



LANDOVER, Md. – Into another stadium tunnel Tony Romo walked Sunday night, a loser again in the season's final game. This stroll must be so tiring for him now. He limped along the floor of the concourse that leads to the visitors' locker room at FedEx Field. His legs ached. Nobody walked near him. Once more he would endure his suffering alone.

There are the Dallas Cowboys and then there is Tony Romo. As much as they all talked about team and togetherness, Romo will forever be an entity bigger than all of them. It is on his shoulders that they rise or fall. He understood this as he hobbled away from more imploded expectations, this time a 28-18 loss that gave the NFC East title to the Washington Redskins. It was the third time in five years he has handed away the division on the final day. All of Sunday night's wretched scenarios danced in his mind: The three interceptions. The receivers missed. Another season so close and yet once more empty.

"Shake it off," a FedEx Field security woman said as he headed for the locker room.

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If only that was so easy to do.





Never in our recent time has there been a player so much like a Shakespearean character. He pulls the Cowboys, dysfunction and all, through the final weeks of seasons, building anticipation until it seems certain they are on the verge of THE year, the one that will end in a hail of confetti only to let everyone down in the game that matters most. His fatal flaws are always the same: bad passes, missed chances, balls that should never have been thrown.

"I feel as though I let my team down," he said later, standing on a stage in a small interview room. "We did such a great job in those last five or 10 minutes to win a lot of games. We were back in that position again, and it's on me. It's a very frustrating thing to think about."

He did not want to discuss his legacy on Sunday night, saying that such a conversation could come only after his career was over, and the records and statistics were tabulated. But at age 32 and with just one more year on his contract, the window is closing on his chance to win playoff games. That elusive Super Bowl seems far, far away.

[Related: Regular-season finale's winners and losers]

Down another tunnel beneath the stadium walked a new quarterback with rising acclaim. Robert Griffin III wore a dark suit and a cap that said the Redskins were NFC East champions. There's something almost magical about Griffin, who never makes the fatal mistakes that Romo does. In November, RG3's Redskins were 3-6 and looked as if they were through. Their coach, Mike Shanahan, said as much after a loss to the Carolina Panthers. But Griffin challenged his teammates to be something better. He drove them to seven straight wins. And in the din of Sunday night's win he looked much like a man who will take Washington to several more division titles.





Romo, on the other hand, looked old. He still spoke thoughtfully of a bright future. He realized the Cowboys have changed in the last two years, getting younger and faster. He kept saying again and again the team has to get better.

"It will take me a little while," he said when asked if he will think about the future. "I put everything I had into this. It consumes all of your thoughts and actions. It's a hard thing when it ends like this. I don't know how else to explain it, but it is going to be a rough time for me because I know how much effort and time it took to get in this position."

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