Tony Romo: Even Tougher Than We Thought

Guess it is time to break out the Tony Roma Ribs jokes again. Back in 2011 Romo famously played through a broken rib and a punctured lung. That was the moment when everybody learned just how tough the Cowboys signal-caller is - that's some serious discomfort to play through. Flash forward to this season. We knew about the surgery over the offseason to fix some disc issues in his back. He was hurt in the last Washington game of 2013 and had to miss the season finale against Philadelphia. Then he was hurt again in a Washington game, this time about a month ago when he fractured two transverse processes in his back.

While everybody was busy worrying about that, we didn't even know about the broken rib this season. Romo casually let the cat out of the bag in a post-game interview last night.

Tony Romo has been dealing with the effects of back surgery this past offseason and two transverse process fractures, and the Dallas Cowboys quarterback let it slip Thursday night that he also has been playing through a broken rib for the better part of two months. Romo said he was not sure in which game he suffered the injury, either Sept. 21 against the St. Louis Rams or Oct. 5 against the New Orleans Saints.

Who knew? We all thought his aches and pains were the result of his back issues, but there was more to it. Observers of the NFL, media and fans alike, will say plenty of things about Tony Romo, but one thing no one will ever questions is his toughness and his ability to take a hit. The list of injuries he's played through is long.

But, let's hope in the future his toughness doesn't get in the way of making good decisions. Romo looked awful against the Eagles last week, but this week he looked fantastic against the Bears. The difference?

Romo took a pain-killing injection before the Bears game, something he didn’t do before facing the Eagles.

"It was definitely a difference," Romo said. "Some of the things I did last week leading up I would have changed now. But you don’t know until you do it. So I didn’t take a shot.

"It just didn’t feel as good. We were probably protecting a bit last week. But this week was different. It felt good."

We know you're tough Tony, but feel free to take a pain shot.