Day 63 in the Cowboys’ 100-day countdown brings us to the night Tony Romo stopped being a curiosity and started becoming the guy.
He had already stepped in the week before, replacing Drew Bledsoe in a Monday night loss to the Giants. But that was relief work.
This was Romo’s first NFL start, in prime time, on the road, against a Panthers defense that still carried real respect. For Dallas, it was a huge moment in the post-Troy Aikman search for stability, and it ended up becoming one of the defining quarterback transition games in franchise history.
The setting was Sunday, October 29, 2006, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The Cowboys left with a 35-14 win, but it didn’t look that way early.
Carolina came out fast and built a 14-0 first-quarter lead on a one-yard DeShaun Foster touchdown run and a 24-yard scoring run by Steve Smith. That kind of start can rattle a first-time starter in a hurry.
Romo didn’t fold. He settled in and helped Dallas chip away in the second quarter, finding Jason Witten on a three-yard touchdown pass. Mike Vanderjagt added a 38-yard field goal just before halftime, and suddenly the Cowboys were within 14-10.
The third quarter didn’t produce any points, but Dallas was clearly gaining control. Romo wasn’t out there simply avoiding mistakes.
He was moving, distributing the ball, and giving Bill Parcells’ offense a different pulse than it had with Bledsoe. Early in the fourth, Vanderjagt cut the Carolina lead to 14-13 with a 24-yard field goal, and then the game flipped in a hurry.
On the kickoff that followed, Sam Hurd stripped Brad Hoover and recovered the ball at the Carolina 14. One snap later, Julius Jones punched in the go-ahead touchdown untouched. Romo then connected with Terrell Owens for the two-point conversion, and Dallas was in front 21-14.
From there, the Cowboys slammed the door. Marion Barber scored on a three-yard run with 2:22 left, then added another touchdown from 14 yards out less than a minute later after the defense set up another short field. A 14-10 Carolina lead entering the fourth quarter had turned into a 35-14 Dallas rout, and the Cowboys put up 25 points in the final period, a team record at the time.
Romo’s final line told the story well enough: 24 of 36 for 270 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Owens led the way with nine catches for 107 yards, while Witten finished with six receptions and the first touchdown catch of Romo’s starting career.
That’s why this game sits so high on the countdown. It was the real beginning of one of the most important individual careers in Cowboys history.
Romo had come in undrafted, spent years developing, and suddenly was being asked to steady the ship under Parcells. One start didn’t answer everything, but it changed the mood around the team right away.
The Cowboys had found a quarterback who would go on to set franchise records, and in that moment he looked surgical, improvisational, and completely at ease.
And there’s something fitting about the first Romo touchdown pass as a starter going to Jason Witten. That connection would become a huge part of both of their Cowboys legacies.
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Jerry Jones Faces Another Massive Cowboys Decision On Quinnen Williams
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The timing matters because defensive tackle money keeps rising, and the Cowboys know how quickly a bargain can turn into a premium. Williams has already drawn enough attention to make an extension a real possibility before the season gets rolling, and Dallas may prefer to get ahead of that market rather than chase it later. [Read more 🡒]