It was a day that Tony Romo wanted  to forget. In a wildcard game between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks, Dallas' neophyte quarterback did everything he could to get his team in a position to win. At the end of the day, all he needed to do was hold on to the football and the Cowboys would be looking at a chance at the Super Bowl. Instead, he committed one of the most memorable gaffes in the history of the NFL.

With seven minutes left in the game and the Cowboys leading 20-13, Seattle was on fourth-and-goal at the one-yard line. The Seahawks decided to abandon the field goal and went for the game-tying touchdown; on fourth down, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw an incomplete pass to tight end Will Heller, who hadn't been thrown to all game and was standing out of bounds on the play.

Dallas took over at their goal line with the intention of running out the clock. Romo's first pass of the series was a completion to receiver Terry Glenn, who then had the ball slapped free by cornerback Kelly Jennings. The ball bounced into the end zone, and both Julian Peterson and Lofa Tatupa of Seattle tried to deflect the ball inbounds. The Seahawks were initially given a touchdown after Michael Boulware appeared to recover it, but upon further review, the play was ruled a safety.

On first-and-10 a few minutes later, and with the Seahawks now trailing 20-15, Hasselbeck found a wide-open Jerramy Stevens in the middle of the field for a 37-yard TD. The score gave Seattle a 21-20 lead -- their first one since the opening quarter. They failed on their subsequent two-point conversion and gave Dallas the ball back with just over four minutes remaining.

The Cowboys future rested in the arm of rookie Pro Bowler Tony Romo, who had replaced Drew Bledsoe as their starting QB midway through the season. Bledsoe watched from the sidelines as the Cowboys moved down field, in large part to a 35-yard run by Julius Jones that placed Dallas at Seattle's 11. Jones ran for 112 yards and thoroughly outplayed Seattle running back Shawn Alexander, the reigning MVP, who produced just 69 yards.

Dallas failed to move the chains and on fourth-and-1, Martin Gramatica came on to attempt the potential game-winning field goal from just 19 yards away. Gramatica had already made two field goals, including a 50-yarder, and would now be kicking from within extra-point territory. But with 1:20 ledt on the clock, the snap to win the game was bobbled by Romo, who was the holder on the field goal unit. Romo frantically picked up the ball and scrambled to the left end of the field, where he was tackled by Jordan Babineaux before he could reach either the first down marker or the end zone.

(Romo sulks after botching the potential game-winner. Photo by John Froschauer, AP Photos)

With Dallas still possessing timeouts, Seattle couldn't fully run out the clock, and after a horrific punt that put the Cowboys near the middle of the field, Romo still had one more shot at redemption. However his Hail Mary fell incomplete as time expired, meaning the Seahawks had won. The Dallas players sulked into the locker room, knowing they had given away a sure win.

"I know how hard everyone in that locker room worked to get themselves in position to win that game today and for it to end like that, and for me to be the cause is very tough to swallow right now," Romo said after the game. "I take responsibility for messing up at the end there. That’s my fault. I cost the Dallas Cowboys a playoff win, and it’s going to sit with me a long time."

Dallas could look at this game and wonder what could have been, since Seattle would push the eventual NFC champion Bears to overtime the following week.

While Romo was largely blamed for the loss, there was plenty of blame to go round. Terrell Owens -- who had referred to Seattle's defense as "guys off the street" -- was nonexistent in the contest, producing just two receptions for 26 yards. And had Terry Glenn protected the ball better, and deprived the Seahawks from scoring eight points out of it, the Cowboys still would've been in control. Still, all the focus was put on Tony Romo, whose botched snap had expelled his team from the playoffs. Not long after the game, Cowboys coach Bill Parcells resigned, allowing Wade Phillips to take his place the following year.

The following season, Dallas gave Romo a six-year, $65 million deal -- solidifying their faith that he was their quarterback of the future.