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Romo has no one else to blame after ’Boys fall

QB botches hold on potential game-winning field goal; Seahawks win 21-20

Image: Tony Romo, Martin GramaticaAP
Dallas' Tony Romo, left, bobbles the snap as Martin Gramatica steps in for what could have been the potential game-winning field goal against Seattle with 1:09 left against Seattle on Saturday night. Instead, Romo scrambled after the drop and was tackled short of a first down as the Seahawks then ran out the clock to win 21-20.

The Cowboys are 0-for-2 under Parcells in the playoffs and might have played their last game for him. If so, his four-year tenure would end with three straight losses and four in his last five games.

“I’m going to take a look at things, take a look at what we need to do, and go from there,” Parcells said.

Jones wants Parcells back.

“I think we gave ourself a chance this year to meet our goal. We didn’t get them met, but we gave ourselves a chance,” Jones said.

Hasselbeck was 18-of-36 for 240 yards with two touchdowns, both to Stevens, and two interceptions, both of which resulted in Dallas field goals.

Alexander ran 24 times for 69 yards. His 20-yard burst at the end was his longest of the game.

Romo was 17-of-29 for 189 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t have any turnovers after a spurt of them in recent weeks, although he did fumble once. And, of course, there was the botched hold that mattered most.

“It was perfect,” Alexander quipped. “Just how we planned it.”

Miles Austin, an undrafted rookie, had the first kickoff return for a touchdown in Cowboys playoff history. His 93-yarder put Dallas up 17-13 in the third quarter only 11 seconds after the Seahawks had gone ahead.

The Cowboys’ defense was way better than usual, too. They allowed only two first-half field goals, their stingiest half in eight games, and kept Seattle from ever getting into a groove.

Dallas is 0-5 in the playoffs since winning a wild-card game at Minnesota on Dec. 28, 1996. The Cowboys had never lost more than three straight postseason games.

Parcells had never even lost two straight playoff games before this 0-3 drought. In 2003, his first year in Dallas, he became the only coach to guide four teams into the playoffs, but another loss kept him from upping that mark to the only coach to win playoff games with four clubs.

“I did the best I could,” Parcells said. “It wasn’t quite good enough.”

Holmgren won his 12th career playoff game, tying Bill Cowher for fifth-best in NFL history.

Notes: There was a pregame moment of silence for slain Denver cornerback Darrent Williams. ... Seattle had two sacks, matching its total for the previous four games. ... The longest kickoff return by Dallas in a playoff game had been an 89-yarder by Rod Hill in January 1983. ... Injured Seahawks safety Marcus Trufant raised the team’s 12th Man flag to a boisterous ovation before kickoff. ... T.O. on his future in Dallas: “Definitely, I see no reason not to” be back.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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