Former New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora openly ranked Dallas Cowboys legend Tony Romo ahead of some NFL all-timers as his toughest career matchups. This includes first-ballot HOFs like Tom Brady and former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

Umenyiora sat down for an interview with RJ Ochoa of Blogging The Boys to discuss his playing days. The two-time Super Bowl champion gave the ultimate respect to Romo.

"Tony Romo was the most difficult quarterback we ever faced," Umenyiora told Ochoa when asked about his opinion on Romo on May 26. "He was No. 1. I rate Romo as the best quarterback we ever played against. And we played against the GOAT, Tom Brady, the greatest of all time. Played against Peyton Manning."

Umenyiora lined up against all those icons. He was a mainstay in the Giants' defense that beat Tom Brady, who already won three Super Bowls by then, in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.

He also faced Peyton Manning and the potent Indianapolis Colts offense in multiple regular-season games in the NFL. This was before Manning signed with the Broncos as an unrestricted free agent.

Manning accumulated 54,828 passing yards and threw for 399 touchdowns in 13 seasons in Indianapolis.

"But for me personally, my level of respect for Tony Romo, having faced him year in and year out, such an underrated football player," Umenyiora explicitly added during the interview. "People don’t understand the type of headache he was as a player. They don’t give him enough credit."

Over his 13-year career with Dallas, Romo put up some massive production, racking up 34,183 passing yards and 248 touchdowns.

He finished his career with a high 65.3% completion percentage and an elite 97.1 career passer rating.

Umenyiora is not the first Giants defensive player to praise Romo. Back in 2012, safety Antrel Rolle opened up about the quarterback's impact.

"He's an excellent quarterback in my eyes," Rolle said. "I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. When I watch film on him each and every night, some of the throws he makes, it still stuns me."

More than a decade later, Romo still holds the same place.

Looking At Tony Romo's Dominant Numbers Against the Giants

The hard facts definitely back up Umenyiora's heavy praise. Across 20 career regular-season matchups against New York, Romo built a solid 11-9 winning record, according to StatMuse.

He completed 67.5 percent of his passes against the Giants, accumulating 4,639 yards, 41 touchdowns, and a stellar 100.7 passer rating.

Romo routinely reserved his most explosive performances for the Giants compared to other NFC East division rivals.

Despite playing a similar number of games, he racked up over 1,100 more passing yards against New York than against the Philadelphia Eagles, and over 600 more yards than in his games against the Washington Commanders.

The defensive star noted that rings heavily skew fan perception. Osi believes that if Romo had won a ring in his career, which he should have, fans would view him differently.

"But without a shadow of a doubt, one of the all-time great NFL quarterbacks, and they need to put a lot more respect on that man’s name," Osi firmly concluded his point.

Umenyiora insisted that frontline defenders view the signal-caller completely differently than general football fans do.

What do you think of Tony Romo's legacy, who never won a Super Bowl ring? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Nisarga Aseem Barkule

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar