Dallas wins on OT kick
ARLINGTON, Texas – Brandon Carr found a way to silence thousands of Terrible Towel-waving Pittsburgh fans at Cowboys Stadium and send the Dallas crowd home happy.
The Cowboys cornerback intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass in overtime, returned it 36 yards to the 1, and Dan Bailey kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 27-24 win over the Steelers on Sunday.
The win pulled the Cowboys (8-6) into a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East with the Giants and Redskins with two games left in the season. Dallas has won five of its last six.
“Those are the plays you dream about in the backyard, making the game-winning interception or touchdown,” Carr said.
The winning kick came after Tony Romo, who broke the 25,000-yard passing milestone earlier in the game, took a knee to put Bailey in better position.
Bailey beat Cincinnati 20-19 last week with a 40-yarder as time expired.
The Steelers (7-7) lost for the fourth time in five games and trail AFC North rival Cincinnati by a game for the second wild-card spot. They host the Bengals next week. Roethlisberger is 0-2 since returning from a three-game absence with shoulder and rib injuries.
“There won’t be any quit from us, especially from me,” Roethlisberger said.
The score was tied 24-all in the final two minutes of regulation. Pittsburgh quickly moved to its 46 after a completion by Roethlisberger and a roughing-the-passer penalty against DeMarcus Ware.
But the Cowboys sacked Roethlisberger on consecutive plays to end the threat.
Roethlisberger was sacked four times and finished 24 of 40 for 339 yards with two TDs and a pick.
Dez Bryant extended his TD streak to six games with a 24-yard score that put Romo over 25,000 yards for his career and gave Dallas a 10-0 lead.
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | 24 |
| Dallas | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | — | 27 |
Dal—FG Bailey 50
Dal—Witten 17 pass from Romo (Bailey kick)
Pit—FG Suisham 32
Pit—Miller 30 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick)
Dal—Bryant 24 pass from Romo (Bailey kick)
Pit—Dwyer 1 run (Suisham kick)
Pit—A.Brown 7 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick)
Dal—Murray 3 run (Bailey kick)
Overtime
Dal—FG Bailey 21
A—95,595.
| Pit | Dal | |
| First downs | 20 | 23 |
| Total Net Yards | 388 | 415 |
| Rushes-yards | 17-69 | 21-87 |
| Passing | 319 | 328 |
| Punt Returns | 3-51 | 2-38 |
| Kickoff Returns | 2-49 | 1-25 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 0-0 | 1-36 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 24-40-1 | 30-42-0 |
| Sacked-Yrds Lost | 4-20 | 1-13 |
| Punts | 6-43.0 | 6-48.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 0-0 | 8-61 |
| Time of Poss. | 27:00 | 34:24 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Pittsburgh, Redman 3-30, Dwyer 9-22, Rainey 3-15, Roethlisberger 2-2. Dallas, Murray 14-81, F.Jones 3-10, Romo 4-(minus 4).
PASSING—Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 24-40-1-339. Dallas, Romo 30-42-0-341.
RECEIVING—Pittsburgh, A.Brown 8-76, Miller 7-92, Wallace 4-95, W.Johnson 2-34, Cotchery 2-28, Redman 1-14. Dallas, Austin 7-79, Witten 5-43, Bryant 4-59, Harris 4-46, Murray 4-31, Hanna 2-45, Beasley 2-14, Vickers 1-15, Ogletree 1-9.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.