Tony Romo Leaves Game with Injured Clavicle; Dallas Cowboys' Playoff Hopes Dashed

Early in the second quarter of the Monday Night Football matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffered a fractured left clavicle after getting hit by the Giants' Michael Boley. The injury will not require surgery, but Romo will likely miss 6-8 weeks with the injury. If the Cowboys are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention by the time Romo is eligible to come back, don't be surprised if Dallas exercises caution and keeps Romo out at least 8 weeks to make sure he doesn't re-injure himself.

The Cowboys were already having a horrible season before the Romo injury occurred. Dallas was 1-4 and in last place in the NFC East, even though they were consistently getting more yards of offense than their opponents. The Cowboys are one of the most penalized teams in the NFL through the first six weeks of the season, and also came into the Monday Night Football game with a -4 turnover margin.

Romo's injury effectively ends any chance that the Cowboys have of playing their way back into the playoff picture. Jon Kitna, who is 38 years old and hasn't played in an NFL game since getting injured in Week 5 of Detroit's 0-16 season in 2008. Kitna wasn't able to cut it as a reliable QB for the lowly Detroit Lions, so it's very hard to see him being able to replace Tony Romo and turn around the Cowboys' season.

With a loss to the Giants, the Cowboys are now 1-5 and three and a half games behind New York in the NFC West. Since 1990, no team that has started an NFL season at 1-5 has ended up making the playoffs. Without their starting QB, it looks unlikely that the Cowboys will even be able to climb back up to .500. The last time the Cowboys finished a season under .500 was in 2004, when Dallas finished the season with a 6-10 record.

Romo is the fourth starting quarterback that has been injured by the New York Giants' pass rush this season. Carolina Panthers quarterback Matt Moore suffered a concussion against the Giants in Week 1. Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a concussion in Week 4 against the Giants and hasn't looked the same since. Last week, Week 6 of the NFL season, the Giants knocked Detroit Lions quarterback Shaun Hill out of the game with a broken arm.

Sources:

Tony Romo leaves Cowboys game with injured clavicle

Giants can end Cowboy's season Monday Night

All stats and standings from espn.com