 yards passing in the eight Cowboys victories. Check the quarterbacks whom Romo can’t yet be honestly compared to - the ones with Super Bowl rings - and you will see that Denver’s Peyton Manning has averaged 287 yards in this year’s victories. Tom Brady averages 278. Aaron Rodgers averages 268.

The only one off the charts is New Orleans’ Drew Brees, and his 322 average was inflated by the 446-yard game against the Cowboys.

The best teams and best quarterbacks have to throw it a lot to be successful. Maybe 400 yards shouldn’t be the goal, but considering the circumstances, it’s not something Dallas should shy away from.

As much as DeMarco Murray’s return has been welcome, his two fumbles the past two games have to be a concern even if they are out of character as Coach Jason Garrett noted Friday.

“He knows the importance of ball security better than anyone else,” Garrett said.

But even if you’re not worried about another Murray fumble, the best way to attack the Redskins and to reduce the impact that rookie running back Alfred Morris (1,413 yards rushing) can have on a game is to throw the ball.

Only New Orleans and Tampa Bay give up more passing yards per game than Washington (287.7). The Redskins sack quarterbacks only once every 20 pass attempts. The hottest team in the NFC hasn’t lost since Nov. 4 in Carolina, but it has a weakness, and pass defense is it.

If Murray ends up with a considerable number of carries, they should come after the Cowboys have grabbed the lead with their passing game. Maybe owner Jerry Jones was alluding to this in his radio show Friday when he said Garrett needs to be mindful of the fact that the Cowboys “drive across the water, we don’t lay up.”

The Cowboys’ attempts to win a final regular-season game in Philadelphia and New York with similar playoff hopes on the line did not go well. Those were different Cowboys teams, different opponents.

The Redskins are better than the Cowboys right now, for sure. They are hotter and healthier. But having made this improbable six-game run from 3-6 to 9-6, the Redskins are cast now in the unfamiliar role of favorites. They are expected to beat a Dallas team that arrives with more significant ailments than the Redskins’ injured list.

We have seen greatness from Robert Griffin III this season, but this is his first win-or-go-home test in the NFL. He’s not 100 percent after the injury he suffered three weeks ago, but he played well enough last week, so it’s not like he’s incapacitated.

The Cowboys’ best hope is to keep Griffin and Morris from controlling the game with a methodical attack that has successfully worn down one recent opponent after another.

To do that, coming out blazing with their best weapons - Romo to Bryant, Romo to Austin, Romo to Witten - is the Cowboys’ best hope of making this different from the unsatisfactory endings they produced for their 2008 and 2011 seasons.

Sports, Pages 22 on 12/30/2012

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