5 thoughts on Cowboys' loss: Tony Romo's return is probably too late

TAMPA, Fla. -- Even the most optimistic of Cowboys fans has to seriously doubt a playoff run after watching Sunday's game. Their chances were already looking slim going into the Week 10 matchup at Raymond James Stadium. After falling 10-6 to a Buccaneers team that won two games last year, it was difficult for even Jerry Jones to sound optimistic.

Here are my thoughts on Dallas dropping to 2-7 on the year.

1.) Regardless of how good Tony Romo can be when he returns next week, the Cowboys would have to be nearly perfect to reach the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Can Romo lead Dallas on a seven-game winning streak? Unlikely. Possible? Yes. But unlikely. The Cowboys had their chances against rookie QB Jameis Winston, who didn't look very good most of the day. But they never got anything going offensively and the defense eventually gave up the game-winning score in the final minute. Remember when disappointing 8-8 seasons were normal, the Cowboys would be thrilled to get back to that this year.

"It is very disappointing," Jerry Jones said. "I'm disappointed. We had high expectations to say the very least for this year and so I'm disappointed for the people who count the most, our fans, and I'm disappointed that we're not making a better showing.

"The system in the NFL, the rules, everything that you put teams together and you play basically expect you to do better than we're doing, so we're simply just not, obviously playing average, and that's very disappointing."

2.) That's the ugliest Cowboys game I've seen in a while. Through three quarters, Matt Cassel had 145 passing yards and Darren McFadden had 36 yards on 14 carries. It almost seemed like Dallas was content to escape with a 6-3 win, playing not to lose rather than playing to win. Congrats if you watched every play and didn't fall asleep. ... When Romo went down in Week 2, this was the game most thought the Cowboys would win before their franchise QB returned. So much for that.

"We had an opportunity today," Jones said, "and we've had opportunities to win without Romo and didn't take advantage of them and that's a flaw."

3.) During pregame warmups, Jerry Jones grabbed Dez Bryant's hands, held them for a few seconds and mouthed a few words. What was the Cowboys owner saying?

"We have a little fun where we play with our fingers before games sometimes," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan's pregame coverage. "He opens his palms and I read them and I say, 'I think it's two touchdowns and nine catches today.' So, we play around. He's got his mind on one thing. That's winning, coming out here and making plays."

Bryant was targeted 12 times Sunday, finishing with a team-high five catches for 45 yards. But he also had a costly drop late in the game on third down.

"Regardless of anything, I am supposed to have had that," Bryant said. "I was expecting something, but I feel I adjusted well to it real quickly. I didn't execute the way I needed to."

4.) Finally, much-needed turnovers. And both by Jeff Heath? I doubt the backup safety expected he'd have two critical redzone interceptions, saving the Cowboys at least six points. I thought that was a sign they were going to end their longest losing streak since 1989. And I was wrong. But they were still the two biggest plays of the game for Dallas. The first one, which ended a 124-play streak without a takeaway for the Cowboys, came off a tipped pass in the second quarter. The second, two quarters later, the same thing. In one game, Heath now leads the Cowboys in picks with two.

"That was huge," Byron Jones said. "That's something we have been struggling on. It's nice it finally paid off. We work on it every day after practice we are doing weird tip drills to get the ball some way, somehow - diving drills, stuff like that. It's good to see it pay off."

5.) Regardless of where the Cowboys were when Tony Romo returned, Jerry Jones has been adamant that the veteran QB would still play. He's on track to return next Sunday in Miami. Like he has the last few weeks, Romo threw passes during pregame warm-ups. He also zipped a few passes in the hallway while the team was in the locker room after pregame warm-ups. But it appears his return is likely too late.

Jones was asked after the game if the loss did anything to change his mind about bringing Romo back next week.

"No. Not at all," Jones said. "It's in the long-term best interest of our team to, if he's ready to play this week, of course, it's in our long-term best interest to go out and win a ballgame."