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Tony Romo’s Injury Was Blown Way Out Of Proportion, Says Guy Who Played Against Him Monday Night

If you watched Monday night’s game between the Redskins and the Cowboys, you know that a major subplot was Tony Romo‘s broken rib and punctured lung.

And if you forgot, you were reminded often.

All throughout ESPN’s broadcast we were told stories about Romo’s undying heroism and ironclad courage in the face of injury. But as tiresome as that got – and as a fan of the New York Giants, I can tell you it got really tiresome – it did seem like Romo went through a lot to be on the field.

For one, he slept in a chair for most of the week, which isn’t fun. Also, he required two pain-killing injections to make it through Monday night.

But Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo isn’t buying it. He was out on the field watching Tony Romo do Tony Romo things, and he doesn’t think the guy looked that hurt. From the Washington Post:

“To me they blown it way out of proportion,” the linebacker said on ESPN 980’s John Thompson Show on Tuesday. “I mean, they tried to make it seem like the guy was hospitalized the night before the game, just so we could build it up if they was to win the game — oh he’s a courageous player to go out there and play. The guy was playing just like Tony Romo, running around, making throws. He got hit throughout the whole game and still getting up. I mean, it was blown way out of proportion, but it is what it is.”

So, was Romo milking it? No. I’d imagine a broken rib hurts, and it’s kind of tough to quarterback while one is playing to the cameras. Was he as hurt as ESPN’s announcers were telling us he was? Maybe. We have no way of knowing how well those painkilling injections worked. Were we reminded way too often that what Romo was doing was brave? Absolutely. “Romo, WOW, so far,” is actually something Ron Jaworski said on Monday night.