Tony Romo back to form for Cowboys in London

LONDON - Tony Romo sure didn't look like a guy who ought to have been writhing in agony.

Two weeks after suffering two transverse process fractures in his back, the sort of injury that would floor most mortals for 6-8 weeks, Romo shredded the Jacksonville Jaguars as he completed 20-of-27 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-17 victory.

All week, the Cowboys have heard endless criticism of the decision to even bring Romo across the Atlantic, let alone consider playing him against a Jacksonville team that doesn't do much right, but does know how to get to the quarterback – starting the weekend ranked third in the NFL in sacks.

But after losing two games, including a 28-17 loss to Arizona that Romo sat out, this had become a must-win game for the Cowboys and they wanted their leader on the field.

They got exactly that.

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"Tony's a competitor," said Dez Bryant, who had receptions of 35 and 68 yards for touchdowns. "And when you're talking about your teammates, when you see that, it makes you want to get out there and work just as hard. He goes out there and plays like it don't even faze him."

It took Romo a little time to get up to speed, as seen when he overthrew a wide open Jason Witten to miss on a touchdown in the first quarter.

But with the offensive line holding firm, he found his groove and Jacksonville had no answer.

"I thought Tony was really good," coach Jason Garrett said. "Obviously he missed the one early on to Witten, that was a great opportunity for us. But really besides that, I thought he played a really good ball game. It really looked like he saw the field well, took some opportunities to throw the ball down the field and to make some big plays to Dez."

When Romo connected with Witten from 2 yards for the first Dallas touchdown, this became his 37th straight game with a touchdown pass, the fifth longest streak in NFL history.

"I just went through the progressions, and took what they gave you and hit the spots, and just happened to do some good things," said Romo, who – if he was in as much pain as most doctors seem to think he should be – was sporting a pretty good poker face after the game.

Leading 24-7 at the half, Dallas tacked on another touchdown midway through the third, and all eyes were on Garrett to see when he might bench his injured warrior.

Not that Romo wanted to come out.

"I don't know there was any point where it was, 'Oh, that was really worse than it is.' It's like any broken bone, you can kind of feel them, and they're uncomfortable."

And so Romo kept trotting out, even after taking a hit late in the third quarter, with his night eventually coming to an end after a sack – Jacksonville's first - early in the fourth.

"It's always uncomfortable no matter when you get hit. After, you don't feel 100%," Romo said. "But it's also part of playing football. Everyone goes through that. There's probably 20 guys on that field that had something going on and they felt it consistently through the game.

"Our team tries to go out and play."

What makes Romo's recovery all the more remarkable is that it came ahead of not just any road game, but a road game in London, some 4,745 miles from home.

Romo's back had to endure a long flight before resting on unfamiliar beds, although the conditions were not quite as bad as some imagined.

It may even have been the adrenalin of the occasion – the 83,000 at Wembley certainly gave a more rousing reception than might have been expected in Jacksonville – that helped Romo get through it.

And all this travel comes with an upside, with Dallas now heading into a bye-week before entering the decisive stretch-run.

"I think this will be an important week just for me," Romo said. "Just having this one to kind of get back on track a little bit, and help heal up some stuff."