"Romo's other mistake"

Tony Romo sat on the field, head in hands, probably near tears. It took a minute for him to finally get to his feet and return to the sideline, only to find a solitary spot on the bench to continue his mourning.

The game was over.

Or was it?

As heartbreaking as Romo's botched snap on what could have been the game-winning field goal must have been, when he was tackled just shy of the 1-yard line - giving Seattle the ball with a 21-20 lead in the NFC wild card matchup - there was still hope for Dallas.

Problem was, the Cowboys - especially Romo - didn't seem to see it that way. No one will argue that Romo's mishandle on the 19-yard field goal attempt was the key play in Seattle's 21-20 win. If he had gotten the snap down and Martin Gramatica made the rudimentary kick, the Cowboys would have had a very good chance of playing again next weekend. But what nobody - and I mean not a player, coach, or media member - mentioned during the postgame swarm was this:

After the play, Seattle had the ball just outside its 1-yard line.

There was still 1:14 left on the clock.

And, most importantly, Dallas had all three of its timeouts remaining.

Three stops, three TO's, and the Cowboys could have had the ball back - with great field position and at least 50 seconds. Romo could have retook the field and gone from goat to hero.

In a matter of minutes.

But it didn't come to that. Shaun Alexander reeled off a 20-yard run on the first play. After Dallas burned its timeouts, Seattle was able to run the clock down to eight seconds before punting. The kick sailed out of bounds near midfield, giving Romo one last chance, a Hail Mary attempt.

Thing is, neither Romo nor his teammates seemed adequately prepared for even a last-gasp heave at victory. One would think, with their season on the line, the offensive players would have been on the sideline putting together a play for their last chance. Maybe, once they realized they'd likely have just one play, they could have figured out a tip play, where one receiver jumps above the swarming cornerbacks to tap it back to another wideout. I know, sounds crazy. But as a Michigan fan, I did have to suffer through Kordell Stewart's 64-yard Hail Mary to Michael Westbrook in 1994 that helped Colorado beat Michigan.

Anything is possible.

But most of Dallas' offensive weapons had their heads between their knees during the final minute, wallowing in their sorrows, when, actually, their book of tribulations hadn't quite been finished. NBC's cameras showed the listless face of Julius Jones and the buried helmet of Romo. It was as if the game was complete.

A teammate had to alert Romo that there was still a pass to be thrown. He finally placed his helmet on and trotted onto the field for one last breath. When his desperation throw hit the end zone's turf, it was over - really, this time - and he could do all the sulking he wanted.

It should be mentioned that this is fairly common in sports - especially football, and especially with young players. Romo is not alone. Players let one play decide the outcome of a game. Yes, one play can be very crucial in deciding the victor, but often there remains football to be played. I have no idea what it's like to be inside that helmet - with the crowd buzzing, and a cacophony of noise around the player, and a million things going through his head - but so many players could raise their level of play from good to great by becoming better game managers.

There are few players like Tom Brady, who orchestrates perfect two-minute drives, always knows the situation, and never seems to give up hope or hang his head. He is a proven winner and makes sure a loss isn't a loss until there is nothing he or his teammates can do about it. Brady is a rarity, and someone whom players such as Romo could definitely learn from.

Would Brady have won the game with a Hail Mary on the final play? Almost certainly not. But would he have spent the entire 1:12 Seattle had the ball (plus the three Dallas timeouts) gathering his offense and sketching out a last-ditch plan to snare a victory from the jaws of defeat? Most certainly yes.

Romo is young. He's got a lot to learn. He'll only improve if given the chance as Dallas' starter next season. But he'll still make mistakes - maybe even some as monumental as the botched snap on Saturday.

Which is why one of the biggest lessons he - as well as his offensive teammates - needs to take from Saturday's loss is to always keep fighting until the end.