IRVING, TEXAS - Three drives, three scores. The way the Dallas Cowboys were treating the winless Cincinnati Bengals, it looked as if they would have all afternoon to work out their kinks, especially whatever's going on between Tony Romo and Terrell Owens.

But these Cowboys don't do things the easy way.

They let a 17-point lead shrivel to one, then had to break up a 2-point conversion that could have tied it midway through the fourth quarter. Then, in the final minutes, they caught a break when a pass went through Miles Austin's hands at the 1 and right into Patrick Crayton's hands in the end zone, pushing Sunday's winning margin to 31-22.

Even Dallas coach Wade Phillips said winning "doesn't make up for everything," not when the Cowboys go from losing a division game at home to nearly blowing this one. And not when Owens catches only two passes, then delivers a postgame statement and leaves without answering any questions.

"This was a great team win," T.O. said. "It was frustrating out there, but I kept with it. My teammates stuck with it. ... God used me today for his glory. Reality is where glory resides. That's all I've got to say."

Owens went from having 20 balls come his way last week to having fewer than five this time -- two catches for 67 yards, including a 57-yarder that proved to be the winning touchdown, and a run for 8 more yards. Even team owner Jerry Jones visited T.O. on the bench during the third quarter to make sure everything was OK.

"I was just reminding him how important a player and an important part he is to this team winning," Jones said.

Romo wasn't that sharp, going 14-of-23 for a season-low 176 yards. He also had a fumble and an interception.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer missed the previous game with a sore throwing elbow and opened this game by throwing an interception. It was a deflection to linebacker Greg Ellis, a former UNC star, and it was the first of the season for the Cowboys, ending a franchise record-tying drought of five games.

The Bengals fell to 0-5 for the first time since 2002 (0-7), when they finished 2-14.

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