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Romo helps Cowboys top Redskins

Nov 17, 2008 - 6:26 AM By Tim Hipps PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LANDOVER, Maryland (Ticker) -- Tony Romo returned from injury and turned to running back Marion Barber to help carry the Dallas Cowboys to a 14-10 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday in a battle of NFC East rivals.

After missing the last three games with an injured pinkie on his throwing hand, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback completed 19-of-27 passes for 198 yards - including a 25-yard strike to backup rookie tight end Martellus Bennett for the winning touchdown with 10:36 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Marion Barber rushed 24 times for 114 yards and scored a two-yard touchdown run for Dallas (6-4), which moved into a tie with Washington (6-4) for second-place in the division - three games behind the New York Giants (9-1).

"That was one of the most important ball games we've played this year. We stressed the importance level all week," Romo said. "I told the guys, 'The time is now. Just show me your game.' We had to go out there and show each other and show ourselves that we can play good football and play good enough to win against a really good football team on the road. This is a tough environment. It's a tough place to play and win."

"I did some things I was pretty happy with tonight coming back after that long (layoff)."

Barber sealed the victory by carrying the ball 10 times for 40 yards and hauling in a nine-yard reception on the Cowboys' final drive that consumed the final 6:40 of the game. He finished with a team-high six receptions for 39 yards.

"He was incredible," Romo said of Barber. "Especially with the wind swirling out there tonight, you knew there wasn't going to be a shootout out there when you stepped on the field. Any time that Marion can trip the clock and the O-line can do as well as they did - I tell you what, they played a great football game tonight. They did awesome. I'm very proud of those guys putting forth the effort that they did.

Romo, who wore a splint on his injured finger, said it was difficult to grip the ball and while he admitted that he was rusty, he was happy with the performance.

"You're going to have some throws where you don't get a good grip on the ball," Romo said. "I threw a slant behind T.O. by a good yard or two. I just couldn't get the grip on the ball. You try and adjust with your shoulders on the throw, but I just didn't adjust enough, obviously. It's going to happen. I'm disappointed that it did, but at the same point, I did some things I was pretty happy with tonight coming back after that long (layoff)."

DeAngelo Hall, making his debut with the Redskins, intercepted Romo's errant throw behind Owens. Two possessions later, linebacker Rocky McIntosh made his first career interception against Romo on another pass intended for Owens. This one, however, was not the quarterback's fault. Washington cornerback Carlos Rogers lowered the boom on Owens and the ball squirted out of the wideout's hands and into the waiting arms of McIntosh.

Owens applauded Romo's return.

"Everybody is getting involved and Tony is doing a great job handling the defensive coverages and getting the ball off to those guys," Owens said. "He did a great job today. We're just going to keep working hard and getting open for him."

Romo, who avoided getting sacked, did not realize how much he missed the game until the layoff.

"I was excited," he said. "I just missed playing ball. It's fun to get back out there and play. This gave me a chance to miss the game quite a bit, and it's so much fun. It's even more fun when you win. ... We treated this like a playoff game in a lot of ways, and I was excited to come up here and win.

"The times when you can't grab the ball is difficult it's difficult to swallow because you wish you were 100 percent accurate all the time, but it's a lot closer than I imagined it would be. I'm excited because it will be better next week. The adrenaline of the game is a great equalizer when it comes to being banged up and hurt. I always felt like if I could kind of do it during the week, I'd know during the game I would be able to just because of the adrenaline rush. Your mind wanders and you go with it."

Jason Campbell, who completed 22-of-34 passes for 162 yards with an interception, tossed a two-yard touchdown pass to fullback Mike Sellers to give the Redskins a 7-0 lead with 7:32 remaining in the first quarter.

Sellers' first touchdown of the season capped a 10-play, 49-yard drive, highlighted by his 13-yard reception to the Cowboys' 11-yard line. Clinton Portis, a game-time decision who finished with 68 yards on 15 carries, ran the ball to the two-yard line.

"That was a hard-fought battle down to the end," Campbell said. "Dallas was really playing as hard as they could and you could tell they felt like their season was on the line by the way they were playing. Now I feel like it's on us.

"The first part of the game we were in a rhythm, but once we sat for awhile, I felt like we got out of rhythm and never really got back to the rhythm that we had at the beginning of the game."

Terrell Owens had five receptions for 38 yards and Roy Williams had three receptions for 36 yards for Dallas.