Cowboys 42, Colts 7
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tony Romo helped dump a Gatorade bucket of liquid on Jason Garrett and playfully shoved him the same way the Dallas coach often does to his players.
The Cowboys had long since known their four-year playoff drought was over Sunday when they finally got to celebrate in the final seconds of a dominating 42-7 victory over Indianapolis that clinched the NFC East title.
"In so many ways, this is such a long journey and to get to a point to achieve your first goal of winning the division title, a lot goes into that," said Garrett, in his fourth full season. "I think the way you play in securing that matters, and I thought we played really, really well."
Romo threw four touchdown passes and broke Troy Aikman's franchise record for yards passing while the Cowboys (11-4) ended a three-game home losing streak, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions.
Dallas had an opening for its first division title and postseason berth since 2009 because of Philadelphia's 27-24 loss at Washington on Saturday. The Eagles were eliminated with the Cowboys' victory.
The Colts (10-5) didn't have much to play for with the AFC South title secured, and looked like it while they barely avoided their first shutout loss in 21 years.
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck came into the game having passed for 4,383 yards and 38 touchdowns, but threw for a season-low 109 yards with 2 interceptions and was pulled in the third quarter with the game out of hand.
"Yeah, it was a dismal start," said Luck, who was without leading receiver T.Y. Hilton. "It was bad. A lot of bad. Not much good, if any."
The Cowboys had already ended their three-year rut of 8-8 finishes that included losses in finales that kept them out of the playoffs. But they had to keep winning to make sure they got in.
Tight end Jason Witten had a touchdown catch and 90 yards receiving to reach 600 yards for the 11th consecutive season.
Romo led scoring drives of 80 and 75 yards, the latter ending on a 24-yard pass to Cole Beasley. He spun away from a shoulder tackle by D'Qwell Jackson and ran the final 13 yards to the end zone.
Romo, 34, broke Aikman's record on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Witten, his teammate since they came into the league together 11 years ago.
"He's obviously just got a special place in my heart," said Romo, who has 32,971 career yards, 29 more than the three-time Super Bowl winner.
Romo, coming off back surgery that kept him out of last year's season-ending loss to the Eagles, and another back injury sustained against Washington in October, had his fifth game with a passer rating of at least 135. He completed 18 for 20 passes for 218 yards.
"I think the way he's played this year, the way great quarterbacks in this league have played for a long time, that's how Troy played," said Garrett, who was Aikman's backup in Dallas. "We ran the ball really, really well, controlled the line of scrimmage. And when Tony had opportunities today, and really throughout the year, he cashed in on them."
NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray played with a broken left hand, but the Cowboys didn't need much from him. He had 58 yards, with a 1-yard score.
With a home playoff game already in hand and little chance to get a first-round bye, Indianapolis sat receiver Hilton (hamstring injury) and right tackle Gosder Cherilus, who is nursing a groin problem.
Trailing 35-0 in the third quarter, Luck went to the bench in favor of Matt Hasselbeck as the Colts set season lows in points and total yards (229) for the second consecutive week. They had just 1 yard rushing.
"They played at a different speed than we played at, and the score is indicative of that," Colts Coach Chuck Pagano said. "We're going to have to get over this in a hurry."
Indianapolis had Dallas beaten on a fake punt after three consecutive running plays on its first possession. But a backpedaling Dewey McDonald, left uncovered on the outside, dropped punter Pat McAfee's perfect throw.
On the next play, Romo put Dallas up 14-0 with a 19-yard pass to Dez Bryant, who caught a scoring pass in his 12th consecutive game against the AFC to extend the longest interconference streak since the 1970 merger.
Sports on 12/22/2014