Kathy Willens / Associated Press

Terrell Owens was quiet much of the day, but had a late 57-yard TD reception.

It was over when ...
Tony Romo's pass went through the hands of receiver Miles Austin at the goal line and fortuitously bounced right into the awaiting arms of teammate Patrick Crayton for a touchdown with less than two minutes to go. The score put Dallas up 31-22 and ended any Bengals hopes of pulling off the upset.

Game ball
Cowboys rookie running back Felix Jones showed why he's a threat to score any time he touches the ball with a 33-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-4 in the first quarter. He ultimately finished with 96 yards rushing and his mere presence on the field caused matchup problems for the Bengals.

Key stat
Third-down success proved to be the key difference separating the Cowboys and Bengals. While the Bengals struggled to keep drives going by converting only 6 of 14 third-down attempts, the Cowboys delivered on 9-of-15 and that allowed them to keep the defense rested.

Noteworthy
Bengals RB Chris Perry had his fifth lost fumble of the season in the second half. ... Cedric Benson made his Bengals debut and rushed for 30 yards on 10 carries. ... A week after the Cowboys threw the ball 47 times and ran it only 11 in a loss to the Redskins, they flipped the script and had 38 rushes compared with 23 passes. ... DeMarcus Ware had a sack for the eighth straight game.