Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced on the radio today that quarterback Tony Romo is out for the rest of the year with a hairline fracture of his clavicle. Romo returned two weeks ago from a clavicle injury, and helped guide the Cowboys to a win over the Miami Dolphins. They were down big to the Carolina Panthers at the time of his injury, and are now 3-8 on the season.
The battle for the top pick of the 2016 NFL Draft is going to be a fascinating one with news of this injury. The Cowboys are awful without Romo, dropping seven straight after Romo first went down. Matt Cassel is not a particularly good quarterback, and they face a fairly difficult schedule the rest of the season. Their final five games break down as follows:
Week 13: @ Washington
Week 14: @ Packers
Week 15: vs. Jets
Week 16: @ Bills
Week 17: vs. Washington
Their home game against the Jets, and their two matchups with Washington are probably the most winnable games on their schedule, and even those are no gimmes. Washington lost starting cornerback Chris Culliver to a torn ACL in practice this week, but they are still playing fairly well otherwise. I could see them splitting with Washington, but it would not surprise me if they lost out and finished 3-13.
The Cowboys currently have the slightly better strength of schedule compared to the 49ers, sitting at .537 to the 49ers .534. It could come down to the wire for these two, as the close of the 49ers schedule looks a little more difficult than previously anticipated. The Browns remain awful, but Josh McCown potentially gives them a better chance at a win. The Bears and Lions are both looking a lot better lately, and are road games for the 49ers.