Many people seem to have this view stuck in their heads:

Romo is good, but in crunch time he melts. 

Manning is ok, but steps it up big time in crunch time.

 Now while this may be true to some extent, it is not nearly to the point that many people think.  Especially this year.  But before I get into those stats, I'll list some basic ones for the year.

Passer Rating:  Romo-103.2   Manning-91.3

Yards: Romo-2,559    Manning-2,624

TDs: Romo-21     Manning-19

INTs: Romo-8    Manning-8 

Lets keep in mind that Romo missed 3 games with a broken pinkie.  So as known, Romo is having a better year so far.  But the argument seems to be that Manning owns Romo in the 4th quarter.  I wouldnt be so sure about that. 

Eli Manning stats broken down into Quarters:

1st: 63/92   836 yds    9.1 y/a  6 TD 2 INT  PR: 109.7

2nd: 79/125   793 yds  6.3 y/a  5 TD  3 INT    PR: 84.5

3rd: 44/85  482 yds   5.7 y/a     4 TD  2 INT   PR: 74.7

4th: 38/59  430 yds    7.3 y/a     4 TD 1 INT  PR: 101.7

4th within 7: 28/41   335 yds   8.2 y/a   4 TD 1 INT   PR: 115.7

Ok, the stats dont lie right?  Eli Manning is a good QB in crunchtime, as the stats show.  Now on to Romo.

Tony Romo stats broken down into quarters

1st:  41/63   401 yds  8.0 y/a   3 TD  3 INT   PR: 85.5

2nd: 61/93  802 yds  8.6 y/a    7 TD 1 INT     PR: 113.3

3rd:  47/79    604 yds   7.6 y/a    5 TD 4 INT   PR: 83.5

4th: 43/63      652 yds  10.3 y/a   6 TD   0 INT   133.8 

4th within 7: 27/39   440 yds   11.3 y/a   5 TD 0 INT

What's this?  Tony Romo hasnt thrown a 4th quarter interception all year?  He has better 4th quarter stats than Eli Manning?  How?  Romo is supposed to stink it up in clutch situations.  But wait, I even have more telling stats:

Manning stats when down 9-16 points:

47/84  521 yds  6.2 y/a  3 TD 2 INT   PR: 76.8 

Romo when down 9-16 points:

61/97   794 yds   8.2 y/a  7 TD 3 INT  PR: 99.8

The stats clearly show that Romo has been better in 'crunch time' this year than Eli Manning.  Am I saying that Romo is a better clutch TD than Manning?  No, I'm not.  All I'm saying is that Romo is not horrible in the clutch like many people say, and the Cowboys arent automatically 'doomed' in the playoffs. 

Hope everyone enjoyed the read.