Ashley Fox | Romo concern stands out like ...

IRVING, Texas - With his right hand stuffed inside the pocket of his leather jacket, Tony Romo tried to escape the underbelly of Texas Stadium, get to his car, and just go home. But like how the previous four hours of his day had gone, that proved impossible.

With half a dozen television photographers pursuing him, Romo stopped, turned around and barked, "Here. Here." Then he provided the money shot: his right thumb, tightly bandaged.

The Eagles left Texas last night with an improbable 10-6 win over the Cowboys in part because they forced Romo, who had completed 80 percent of his passes in the first meeting of the teams in Philadelphia, into his worst game of the season. He was inaccurate and ineffective. The thumb, injured in the first half, was an issue, but so, too, was the Eagles' defense.

After the game, Dallas coach Wade Phillips refused to acknowledge that anything had happened to Romo or the thumb on his throwing hand, despite a truckload of evidence to the contrary. After a second-quarter series, Romo sat on the bench as trainers looked at his thumb and backup Brad Johnson warmed up.

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said he didn't think Romo "was going to come back in for a while," and Takeo Spikes said it was "kind of like Spygate," with the defensive players trying to see what was happening on the Cowboys' sideline.

But to Phillips, nothing was wrong.

Was Romo hurt?

"I don't think so," Phillips said.

Why, then, was Johnson warming up on the sideline?

"I don't know anything about that," Phillips replied.

Did he consider changing quarterbacks?

"No. I didn't have any idea what [Johnson] was doing, but we wouldn't switch the quarterback," Phillips said.

Maybe he should have, because not five minutes later, Romo walked into the Cowboys' interview room with his thumb wrapped in ice, the entire dressing about the size of a football. As Romo fended off questions about the severity of his injury, a steady drip of water fell onto his right shoe.

"It'll be fine," Romo insisted at least five times. He was unconvincing.

In a game they had to win to maintain the slightest of hopes of reaching the playoffs, the Eagles crushed, harassed and hurried Romo all day. They got solid pressure with a four-man rush, and the defensive backs tied up the Cowboys' wide receivers throughout the game. Romo held on to the ball longer than he had in the previous game against the Eagles because he had nowhere to go.