Sunday, December 21, 2014 04:25 PM (ET)

Recap: Cowboys 42, Colts 7

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 21, 2014

Cowboys 42, Colts 7: Tony Romo threw four touchdown passes and became the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards as host Dallas routed Indianapolis to clinch the NFC East.

Romo was 18-of-20 for 218 yards to increase his career yardage total to 32,971 and overtake Troy Aikman (32,942 from 1989-2000) as the Cowboys (11-4) qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Dez Bryant caught his career-high 14th touchdown pass, Terrance Williams had two scoring receptions and DeMarco Murray rushed for 58 yards and a score while playing with a broken left hand.

Andrew Luck was intercepted twice and passed for a career-low 109 yards before departing late in the third quarter for the Colts (10-5). Indianapolis committed three turnovers and was outgained 377-229 but avoided being shut out for the first time since 1993 when Matt Hasselbeck tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Zurlon Tipton with 5:24 remaining.

The Cowboys opened the game with a 15-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 8:24 and set the tone as Romo hit Williams for a 9-yard score. Two-plus minutes later, Romo connected with Bryant on a 19-yard TD before finding Cole Beasley for a 24-yard score 49 seconds into the second quarter and Murray scored from the 1 to make it 28-0 with 6:32 left in the first half.

The onslaught continued after intermission as Romo tossed a 25-yard scoring pass to tight end Jason Witten with 4:41 left in the third quarter. Backup Brandon Weeden threw a 43-yard TD pass to Williams with 10:12 remaining in the fourth for the Cowboys, who have averaged 40.3 points over their last three games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Romo set a personal best with 16 consecutive completions, a streak that started on the opening drive and ended with an incompletion in the fourth quarter. … The Colts were without WR T.Y. Hilton (82 catches, 1,345 yards) due to a hamstring injury. … Murray has 1,745 rushing yards and needs 29 in the regular-season finale against Washington to break the club record held by Emmitt Smith (1,773 in 1995).
Covers 25 Years Logo Established in 1995,
Covers is the world
leader in sports
betting information.
Covers is verified safe by: Evalon Logo GPWA Logo GDPR Logo GeoTrust Logo Evalon Logo