TAMPA - Nobody was going to have any reason to ice a kicker as hot as Tony Romo was throwing the football Saturday night.
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score in the first half alone in a 31-15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the Cowboys losing back-to-back games in which place-kicker Dan Bailey missed field goals after being iced by timeouts, Romo took all the drama out of the game early Saturday.
Romo padded his passing stats against a Tampa Bay defense that was stranded on the field nearly as long as the referees. His three scoring passes to as many receivers Saturday increased his career numbers to 11 touchdowns and no interceptions.
The victory improved the Cowboys to 8-6 and gave them a half-game lead over the New York Giants in the NFC East.
"We really needed to get back on track,'' Romo said. "And this was an important game. Really the playoffs have started for us and that's the way we approached it. The guys came out with great energy and it was a great week of practice. We just have to go forward and I thought the guys did that.''
The eighth straight defeat for the Bucs (4-10) matched their longest in-season losing streak in 24 years, making it tougher for coach Raheem Morris to return next season.
The Bucs came in tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the most turnovers in the league with 31 and it did not take them long to cough up the football.
Freeman, who had only nine turnovers last season, ran 25 yards for a first down on the third play of the game. But when he escaped the pocket on the next play for a 7-yard run, he was stripped of the ball by Cowboys linebacker Anthony Spencer and the fumble was recovered by linebacker Brady James at the Dallas 44 yard line.
The Cowboys needed only seven plays to get in the end zone, with Romo rolling right and zipping an 8-yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin on third-and-goal with safety Sean Jones draped over him.
Romo's second touchdown pass came without much sweat - an 8-yarder to Dez Bryant who was so wide open in the back of the end zone, he had time to bobble the ball and catch it twice.
The play capped a 68 yard drive in 10 plays and gave the Cowboys a 14-0 lead just before the first quarter ended.
Romo found a third different receiver for his third touchdown pass - a 9-yarder as he rolled right and directed traffic to receiver Laurent Robinson.
"You dig a hole out there for yourself and you can't play that way on third down,'' Morris said. "Obviously, we didn't play that well on third down both offensively and defensively in the first half. You'll never have a chance to win against these guys the way we came out and played. We've got to figure it out a little faster, shake those jitters and come out and play like we did in the second half.
"To have four, three and outs and you give them that first turnover, it's kind of one of those momentum killers. Thankfully, for us, the team didn't die on that like they did last week. They fought, they came back in the second half, they didn't surrender, but they've got to come out faster. Those things can't happen. You can't fumble the first drive and expect to win football games especially against good football teams. Those things can't happen to you.''
How wretched was the Bucs offense Saturday night?
Tampa Bay 's offense went three-and-out four consecutive times in the first half after Freeman's 25-yard run on the first series of the game. He fumbled on the next play (4-and-out).
The Cowboys had a 19-1 advantage in first downs and led in total yards 279-55 at halftime.
Freeman finished the first half 2-of-4 passing for 14 yards and his 31 rushing yards also paced the Bucs, nearly all of it coming on one play.
In fact, it was the defense that found the end zone for the Bucs.
The ineptitude on offense for the Bucs came in every phase of the game. Facing third-and-1 on their second possession, running back LeGarrette Blount was hit in the backfield by Marcus Spears, who beat tackle Jeremy Trueblood on the play.
On the next possession, facing third-and-2, the Bucs receivers failed to get open and Freeman was forced to throw the ball away. The next try ended when Freeman was sacked on consecutive plays, first by DeMarcus Ware and then on a corner blitz by Orlando Scandrick. In each case, the pressure came from the right side and Trueblood was unable to lay more than a hand on either defender.
When the Bucs went three-and-out on their final possession of the half, with Freeman's half-hearted attempt to set up a screen pass, they left 2:52 on the clock, too much time for Romo.
The Cowboys quarterback, who finished the half 18-of-22 passing for 189 yards and three TDs, completed six passes on the drive. But his throw to Kevin Ogletree came up a yard short on third-and-goal, he simply hurried to the line of scrimmage and called his own number, sneaking across the goal line from 1-yard to account for all four touchdowns.
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