A missed 19-yard field goal attempt on fourth down with just 79 seconds remaining brought the Dallas Cowboys within a point and a yard of a first down as the Seattle Seahawks held on to advance in the 2006 NFC playoffs. , beating the Cowboys 21-20 at home in Seattle.

While there was enough blame to go through with the wild-card game loss, the final mistake came when “rookie” quarterback Tony Romo lost control of the ball on Martin Gramatica’s 19-yard field goal attempt.

Romo, the starter, caught the ball cleanly but flipped the ball over when he set it up for Gramatica’s try. Romo tried to run to the end zone on the play, but Jordan Babineaux stopped him dead at the 2-yard line, a yard short of a first down.

Unproven quarterbacks who become starters historically mess up in big games, and Romo didn’t disappoint. He made no excuses to cost Dallas the win and advance in the playoff game, and Romo deserves credit for taking the blame.

He was a kick starter for the Cowboys last year before taking over for Drew Bledsoe this year. He became a Pro Bowl selection by winning five of his first six starts and turning Dallas’ season around at that point. Romo’s fast start and great stats quickly fell apart as the season progressed.

Many money players (including me) bet Seattle would win thanks to Matt Hasselbeck’s experience and Romo’s inexperience in the playoffs.

True to form, Hasselbeck was 18 of 36 for 240 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, both of which resulted in Dallas field goals. Matt Hasselbeck was a Pro Bowl selection last year, but this year he has been plagued by injuries and a weaker offensive line.

Romo was 17 of 29 for 189 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers, but all it took was one missed kick attempt to spoil his effort.

All stats aside, the ball clearly bounced well for Seattle and poorly for Dallas, but that’s why we played the game. As a fan of the Seattle Seahawks, it almost goes without saying that I love first-year starting quarterbacks who play for the opposing team.

Two other big plays helped Seattle advance to the playoffs.

The first big play occurred when they trailed 20-13 after missing a fourth-and-goal play with 6:40 remaining in the game. The Seahawks began their comeback with two points on safety when defensive back Kelly Jennings forced Dallas receiver Terry Glenn to fumble in the end zone as the Cowboys took over deep in their own territory.

The ball shot out of Glenn’s arms and bounced toward the end zone as three Seattle defenders converged on the opportunity for the Seahawk defense to score in the Cowboys’ end zone.

Linebacker Lofa Tatupu, an All Pro rookie last year, dove for the ball to keep it from going out of bounds and put it back in play, then safety Michael Boulware recovered it for what appeared to be a touchdown.

A replay showed that Tatupu was out of bounds when the ball was tipped in bounds, so the Seahawks earned a safety and the Cowboys lost possession of the ball.

The second big play came when Seattle got the ball over on a free throw behind the safety. The Seahawks took the winning lead with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Jerramy Stevens.

Stevens arguably had the best day of his 5-year career, catching five passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns, his first touchdown coming from 15 yards to give Seattle a 13-10 third quarter lead. The Seahawks couldn’t have won without Stevens because Seattle wide receiver Darrell Jackson (D-Jack) and DJ Hackett left the game with injuries.

Dallas couldn’t be denied as Romo led the Cowboys back onto the field and into position for the win when a pass to Jason Witten was initially ruled first and ten. A replay showed the Cowboys were short.

It looked like Dallas coach Bill Parcells was tempted to do it on fourth-and-1 while leaving his offense on the field until Seattle called timeout. So Parcells sent in Gramatica for the missed field goal attempt.

This playoff game was as exciting as any wild card game ever played.

Miles Austin, an undrafted rookie, had a 93-yard kickoff return for Dallas that became the first kickoff return for a touchdown in Cowboys playoff history. Austin’s electrifying run put Dallas up 17-13 in the third quarter just 11 seconds after the Seahawks went ahead.

Championing in the play were nameless names like John Howell, Rich Gardner, Ben Joppru, Oliver Celestin, Marquis Weeks and Lance Laury.

Seattle lost starters Kelly Herndon and Jimmy Williams to season-ending injuries against Tampa Bay a week before the game. Starting pitcher Marcus Trufant, one of the best corner tackles in the NFL, sprained his ankle earlier in the year.

Thrust into the spotlight to defend against Terrell Owens (arguably the best current receiver in the NFL) and Terry Glenn (arguably the fastest receiver in the NFL) was rookie Kelly Jennings (who caused the fumble that resulted in the safety Seattle), turned safety cornerback Jordan Babineaux (who covered Terrell Owens and made the game-saving tackle on Tony Romo) and nickelback Pete Hunter (who was out of football a week earlier and was working as an official loan in Dallas).

If you’re not impressed by the performance of Jennings, Babineaux and Hunter, it’s certainly a Dallas home run.

The Seahawk secondary defense that had been decimated before the playoff game helped hold the Cowboys to a season-low 14 first downs, their second-lowest passing yardage total at 284, their second-lowest passing net yardage at 168 and only 23% conversions on third attempts.

Many Seahawks played hard on defense and the defensive secondary, which thought it would get a lesson in what not to do against Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn, held its own as the Seattle Seahawks NFC conference champion team of ago a year that went to the Super Bowl.

Is there unfinished business in Seattle? Yes there are. The next stop is Chicago against the Bears, the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Seahawks come in as underdogs by 9 points.

The Bears humiliated Seattle 37-6 earlier in the season on their home turf, but as a punter, I like Seattle to beat the Bears and continue its run to another Super Bowl appearance.

The Seahawks’ previous loss to the Bears was played with a banged up offensive line, Shaun Alexander was unable to play with a broken bone in his left foot, and Michael Boulware left the game with a concussion.

Let the Seahawks try it again, this time healthier, stronger, hungrier and more focused on the prize they missed last year when Pittsburgh beat them 21-10 to win Super Bowl 40 (XL).

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley