After further cementing his reputation as a guy who can’t win under pressure, following a 44-6 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Tony Romo collapsed while showering in the Dallas Cowboys locker room after the game. Brian Davis of the Dallas Morning News reported that Romo fell in the shower, causing a brief panic in the Cowboys locker room as medical personnel were summoned by worried teammates. A stretcher was brought in, but Romo walked into the trainer’s room under his own power.

Later, Romo said he was "a little banged up, I guess." It doesn’t appear that Romo’s health was ever in serious jeopardy, but his teammates were understandably frightened, nonetheless. Writes Davis:

As someone who was standing there watching this whole scene unfold, I can tell you the players were shocked. They didn’t know what to do. Deon Anderson went out running for emergency help, but Maurer and associate athletic trainer Britt Brown were all over it.

Adam Jones, of all people, was standing there yelling at me, another reporter and a TV camera man to get back.

Well, sure the players were shocked. They usually don’t see things fall to the ground unless they’ve first been dropped by Terrell Owens.

Thanks: PFT

Photo: Getty Images

Because the Cowboys are the Cowboys, the media will claim that their implosion was the biggest choke job of the NFL season. And, to be fair, the collapse of Romo and company was Hindenburg-esque. But was it the worst?

The Broncos, Bucs, Jets and Redskins can lay claim to the title as well, each team providing their own take on a late-season collapse. Let’s break down the candidates, in alphabetical order.

Dallas Cowboys — At 3-0, the Cowboys were the toast of the NFL (even if some prescient souls warned of an impending collapse). A mid-season malaise coincided with an injury to Tony Romo’s pinkie, but Dallas righted the ship and entered December at 8-4. With a huge road win against the Steelers seemingly in the bag, it looked like the Cowboys would coast into the playoffs as a favorite. But after a thrilling fourth quarter drive by Pittsburgh tied the score, Romo threw a crippling interception that was returned for a touchdown and the Cowboys collapse had begun. They lost three of four to finish the year, a stretch that includes yesterday’s stinker in Philly.

Denver Broncos — Denver held a seemingly-insurmountable four-game lead over the Chargers on December 3. The only way the Broncos could lose the division is if the team lost four straight while San Diego won four straight. We all know what happened. To be fair, Denver was never all that good in the first place. Or good at all.

New York Jets — Earlier today, MJD referred to Brett Favre’s recent play as reminiscent of Bubby Brister in 1995. That’s pretty insulting … for Brister. Bretty and the Jets were 8-3 and finished the season with five winnable games, three of which should have been gimmies: vs. Denver, at San Francisco, at Seattle. The Jets lost all three, only sneaking in a win against Buffalo. By the time they took the field yesterday, they were eliminated from playoff competition.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers — The Bucs get my vote, and it’s not even close. They make Tony Romo look like Joe Montana. Jon Gruden’s squad was 9-3 before losing three games to drop to 9-6 headed into yesterday. That wasn’t too appalling; the Bucs were never as good as their 9-3 mark would suggest, so that 9-6 record seemed to even things out. Plus, those three games were all tough. But all Tampa had to do in the final weekend was beat the Oakland Raiders … at home. Again, all they had to do was beat the Oakland Raiders … at home. Instead, they lost - to the Oakland Raiders - capping the year with four consecutive defeats.

Washington Redskins — Washington’s choke isn’t in the forefront of most people’s minds, as the Redskins were essentially eliminated from playoff competition back in week 15. But don’t underestimate the collapse that took place in the Nation’s Capital though. The only way it could have been worse is if Jim Zorn had hired Sarah Palin as offensive coordinator. At 6-2 the ‘Skins looked primed to make a playoff run. They were in the top-five on many power rankings and Jim Zorn was a candidate for Coach of the Year. During the season’s second half, though, Washington reversed that record, finishing 2-6 to cap an 8-8 record after two egregiously bad losses to Cincinnati and San Francisco.

So what do you think? Which team had the biggest collapse this year?

The Dallas Cowboys failed to cover as a 2.5-point underdog in a 44-6 thrashing at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Philly moves on to play Minnesota (see below) and Dallas will ride off into the offseason.

NFL fans are getting a belated holiday gift from the league today with a whopping 16 games, ten of which have legitimate playoff implications. Plus, thanks to a three-year old rule, CBS and FOX will have dueling doubleheaders this afternoon, which means that most of the country will get to see five games today (including the Sunday night contest on NBC).

In order to sort through the craziness, Shutdown Corner presents a comprehensive guide to the Week 17 action. For an overview of the complete playoff picture, take a look at Yahoo! Sports’ updated guide.

"Luckiest" scheduling break: Dallas playing at 4:15

One week after playing an opponent in their home finale that was hand-picked by Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys got yet another favor from Roger Goodell when their game today was moved to 4:15. Because the Eagles need a lot of help to make the playoffs, there’s a very good possibility that Donovan and company will have already been eliminated by the time their game kicks off in Philly.

The three games that have a direct impact on the Eagles all kickoff at 1:00. A win by Tampa over Oakland would eliminate Philly outright. Even if the Bucs lose, the Eagles would still need either a Minnesota or Chicago to loss to still have a shot at the postseason. Translation: It would be a minor miracle for the Eagles to still be alive for the playoffs by 4:15, which means that Dallas will likely be taking the field against a disinterested bunch who just found out they have no incentive to win.

We’re not suggesting that this was some sort of conspiracy on the part of the NFL to get Dallas into the playoffs, but you’d be naive to think that such a scenario wasn’t even broached when scheduling this week’s kickoff times. I mean, at the least, move the Bucs/Raiders to 4:15 so the Eagles don’t know whether they’re out or not; nobody is going to be watching that game anyway.

Team that needs the most help, but has the best chance of getting said help: Chicago

The fate of the Chicago Bears is linked to the fate of the Minnesota Vikings, and as those teams kickoff at the same time, there will be a lot of scoreboard watching by Chicago fans. However, all it takes for the Bears to get in is a Minnesota loss to the Giants. It would seem that the Giants should be in coasting mode, but seeing as how they won the Super Bowl last year after playing hard in a largely-meaningless (for them) week 17 game against New England, don’t expect New York to roll over for the Vikes.

Best pre-emptive, possibly-unnecessary whining: Patriots fans

Even though they’re fans of a team that won their first Super Bowl thanks to the still-ridiculous tuck rule and got a pass from the media for egregious cheating violations, New England Patriots fans sure do like to complain a lot. They’re already gearing up to whine about how it’s unfair that their 11-5 Patriots will miss the playoffs while an undeserving team from the AFC West plays in January. (They’ll fail to ignore the fact that the Pats played one of the easiest schedules in the NFL.) But the Pats road to the AFC East title isn’t that daunting. All they need to do is beat Buffalo and hope that the Dolphins lose to the Jets. Granted, that Jets game is at 4:15 and the team could be eliminated by then, but since when is Miami a juggernaut that can’t lose to teams it shouldn’t?

Worst place to be a football fan (non-Detroit division): Washington

Arguably, the two biggest games of the day are Miami-New York and Dallas-Philadelphia. Viewers in the D.C. area won’t see either of those games, as absurd NFL rules that classify Washington as a "Baltimore market" bump the battle for the AFC East for the Ravens. And with the Washington Redskins capping their disappointing season at 4:15, there’s no room for Dallas-Philly. Speaking of Dallas …

If a team goes 0-16 and nobody is around to watch it: Detroit at Green Bay Packers

The Detroit Lions quest for immortality will be available in slightly fewer homes than your average Brewers game. The game will only be broadcast to viewers in Michigan, Wisconsin and northern Ohio (I’m jealous of you today, Toledoans). The Giants-Vikings is going out to most of the country, despite the fact that one team has nothing to play for and the other has Tavaris Jackson at quarterback. The Lions game has will have two teams desperately and feebly fighting it out to avoid the ignominy of either becoming the first 0-16 team in history or becoming the first team to ever lose to a team that was one step away from becoming the first 0-16 team ever. FOX executives, why do you think traffic slows down when there’s a car accident? People like seeing wrecks. I imagine you know that already, as you’ve kept Prison Break on the air for four seasons.

What?!: The Falcons can still get a first-round bye

Remember last week when the Carolina Panthers and the Giants were playing for home-field advantage? Didn’t it seem like Carolina had already wrapped the NFC South and the No. 2 seed in the NFC, thereby getting the coveted first-round bye? Apparently not, as Atlanta still has a very good chance to win the NFC South. All they’d need is to beat 2-13 St. Louis and get some help from New Orleans, who plays at home against the aforementioned Panthers. And before you go discounting the Saints, in the NFC South this year, home teams are undefeated in divisional games. Overall, teams in the South have a 26-3 home record.

What?! (Runner-up): The Ravens can still miss the playoffs

When the Baltimore Ravens beat the Cowboys last Saturday night, it seemed like their ticket to the postseason was punched. That wasn’t the case. Baltimore still needs to win today in order to clinch a Wild Card berth. They are playing the lowly Jags, which is maybe why making the playoffs seems pre-ordained. But if the Ravens lose, all it takes is a New England win to bump B’more from the party. It’s not likely, but neither was the Jets losing to Seattle.

Ideal viewing schedule:

1:00 (CBS) — New England at Buffalo

1:00 (FOX) — Detroit at Green Bay (flipping to New York Giants at Minnesota)

4:15 (CBS) — Miami at New York Jets

4:15 (FOX) — Dallas at Philadelphia

With a crucial game against Philly on Sunday, Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo missed some valuable practice time today due to illness.

Dallas is listed at +1.5 and can make the postseason with a win.