His spirals weren't always crisp. And his timing with the receivers wasn't always there.
That's to be expected. Tony Romo hadn't taken a snap, thrown a pass or faced a rush in eight weeks.
But his game management remained as sharp as it was last December.
Romo still knows what he has to do as a quarterback to win a football game.
In college the high-powered offenses of the Big 12 prefer a fast pace, trying to squeeze as many plays into a 60-minute game as possible. Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech rank 1-2-3 in the NCAA in total offense and all average more than 80 plays per game. Baylor snapped the ball 104 times in last weekend's 45-35 victory over Oklahoma State.
The logic is simple. The best players in the college game are on offense. So the more you snap the football, the better chance your chances scoring. The goal is to maximize your number of snaps on Saturday and bludgeon the opposition with points.
But it's a different game played on Sundays. Parity exists. What works in college doesn't necessarily work in the NFL.
Chip Kelly was going to revolutionize the NFL game by bringing his up-tempo offense from Oregon to Philadelphia. He ran off an NFL-high 70.4 plays per game in 2014 and has dialed up the tempo even further in 2015, snapping the ball 70.9 times per game.
Kelly's teams are in a hurry to snap the ball with no regard for the clock. The Eagles rank last in the NFL in time of possession at 26 minutes, 46 seconds. With the rules stacked against defense in today's NFL, when you ask your defense to play 33-plus minutes per game, you're asking for trouble. All Kelly has to show for his offensive quantity these last two seasons is a 14-12 record. He's not going to compete for Super Bowls with his college philosophy.
Which brings us back to Romo. He's not trying to control the scoreboard. He's trying to control the clock. Succeed there and you will own the scoreboard.
And no one has succeeded there like Romo.
OK, now, be honest. How many of you have watched and fretted a delay of game penalty as, time and again, Romo has wound the play clock down to :01 or :02 before calling for the snap?
Every second that ticks off the play clock is a second the other team's offense is not on the field. The goal is to minimize the other team's offensive snaps, thus minimizing the other team's scoring opportunities. It's become a game of keep-away, and no one has played it better than Romo. He's become a master at clock and game management.
Romo has posted a 15-3 record over the last two seasons with his eye on the clock. The Cowboys led the NFL in time of possession last season at 32:51 on the way to a 12-4 record and an NFC East title.
The Cowboys lead again in 2015 at 34:09 in large part because of Romo's three starts. The Cowboys controlled the football 37:10 in the season opener against the Giants, 40:30 in Week 2 against the Eagles and 38:50 last Sunday against Miami. The fewer the plays the opposition runs, the fewer its chances of scoring. Miami only had 41 offensive snaps against the Cowboys, the Eagles 55 and the Giants 61.
Romo's clock management over the last two seasons has limited the exposure of his own defense that has, at times, failed to sack the quarterback, create turnovers or make critical stops. If Romo can wind 10 seconds off the 40-second play clock on just 30 of his offensive snaps each week, that's five minutes his defense doesn't have to play that Sunday. He can effectively shorten the game.
The less a defense plays, the better it plays. The Cowboys have fresher legs in the 26 minutes they are asked to play each week than the Eagles in the 33 minutes their defense is asked to play. The Cowboys are the NFL's worst defense at creating turnovers with only seven. But four of them have come in Romio's three starts.
This defense responds to Romo. And Romo responds to the clock.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges and Donovan Lewis.
Twitter: @RickGosselinDMN