So what did Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo say to the Seattle Seahawks defensive end whose sack caused the fractured bone in his back?
"You take care of the NFC West, we will see yall in the playoffs."
Those were the words of an optimistic Romo via text message to Seattle's Cliff Avril.
The Seahawks defender left voice messages and text messages to the Cowboys quarterback after he learned what was initially announced as a non-injury turned into a compression fracture of the L1 vertebrae.
"I hit him up to see how he was doing and to let him know it wasn't intentional," Avril told the Star-Telegram Friday. "He hit me back saying it was football and it was a freak accident. He started joking and saying 'You take care of the NFC West and we will see you in the playoffs.' "
Romo is out possibly eight to 10 weeks and could be placed on the injured reserve designated for return to start the season.
The situation was a nightmare for Cowboys fans who have turned into "Twitter thugs" on social media with threats and constant harassment of Avril for six consecutive days.
"It finally died down the last day or two but it was a good six straight days," Avril said with a chuckle. "I got a couple of hundred mentions, people talking reckless. If they see me in the street they are going to fight me. A bunch of Twitter thugs."
"It was a football play. I was trying to get the ball out. It was a freak accident. I didn't think it was that crazy. It was an unfortunate situation. As pros we respect each other, we are not trying to hurt each other and put you out."
