Tony Romo led the Dallas Cowboys to an incredible comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday despite suffering a cracked rib and a punctured lung early in the game. By playing through pain and piloting the offense to an overtime triumph, Romo made amends with those fans who blamed him for the team's come-from-ahead loss to the Jets in their season opener.
While fans tend to see toughness and character in Romo's decision to play through injury, opponents see opportunity. Days before Dallas' Week 3 matchup with the rival Redskins, Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall made it no secret that he will go after Romo's ribs.
"Absolutely. I want to get a chance to put my helmet on whatever's hurt. If you know something's wrong with an opponent, you're going to try to target in on that," he said on Wednesday. "We're going to try to definitely get as many hits on that team as possible."
Dr. Michael Kaplan, ESPN's medical analyst, said he believes that the chances of Romo playing are pretty slim. But if Cowboys fans needed a sign that Romo would indeed play on Monday night, they got it on Thursday. Romo was back at practice with a hat on and an electronic stimulation device working to heal his broken rib. The Associated Press wrote that "just being on the field" was an indication that he could start in Week 3.
UPDATE: Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com reported on Friday that a CT scan shows Romo's punctured lung has healed, but there that doesn't mean he will definitely play on Monday night against the Redskins.
"That still doesn't necessarily mean he's going to play Monday night, but still that's on go," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. "
EARLIER:
But should he play?
Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason said Thursday morning that Romo shouldn't have gone back in the 49ers game in the first place.
"What the hell are the Cowboys doctors doing? Are you allowed to play with a punctured lung, a collapsed lung, broken ribs? Is that what the NFL is now? Or do we actually care about the players?.
I'm saying the league office should investigate the medical opinions of the doctors on the sideline as to why Tony Romo was allowed to take a numbing shot, if in in fact he did, and then go back in the game."
So tell us what you think. Should Romo start against the Redskins?