Dallas fades in 4th but wins 4th straight
ARLINGTON, Texas — From the ground, Tony Romo raised his right arm to celebrate a long touchdown pass after he escaped what looked like a sure sack for J.J. Watt.
Then, when the 34-year-old quarterback made another off-balance throw under pressure in overtime, Dez Bryant’s spectacular catch helped offset the Dallas Cowboys’ latest fourth-quarter meltdown.
Bryant’s jump-ball grab set up Dan Bailey’s winning 49yard field goal, and the Cowboys bounced back from blowing a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter Sunday to beat the Houston Texans 20-17.
“Just got to come down with it, come down with it,” said Bryant, who had game highs with nine catches and 85 yards. “That’s something I always tell Tony. If the ball is in the air, I’m going to try my best to come down with it.”
After the Texans scored twice in the last 2:27 of regulation, Bailey’s miss from 53 yards on the final play ended a franchise record streak of 30 straight made field goals.
“We had to go down and basically win the game twice,” said Romo, who threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. “You just put your work hat on and go out and execute.”
The Cowboys (4-1) won their fourth straight for the first time since 2011. They next visit Super Bowl champion Seattle, their only road game in a stretch of six games.
The Texans (3-2) rallied behind Arian Foster, who had 157 yards rushing and a tying 1-yard score with 41 seconds left in regulation. Foster had put Houston ahead 7-3 in the third quarter with two carries for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Romo answered, as Watt closed in on him, with his 43-yard scoring pass to Terrance Williams, and made it 17-7 early in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard pass to Bryant.
“Football is a brutal game,” Watt said. “It’s brutal on your body. It’s brutal on your emotions. To fight back the way we did, to show that resilience, it was good to see. But at the end of the day, we lost the game.”
NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray had 136 yards for Dallas, his fifth straight 100yard game to start the season.
After the Cowboys stopped the Texans on the first possession of overtime, they were facing 3rd-and-8. Romo unloaded off his back foot to avoid a sack. Bryant reached over Johnathan Joseph on a 37-yard gain to the Houston 31. Bailey’s kick came three plays later.
“Dez, I’ve seen him make it a million times,” said Jason Witten, who became the third tight end in NFL history with 10,000 career yards receiving. “I don’t know that there’s two better people at clutch moments than Tony and him.”