The Miami Dolphins (3-8) and Dallas Cowboys (7-4) played what turned out to be a highly competitive game on Thanksgiving 2011, as Dallas edged Miami 20-19 on the game’s final play. Both teams entered on three game win streaks entering this one, and neither of them wanted theirs to end.

Two Tony Romo interceptions in the first quarter to Dolphins’ cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith gave Miami excellent field position, first to their own 42, then to the Dallas 26. However, the Cowboys defense stood their ground and only surrendered a field goal off those turnovers.

The takeaways were certainly a rarity for Miami, who entered the game ranked 31^st in the league in the department with just eight all season. What made them even more surprising was that Romo had gone 128 consecutive throws without an interception until his first on Thursday.

Dallas was extremely effective on the ground early on, as running back DeMarco Murray continued in his recent success accumulating 51 rushing yards over his first ten carries of the game. And despite becoming a non-factor during the middle of the game, Murray was able to gain significant yardage once again on the final drive of the game. Miami maintained its 3-0 lead until a 47 yard missed field goal attempt by Dolphins’ kicker Dan Bailey in the second quarter set up Dallas at its own 38, and eventually led to a Cowboys’ field goal.

Both sides struggled in the first half to finish off drives, even after beginning with good field position. With the exception of the Romo turnovers at the beginning of the game, drives were ending with either field goals or punts. This was the case until Dolphins’ quarterback Matt Moore fumbled a shotgun snap near his own end zone, which was recovered by the Cowboys’ DeMarcus Ware at the 4 with about a minute remaining in the half.

Romo proceeded to throw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Laurent Robinson on a play action fake, making this his fifth straight game with a touchdown reception. It also gave Dallas a 10-3 lead, their first of the game, with 55 seconds remaining in the first half. The Cowboys aspired to go into the tunnel with their one touchdown lead, but Miami added another field goal to end the half and cut the deficit to 10-6.

The second quarter ended quite strangely in comparison to the way the rest of the first half was played. The teams combined to score ten points over the final 61 seconds of the half after only putting up a total of only six over the first 58 minutes and 59 seconds.

Matt Moore led his team out of the locker room on a 70 yard drive, but had to settle for yet another field goal to cut the lead to 10-9. But after forcing a punt they finally got the ball into the end zone to acquire a 17-10 lead after a five play, 74 yard drive concluded with an outstanding 35 yard over the shoulder touchdown reception by wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who was also interfered with on the play.

Tony Romo then decided that it was his turn. The Cowboys covered 77 yards and concluded their drive with another touchdown reception by Robinson to begin the fourth quarter. This one went for 18 yards and gave Dallas a 17-16 lead. The Dolphins then regained the lead with another field goal with 7:14 remaining after starting at their own 19.

Dallas was forced to punt on the following drive, but got the ball back with 2:59 remaining after their defense forced one of their own. The drive began at the Dallas 36 after a 19 yard return from Dez Bryant. The Cowboys handed the ball off to Murray who had some solid carries to put his team into field goal range after a 23 yard completion from Romo to tight end Jason Witten.

Miami ran out of timeouts and Dallas called one with three seconds remaining at the 11 yard line, setting up a 28 yard field goal attempt for rookie kicker Dan Bailey. Bailey, who had made 24 consecutive attempts coming into this one, drilled it right down the middle as time expired to give Dallas a 20-19 victory.

With the victory, Dallas moves into first place in the NFC East after beginning the season just 3-4. Miami, the polar opposite, is one week closer to a great 2012 first round draft pick.

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Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys offense looks like its back to full power and with a solid defense the Cowboys are looking strong. They dominated the Bills in more than convincing fashion with a 44-7 victory. With the Cowboys schedule getting even easier, Tony Romo torched the Bills defense on their first four series all ending in touchdowns.

Terence Newman added two interceptions, one which he ran back for the score and the Cowboys cruised to victory. This was the second straight victory for Dallas who moves to 5-4 and one game behind the Giants. The difference is the Giants have one of the hardest remaining schedules and the Cowboys have one of the easiest. The Cowboys next three opponents have a combined record of 6-18.

“We needed a game like this,” tight end Jason Witten said. “This needs to be the foundation of what lies ahead for this team.” This marks the most points scored by a Cowboys team since 2007 when now-coach Jason Garrett had his first game as offensive coordinator.

The Cowboys have been benefiting from more balance on offense and much of that is thanks to the emergence of rookie running back DeMarco Murray. He rushed for 135 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown while contributing 35 yards receiving on 6 catches out of the backfield.

Murray has been helping to create space in the secondary by creating problems for opposing defenses. ”They can’t load the box on us and they can’t double-team wide receivers,” Murray said. This was the first game Romo played without a special vest protection for the broken rib he suffered back in Week 2.

Romo put the Cowboys up 21-0 with a 34 yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant, and a 58 and 5 yard passes to Laurent Robinson. He hit on his first 13 throws and finished 23 of 26 and 270 yards. His completion percentage, 88.5, set a franchise record for a single game. Though the offense was somewhat shutdown after those first scoring drives, they protected the lead with no interceptions from Romo and the offensive line doing their job and allowing no sacks for the second straight week.

“We are learning a little bit about who we are and what we can do and what we are capable of doing,” Romo said. Dallas handed Buffalo its second straight beat down and third loss in four games. They didn’t do much right in this game and need to turn things around quickly to stay in the playoff hunt.

We will regroup and continue to work to get better,” Gailey said. “But you have to go do it. Nobody’s going to give you anything in this league.” Ryan Fitzpatrick had another forgettable day. He was 20 of 31 for 146 yards a touchdown and three interceptions. The touchdown was a 3 yarder to David Nelson. The Bills were only able to convert 2 of 7 on third down.

After signing his new 6 year $59 million contract Fitzpatrick has had two bad games. ”We put in some good practice time and really thought we’d come out here and play well,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s hard to even think ahead right now because of how embarrassing that loss was.”

The Cowboys forced four total turnovers getting a fumble from Jackson, his second of the season. The lone bright spot was Jackson who racked up 114 yards on 13 carries. The Bills look to turn things around and avoid three straight losses with a trip to Miami next Sunday to face the Dolphins who are suddenly the winners of two straight, while the Cowboys head to Washington to face the Redskins losers of five straight.

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The Dallas Cowboys were able to capitalize on their scoring chances in the second quarter to get the 23-13 victory on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, securing their fourth win of the season. The stars of the game were in the kicking teams, with most of the points in the game coming off the boots of Cowboys Dan Bailey and Seattle’s Steven Hauschka.

Bailey was the first to score for Dallas, putting a 20-yard field goal through the uprights with five minutes left in the first quarter. Hauschka tied up the game with a 45-yard field goal for Seattle with four seconds left in the first quarter. The second quarter ended just like the first, with Bailey and Hauschka kicking field goals to keep the game tied at six points going into the second half.

The only touchdown to happen in the third quarter came off a 33-yard pass from Tony Romo to Jason Witten to give Dallas a seven point lead going into the fourth quarter. Laurent Robinson caught a six yard pass from Tony Romo five minutes into the fourth quarter, giving the Cowboys a 20-6 lead. Bailey kicked a 42-yard field goal two minutes later, giving him a total of 11 points for the game.

The Seahawks had the final say in the game with Marshawn Lynch running four yards for a touchdown with six minutes left in the game. With their fourth win of the season, the Cowboys are still questionable as to whether they will make the postseason. ”You can’t just hover around .500,” tight end Jason Witten said in an interview with Fox Sports. ”You need to make a run and make a push to stay in the hunt.”

The Cowboys (4-4) stay at home to face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, with the Seattle Seahawks (2-6) travelling back home to welcome the Baltimore Ravens.

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