SEATTLE -- There was a time, however briefly, when Seattle was a nice place for Tony Romo to visit.
It was the first place where Bill Parcells truly tested Romo to see whether he had the mettle to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. It was only a preseason game on Aug. 12, 2006, but Romo not only started the game against the Seattle Seahawks but went the distance.
He completed 19 of 25 passes for 235 yards and a 9-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton in the Dallas Cowboys' 13-3 win.
A little more than two months later and with the Cowboys sitting at 3-3, Parcells replaced Drew Bledsoe with Romo.
Romo-mentum and Romo-mania were born. Romo has become the franchise leader in touchdown passes, been selected to four Pro Bowls and been the reason the Cowboys have been in contention when he has started and finished a season.
But things changed on Jan. 6, 2007.
That's the night a potential game-winning field goal attempt slipped through Romo's hands on the snap. The Cowboys lost 21-20, and it was the last game Parcells coached.
Romo's next return to Seattle came in Week 2 of the 2012 season, and the Cowboys were embarrassed 27-7.
The 20-point differential was the worst loss of the season. It started OK, with the Cowboys gaining 112 total yards in the first quarter, but they had just 184 yards in the final three quarters combined, with 51 of those coming in the final minute of the game.
Romo completed 23 of 40 passes for 251 yards and had a touchdown pass to Miles Austin, but nothing else.
The 2014 visit to CenturyLink Field was one of the Cowboys' finest moments. The 30-23 win triggered the Cowboys' 12-4 record.
But Romo left that game because of torn cartilage in his ribs. In the first quarter, he was drilled by linebacker Bobby Wagner after letting a pass go. Seattle did not give him much time to catch his breath because the Seahawks returned a block punt for a touchdown.
Romo slowly jogged on the field and directed an 80-yard drive that ended in a Gavin Escobar touchdown catch.
Romo had trouble breathing for much of the rest of the game, but he was flawless, completing 21 of 32 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
Then there was Thursday. Three plays into what was supposed to be the dress rehearsal for the regular season, Romo took a shot to his back by defensive end Cliff Avril as he was attempting to slide.
"At the moment when you go down, you crunch so your back gets squished, I guess you could say," Romo said in describing the feeling of the hit. "You almost feel a sensation as if someone gave you a stinger in your shoulder. It just feels hot for a second. That dissipates after a minute and you're OK, all of those things you felt before with back injuries, those are all fine. Then your strength comes back and you're, like, OK. It just takes a little bit."
Romo attempted to return to the game, but coach Jason Garrett opted to hold out the veteran.
Given the way Romo's trips to Seattle have been, it was perhaps the wisest decision Garrett has ever made.