PHILADELPHIA — Strange things happened in Tony Romo’s football world here Sunday night.

For starters, he won in Philly, 20-16. Not the first time, but maybe the most important time in a career that, although brief, is constantly dogged by many doubters.
Also consider this:
Tony never spotted a wide-open Jason Witten in the end zone, resulting in a costly four-point scoreboard swing. Wait ’til that word reaches Buffalo. ROMO MISSED AN OPEN WITTEN. Mr. Owens will be in shock.
Consider this:
Romo had wonderful chemistry all evening with, yes, Roy Williams. Beautiful throws repeatedly landed in the paws of Uno Uno. What? Has there been a problem?
Apparently not. Roy was an inviting target. Five catches, 75 yards.
Consider this:
Romo threw a costly third-quarter interception, his first in four games. It was the kind of bad decision and bad pass that could have wrecked an evening. Except, no it didn’t.
Consider this:
Marvelous Miles Austin disappeared on Romo. Could not be located for 53 minutes. First, quarter, second quarter, third quarter—nothing. And nearly halfway through the fourth, still MIA.
But then ...
If this keeps up, the state of Texas is going to name the capital after Miles. (It’s a borrowed Blackie Sherrod line from years ago, in honor of his 90th birthday today)
Tie game at 13-13 in the fourth, and the Cowboys faced the large task of a third-and-14 at the Eagles’ 49. Austin lined up left side, staring at double coverage before the snap. Miles made an inside move, then went back to the sideline with an outside move.
One defender sucked in. Second defender sucked in. Austin became wide open inside the 15. Romo’s throw was a beauty. Austin made the catch, and as always, he’s a tough cat to collar. Austin juked three would-be tacklers and rolled into the end zone. Touchdown Miles Austin, his sixth in four games.
That 49-yard play would prove to be the game-winning moment with 8:04 remaining. The 20-13 lead would hold up because this was Wade Phillips’ proudest moment as the Jerry-ordered defensive coordinator.
All that Eagles offensive thunder of late was held to one touchdown.
Whatever it was the Cowboys had to prove in this visit, and the list seemed to grow all of last week, the only way to satisfy the cynics was, of course, win.
What it all means in the long run, that is yet to be determined.
But the Cowboys went on the road, beat an old enemy in a city full of hate for all things Cow, and in doing so picked up style points because of whipping a quality foe on the road.
A four-game win streak is now in play, and first place in the NFC East is now a fact, although it’s a bit premature to be placing heavy emphasis on the standings. Remember Decembers for this organization.
Still, at 6-2, the Cowboys are well-positioned to approach December with a favorable divisional cushion, and there has also now been a dramatic turnaround from the early panic after the loss in Denver, and the overtime sweat in Kansas City.
Romo was not always great in this Philly pressure-cooker, but above all else, he remained calm against an Eagles defense that delivered a fierce rush.
Outside of the touchdown pass to Austin, his second biggest throw of the evening came from midfield as the clocked ticked just under the fourth-quarter 2-minute warning.
The Cowboys faced a third-and-3, and the Eagles were without a timeout. Make the first down and the rest of the clock could tick off with Romo in the “victory formation.”
Witten ran an out route to the left, Tony’s pass was perfect. It went for 5 yards and, yes, the celebration first down.
The final numbers for Romo were 307 yards on 21-of-34, and as usual, it was a share-the-wealth situation. He threw completions to seven different pair of hands.
Even the hands of Kevin Ogletree, the free-agent rookie.
It was obvious that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett came loaded for this encounter. Garrett threw the Wildcat formation at the Eagles (with better results than Michael Vick on the other side) and he turned loose Ogletree, who caught two key screen passes for good yardage (those catches figured in 10 points), and the kid also ran the end-around for 6 more yards.
All the Cowboys needed was one big play from Marvelous Miles. And the timing for that couldn’t have been better.
In the end, it was a good win for a good team, or so it seems of late.