Cowboys-Chiefs: Miles Austin Has Career Day, Salvages Ugly Win for Dallas

Miles Austin had a franchise-record 250 yards receiving, and his 60-yard touchdown gave the Cowboys an ugly win on an ugly day in Kansas City.

The Cowboys once again shot themselves in the foot and had to overcome their own mistakes.

Patrick Crayton muffed a punt that led to a Chiefs field goal. A bad exchange between Andre Gurode and Tony Romo was recovered by Chiefs safety Mike Brown, which led to a Chiefs TD. The Cowboys also racked up 13 penalties for 90 yards.

Despite the mistakes, the Cowboys offense moved the ball often as Romo and the running game came back from 10 down in the second half. Romo was 20-of-34 for 351 yards and two TDs. For the first time this season, Romo didn't complete a single pass to a running back. The Cowboys' offensive line also kept Romo upright as he was sacked only once.

Tashard Choice did the ground work with eight carries for 92 yards, including a 36-yard TD that cut the Chiefs' lead to three points at the end of the third quarter. Marion Barber had 15 carries for 53 yards, but for the second week in a row he wasn't a factor in the second half.

In the fourth quarter Nick Folk hit a 28-yard field goal that tied the game at 13, and after Jay Ratliff jumped over two linemen to block Ryan Succop's field goal attempt, Romo hit Austin for a 59-yard catch and run for a TD.

The Cowboys' defense couldn't hold a lead with less than two minutes in the fourth for the third time this season, however, as Matt Cassel (23-of-41, 262 yards, and two TDs) drove the Chiefs down the field and on 4th-and-7 hit Dwayne Bowe in the middle of the end zone with a 16-yard strike to tie the score.

In overtime both teams received the ball once and punted. On the Cowboys' second possession of overtime, Romo hit Austin on a buttonhook route, and Austin broke two tackles and ran 60 yards to put an end to the game.

The Cowboys' defense sacked Cassel four times, including DeMarcus Ware getting his first two sacks of the season. Linebacker Keith Brooking and defensive end Igor Olshansky were also invited to the sack party.

The run defense held Larry Johnson to less than two yards a carry on his 21 carries, and backup Jamaal Charles had three carries for nine yards. Cassel had the Chiefs' best day in the running game as he scrambled four times for 28 yards.

The Cowboys won, and that's the main reason you play the game, but heading into a bye week, the Cowboys shouldn't be happy with this win; they played sloppily and only came back because they were facing inferior talent.

The Giants put up 40 on the Raiders, and the Eagles put up 33 on the Buccaneers, but the Cowboys had to fight and scratch because of their own mistakes to win against the Chiefs.

The Bottom line is they're still undisciplined and unfocused, and until that changes, consistency and winning won't stick around in Dallas.