Resurgent Rams

ST. LOUIS — The chant from the sizable contingent of Dallas Cowboys fans began early in the third quarter.

“Romo … Romo … Romo …!”

By then, it was far too late. Quarterback Tony Romo, sidelined by a broken right pinkie, nor even Roger Staubach or Troy Aikman, could have saved the imploding Cowboys against the resurgent St. Louis Rams on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

For one day at least, the Rams turned back the clock to the high-flying, Greatest Show on Turf days with a 34-14 dismantling of Dallas.

Romo’s backup, 40-year-old Brad Johnson, guided the Cowboys to a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, but the Rams retaliated with touchdowns on their first three possessions—a 42-yard bomb from quarterback Marc Bulger to rookie Donnie Avery and the first two of three Steven Jackson touchdown runs.

It was the first time St. Louis had scored three touchdowns in an opening quarter since their last Super Bowl season of 2001.

And once Josh Brown’s 56-yard field goal at the end of the first half gave the Rams a 24-7 lead, it was all over but the shouting by the frustrated Cowboys fans for Romo.

“The drop-off between Tony and Brad is not the troubling thing for me about this ballgame,” said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who fended off questions about whether he’s considering making a coaching change, saying, “No, emphatically no.”

“The troubling thing is our overall mistakes, our overall things we did all over the field,” Jones added.

Johnson was making his first start since 2006, and it showed. He completed just 17 of 34 passes for 234 yards against a Rams defense that ranked 31st overall in the NFL and 29th against the pass. Johnson threw three interceptions, including two by the Rams’ Oshiomogho Atogwe, and his wide receivers were not a factor.

Terrell Owens caught two harmless passes for 31 yards, and Roy Williams, acquired from Detroit last week and signed to a five-year, $45 million extension, hardly played and did not have a catch.

Toss in a costly fumble by Barber and eight Dallas penalties, and little wonder coach Wade Phillips conducted an extended team meeting after the game.

The only disappointment for the Rams was that Jackson, who finished with 160 yards against the NFL’s seventh-ranked rushing defense, suffered a quadriceps injury late in the game.