Todd Archer

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ARLINGTON – The difference between a great play and a bad play in the NFL is as thin as a shoelace.

Had Tony Romo not escaped – twice – from Atlanta defenders, the boos would have rained down and echoed inside Cowboys Stadium, and thousands in attendance would have muttered, "Same old Romo. How can he not throw the ball away?"

But Romo ducked away from Jonathan Babineaux, stepped out of John Abraham's arms and slid by Kroy Biermann, and found Patrick Crayton for a 5-yard touchdown pass to give the Cowboys a 17-7 lead with six seconds left in the first half.

It was the quintessential Romo play, one that makes coaches hold their breath, fans coo and breaks the backs of opponents because of the 'How did he do that?' nature of it.

"When I broke the first one, the first thing that goes through your head is that you have to get the ball out, throw it away," Romo said. "But instinctively I thought it was a very high-percentage chance to wait a second."

Waiting proved to be the right decision.

On Sunday, Romo was at his Romo best. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. He did not have an interception. He was sacked twice and ran six times for 31 yards.

In that second quarter, he was nearly flawless, and the effort came after he suffered a neck injury on a 17-yard scramble.

Romo completed 13 of 15 passes in the quarter for 185 yards. One incompletion was a drop by Roy Williams. He completed passes to Witten, Williams, Crayton, Miles Austin, Felix Jones, Martellus Bennett and Tashard Choice.

"I think you see a wiser and more experienced Tony Romo," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said.

Romo and Austin – as they did two weeks ago – produced highlight-reel plays with a 59-yard touchdown connection in the second quarter and a 22-yard pitch-and-catch in the third quarter in the series after the Falcons cut the lead to 17-14.

To start that drive, Romo and Austin got together for a 42-yard pickup, continuing an attacking mind-set when the easy thing to do would have been to sit back.

"There's obviously a mix, and I've been trying to find it for some time," Romo said. "I think in some ways when you're playing the game at this position, the ball is so valuable. You can't give it to the other team. When you do, it's hard to overcome. I've put it the other way where I've said, 'I'm never going to turn the ball over.' And safe is death as well."

A few weeks ago, there was a notion that the Cowboys were coaching the instincts out of Romo, that they wanted him to be a robot in the pocket, like some sort of electric football piece.

"That's the challenge for any quarterback playing in this league," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "It's always about your decision-making. It's all about being aggressive, and I don't want to say more conservative, but maybe less aggressive. The more he plays, the more feel he's going to have for that."