National Football League

5 thoughts: Not pretty, but Cowboys find way to improve to 4-1

Published Oct. 5, 2014 4:31 p.m. ET

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ARLINGTON -- It was a nail-bitter, but the Dallas Cowboys found a way to hang on in the end. Despite a late comeback attempt by Houston, the Cowboys made the key play in overtime, outlasting the Texans 20-17.

Here are my thoughts on the Cowboys' fourth consecutive win of the season Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

1.) They found a way to win. The Cowboys won't get any style points, but that doesn't matter. They start a season 4-1 for the 15th time in franchise history. Dallas made the playoffs in all but two of those previous seasons, missing in 1984 and 2008. The Eagles and Cowboys appear to be the front-runners in the NFC East. Super Bowl winning quarterback Kurt Warner gave his take on those two before the game on NFL Network.

"Right now because of all these other factors â they're running the ball [and] they're taking the pressure off the quarterback like Philly did last year," Warner said. "To me, Dallas is the most complete team and I feel more comfortable with them as a whole than I do with Philadelphia right now."

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2.) One of the biggest plays of the game came with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter and the Cowboys offense looking stagnant. Tony Romo was about to be sacked by the NFL's best defensive player, J.J. Watt, and dropped for a significant loss. But Romo rolled away from Watt with his signature spin move, buying time for Terrance Williams to separate deep down the middle of the field. Romo put a beautiful pass right on the money for a 43-yard touchdown. That play gave the Cowboys some momentum and kick-started the offense. Romo was 28-of-41 for 324 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Probably smart to keep sitting him during Wednesday practices.

3.) There were several key contributors for the Cowboys on Sunday. On defense, Orlando Scandrick had an early interception, J.J. Wilcox made a few nice stops in the defensive backfield, Rolando McClain continued to swarm the middle of the field and Jeremy Mincey came up with some key pressure in overtime. On offense, Cole Beasley made several nice intermediate catches to move the chains, Jason Witten had a big grab down the middle of the field to set up the Williams TD and Dez Bryant contributed a key fourth-quarter score and the biggest play of OT, a 37-yard jumpball on third and 8. On Special teams, Dan Bailey came up with the game-winner after missing late in regulation. I have a feeling Jason Garrett is going to be happy with all three phases.

4.) DeMarco Murray fumbled in the first quarter for the fifth time in his last six games and it didn't have much effect on the game. Murray wasn't benched and he had another 100-yard game on the ground. Murray carried 31 times for 136 yards. The fumbles coupld become an issue, but they haven't cost the Cowboys up to this point. He's running as well as anyone in football, keep giving him the ball.

5.) It pays to play against below average quarterbacks. St. Louis' Austin Davis, Tennessee's Jake Locker and Houston's Ryan Fitzpatrick can make a defense look really good. The Cowboys have capitalized against those QBs. NFL teams must capitalize on their opportunities. So far, the Cowboys have.

Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota