LJWorld.com

Irving, Texas — Tony Romo played an awful game against Pittsburgh. No one disputes that.

He’s flawed just like every NFL quarterback not named Tom Brady.

But the best chance the Cowboys have to ever win another playoff game — it’s 11 seasons and counting — let alone a Super Bowl, is with Romo at quarterback. If you can’t figure that out, then we probably need to revoke your NFL Fan Club card.

Seriously, given his age and ability, who would you trade the 28-year-old Romo for in today’s NFL?

Do you want Brady, who’ll be coming off a serious knee injury next season? What about 32-year-old Peyton Manning, who passed for 125 yards and two interceptions against that vaunted Cleveland defense two weeks ago?

Still, I won’t argue if you want to make a deal for either one of those guys.

Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger have Super Bowl rings, but let’s not act like either one of them led their respective teams to titles. Those teams were built around defense and running the ball.

For the most part, Manning and Roethlisberger each did a masterful job of managing the game. That’s it.

I’ll pass on them.

Drew Brees has been to the NFC Championship Game, and Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan have potential but nothing more. You might as well keep Romo.

Now do you understand why I consistently write Romo ranks among the game’s top five quarterbacks?

More important, I can’t forget the quarterback play that ranged from abject to average during the 86 games between the end of Troy Aikman’s reign and the start of Romo’s.

Anthony Wright. Clint Stoerner. Ryan Leaf. Quincy Carter. Drew Henson. Chad Hutchinson. Vinny Testaverde. Drew Bledsoe.

No wonder the Cowboys went 38-48 during that span.

Winning is a process. It takes time, whether you want to deal with that reality or not.

Romo will make just his 37th regular-season start Sunday night against the Giants. He’s still maturing, evolving and learning how to control his impulse to gamble.

That said, I bet you weren’t asking him to play it safe against Pittsburgh when he spent 10 seconds eluding the pass rush before throwing a perfect pass off his back foot to T.O., who was blanketed by a defender in the back of the end zone but managed to catch the pass, giving Dallas a 10-3 lead.

Nope, you were jumping off your couch, spilling your beer and marveling at Romo’s athleticism.

That’s the problem. You can’t put restraints on Romo.

His creativity and ability to make big plays out of chaos is what makes him special. Otherwise, he’s just another good athlete from Burlington, Wis.

You know what they say, “The same thing that makes you laugh will make you cry.”

None of this means we should ignore Romo’s 4-6 record in December. Or his 0-2 record as a playoff starter.

It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t demand a season-saving performance against New York, but it doesn’t mean he’s a bum if he doesn’t deliver one.

Romo’s cocky with a tinge of arrogance — all of the good ones are — which is why he doesn’t fear success. You never get the feeling pressure bothers him. That’s why he’ll ultimately win games in the postseason.

Just wait, maybe longer than you want, but you’ll see.