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Cowboys beat Dolphins on Bailey's late FG

Nov 25, 2011 - 2:12 AM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Dan Bailey kicked a 28-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Dallas Cowboys to a 20-19 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving.

Tony Romo overcame a pair of first-quarter interceptions to throw two touchdown passes to Laurent Robinson for Dallas (7-4), which has won four games in row and sits a half-game ahead of the New York Giants for first place in the NFC East.

Romo, who improved to 5-0 on the holiday as a starting quarterback, completed 22-of-34 tosses for 226 yards.

Matt Moore finished with 288 yards and one touchdown on 19-of-32 passing for the Dolphins (3-8), who were looking to win four games in a row for the first time since closing the 2008 season with five consecutive victories.

"We played really, really hard the entire football game. [Dallas] made some plays at the end," said Miami head coach Tony Sparano.

Miami opened the second half with a time-consuming drive, but wound up settling for a Shayne Graham 27-yard field goal. The Dolphins found the end zone on their next possession after a Dallas punt.

Moore converted a crucial third-and-13 from his own 23-yard line with a 41- yard completion to Brian Hartline. Two plays later, Brandon Marshall caught a 35-yard TD pass with Dallas cornerback Terence Newman draped around him to put the Dolphins up 16-10 with 3:54 to play in the third quarter.

The Cowboys regained the lead on its next drive, one that featured Romo completing a pass on three different occasions while on the verge of being sacked. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Romo hit a streaking Robinson in stride in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown.

Miami then put together another minute-munching drive after it appeared they were going to punt. The Dolphins were stopped on third-and-4 from their own 38, but an illegal contact penalty negated a sack and moved the chains.

Davone Bess made a one-handed grab over the middle for a 24-yard gain on third-and-10, setting the Dolphins up at the Dallas 33. Miami marched to the three, but Moore threw behind Hartline, who had the ball glance off his fingertips, on third down. The Dolphins went back on top at 19-17 when Graham drilled a 23-yarder with 7:14 to play.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Cowboys got the ball back with 2:59 remaining. Beginning from his own 36, Romo hooked up with Jason Witten for a 23-yard catch-and-run. After another short toss to Witten, Romo consistently handed the ball off to DeMarco Murray, whose multiple runs set up Bailey for the game-winning kick.

"I thought it was a good illustration of the will that our football team has," said Dallas head coach Jason Garrett.

The Dolphins picked off Romo two times in the first quarter, but produced only a 26-yard Graham field goal.

After Graham missed a 47-yarder wide left, Bailey was good from 32 yards to tie the game with 4:38 left in the second quarter.

Moore mishandled a snap late in the first half and DeMarcus Ware recovered the fumble for Dallas at the Miami five-yard line. The turnover led to a Robinson touchdown.

Graham then made a 28-yard attempt to trim Miami's deficit to 10-6 at the break.

Game Notes

Romo improved to 19-2 in November for his career...Dallas is now 28-15-1 on Thanksgiving, while Miami fell to 5-2...Robinson, who had 79 yards on seven receptions, has caught at least one touchdown pass in five straight games...Murray gained 87 yards on 22 carries...Marshall caught five passes for 103 yards...Reggie Bush paced Miami's rushing attack with 61 yards on 16 carries.