Tony Romo leads Cowboys to TD on first drive of return

By
TODD ARCHER via <a href="http://espn.go.com/" title="ESPN" class="espn_sc_byline">ESPN </a>
via
January 1, 2017, 2:01 PM ET
3 min read

— -- PHILADELPHIA -- With 13 minutes left in the second quarter of their game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Tony Romo?was again the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback.

Romo replaced rookie Dak Prescott to see his first regular-season action since Thanksgiving 2015 in what could be his final action with the Cowboys and potentially his career. Romo is?the franchise leader in touchdown passes and yards.

On his first drive, Romo completed three of four passes for 30 yards, ending the Cowboys' drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams. It was Romo's first touchdown pass in a game since Nov. 22, 2015, against the Miami Dolphins and the 248th of his career, extending his Cowboys record.

Romo's return was brief, however, as he was replaced by Mark Sanchez on the next drive.

One of the first players to greet Romo on the sideline was Prescott.

Romo is 36 and signed through 2019. With Prescott's success, Romo's $24.7 million salary-cap figure in 2017 and desire to be a starter, Romo could look to play elsewhere in 2017 or call it a career.

By giving Romo at least a little action, the hope is he would be not be as rusty should something happen to Prescott in the playoffs.

Romo suffered a compression fracture in his back on Aug. 25 against the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason, which opened the door for Prescott. After losing the opener, Prescott won 11 straight games and helped lead the Cowboys to an NFC East title and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

In the first 15 games, Prescott, who was named to the Pro Bowl, completed 307 of 451 passes for 3,630 yards with 23 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He has also run for six touchdowns, a franchise record.

Romo missed the first nine games of the season as he recovered from the back injury. It was the third time in five games -- preseason or regular season -- in which Romo was knocked out of a game due to injury.

He suffered a broken left collarbone against the Eagles in Week 2 last season and broke the bone again last Thanksgiving against the Carolina Panthers.

Upon his return last month, Romo backed Prescott as the starter with an emotional statement in which he said he felt like an "outsider" during his injury but Prescott "earned the right to be our quarterback." Romo served as the No. 2 since the Nov. 20 win against the Baltimore Ravens. Had he not played Sunday, this would have marked the first time since 2003, his rookie season, in which he did not see the field in some capacity in a season.