SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 21, 2014
Cowboys 42, Colts 7: Tony Romo threw four touchdown passes and became the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards as host Dallas routed Indianapolis to clinch the NFC East.
Romo was 18-of-20 for 218 yards to increase his career yardage total to 32,971 and overtake Troy Aikman (32,942 from 1989-2000) as the Cowboys (11-4) qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Dez Bryant caught his career-high 14th touchdown pass, Terrance Williams had two scoring receptions and DeMarco Murray rushed for 58 yards and a score while playing with a broken left hand.
Andrew Luck was intercepted twice and passed for a career-low 109 yards before departing late in the third quarter for the Colts (10-5). Indianapolis committed three turnovers and was outgained 377-229 but avoided being shut out for the first time since 1993 when Matt Hasselbeck tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Zurlon Tipton with 5:24 remaining.
The Cowboys opened the game with a 15-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 8:24 and set the tone as Romo hit Williams for a 9-yard score. Two-plus minutes later, Romo connected with Bryant on a 19-yard TD before finding Cole Beasley for a 24-yard score 49 seconds into the second quarter and Murray scored from the 1 to make it 28-0 with 6:32 left in the first half.
The onslaught continued after intermission as Romo tossed a 25-yard scoring pass to tight end Jason Witten with 4:41 left in the third quarter. Backup Brandon Weeden threw a 43-yard TD pass to Williams with 10:12 remaining in the fourth for the Cowboys, who have averaged 40.3 points over their last three games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Romo set a personal best with 16 consecutive completions, a streak that started on the opening drive and ended with an incompletion in the fourth quarter. … The Colts were without WR T.Y. Hilton (82 catches, 1,345 yards) due to a hamstring injury. … Murray has 1,745 rushing yards and needs 29 in the regular-season finale against Washington to break the club record held by Emmitt Smith (1,773 in 1995).