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RON JENKINS / MCT
The Cowboys' Marion Barber dives for a first down. Brad Johnson started in place of Tony Romo for Dallas and things did not go well for the 40-year-old QB, who threw three interceptions.
ST. LOUIS - Tony Romo warmed up before the game and stood in uniform on the sideline, giving Dallas fans who chanted "Romo! Romo!" hope that he eventually might be able to come in and rally the Cowboys to victory over the St. Louis Rams.
But that wasn't going to happen yesterday. Romo told the coaching staff after he warmed up that he wasn't up to playing with a broken right pinkie, forcing 40-year-old backup quarterback Brad Johnson to go the distance.
Johnson couldn't do much with a suddenly potent, opportunistic Rams defense, throwing three interceptions, and St. Louis got 160 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Steven Jackson in a surprisingly easy 34-14 victory over the Cowboys.
Dallas slipped to 4-3 and tied the Eagles (3-3) in the loss column in the NFC East. The Cowboys must play two more games before their bye week.
Owner Jerry Jones acknowledged after the game that he thought the Cowboys had enough to beat the Rams despite Romo's injury and the suspension of cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones. Adding to the woes, the owner said safety Roy Williams would miss the rest of the season after breaking his right forearm for the second time.
"I was thinking a little lighter than I should have about this ball game," Jones said. "I'm not speaking for this team, but I was."
Romo, who threw some Thursday but did not practice Friday, looked fine in pregame warm-ups with his hand wrapped. The team originally believed the injury would sideline him for a month but held out hope that Romo could play vs. the Rams.
But he told the coaches he could not.
"He ended up making that decision for us, actually, and that's the way it should have been," Jones said. "He just felt like he couldn't help us."
The Rams (2-4), one of the laughingstocks of the NFL after suffering four blowout losses to start the season, now look like contenders instead of sad sacks under new coach Jim Haslett thanks to back-to-back wins over Washington and Dallas.
"I think it's just the will of the players more than anything," Haslett said. "I thought they played extremely well today in all three phases."
The St. Louis defense did its part, forcing four turnovers for the second straight week. Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe intercepted two passes.
Jackson scored two of his touchdowns, on runs of 8 yards and 1 yard, in the Rams' 21-point first quarter. He added a 56-yard touchdown run down the right sideline to make it a 31-7 game in the third quarter.
Jackson pulled a quadriceps muscle in the fourth quarter just before Haslett said he was going to take him out. Jackson is scheduled for an MRI but thinks he'll be fine for next week's game at New England.
