Where does Tony Romo's career land him among greatest Cowboys QBs of all time?
The Dallas Cowboys have had some legendary quarterbacks, but Tony Romo leads them all in franchise passing yards. This got us wondering just how good Tony Romo was in the grand scheme of things and where he ranks among the pantheon of greats.
Obviously, all the different quarterbacks played during different times, so merely taking note of the statistics without contextualizing it is not going to help. We decided to take into account all the starting quarterbacks who established themselves as franchise quarterbacks for the Cowboys. We then considered Super Bowl wins, Pro Bowl selections and other personal accolades as a better determiner of standing than purely looking at statistics.
Most career passing yards in #Cowboys franchise history
Tony Romo - 34,183
Troy Aikman - 32,942
Roger Staubach - 22,700
Dak Prescott - 22,083
Danny White - 21,959
Where does Tony Romo rank among Cowboys quarterbacks?
#1. Don Meredith
Don Meredith tops this list. He played in the very beginning of the franchise from 1960 to 1968 and took over from Eddie LeBaron. He made it to three Pro Bowls during his time with the Cowboys. His regular-season winning percentage was 0.588 and he made it to three playoffs as the starting quarterback. The issue was that they couldn't win a Super Bowl with him as a starter.
#2. Craig Morton
Craig Morton took over from Don Meredith and led them from 1969 to 1972, with a fateful break during the 1971 season (when a certain other quarterback was given preference). He had a 0.691 regular-season winning percentage and took them to their first championship game in Super Bowl V. Despite his team's success, he never made the Pro Bowl.
#3. Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach took over from Morton in the 1971 season and from the 1973 season, he was the undisputed starter. He has the best regular-season winning percentage of all Cowboys quarterbacks at 0.746. He won a couple of Super Bowls, was named Super Bowl MVP in one of them, and made it to six Pro Bowls.
#4. Danny White
Danny White took over from Roger Staubach as a starter in 1980. He maintained the consistency with a winning percentage of 0.674. However, Super Bowl success proved elusive as a starter and he made only one Pro Bowl in 1982.
#5 - Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman led the Dallas Cowboys in 1990s. In the process, he won three Super Bowls, won one Super Bowl MVP and made six Pro Bowls. He established a dynasty for the Cowboys. He still has the best record of all Cowboys quarterbacks in the postseason and started the most games.
#6 - Tony Romo
After Troy Aikman, the Cowboys were in quarterback purgatory, from which Tony Romo rescued them. He made four Pro Bowls and achieved a winning percentage of 0.614 in the regular season. However, in the postseason, he could not helm them to success, never proceeding past the divisional round.
We have not included Dak Prescott on this list because his career is still in progress and he has not hit 100 games for the Cowboys yet, which all of the above quarterbacks have.
It very clearly shows a tie between Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman as the best Cowboys quarterbacks of all time. Both have made the Hall of Fame, and both have the same number of Super Bowl MVPs and Pro Bowl selections. Whereas Staubach has a better winning percentage, Aikman won one more Super Bowl.
Below that bracket, we have Tony Romo and Don Meredith. They are multiple Pro Bowlers, but who could not lead the team to Super Bowl glory. Below them are the likes of Craig Morton and Danny White, who were not regular Pro Bowlers and never won a Super Bowl as a starter.
So Tony Romo falls right in the middle when we discuss the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Not quite elite, but still very good. It is a fair summation of his career in many ways.