Cowboys stay in the hunt with ugly win

• Cowboys get back to .500 with back-to-back wins
• Dez Bryant pulls in 12 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown
• Dallas rallies from 13-0 first-half deficit

ARLINGTON, Texas – The feeling of an uninspiring win and the prospect of another football game in four days time has Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett ready to move on.

Garrett's enjoyment of a 23-20 overtime win vs. the Cleveland Browns ended before the ink dried on the box score.

"A Hall of Fame pitcher told me a long time ago, 'You have to somehow win a game when you don't have your best stuff,'" Garrett said. "I don't think we had our best stuff today. But we found a way. We are going to enjoy this for another ten minutes or so, and then get on to the Redskins."

Sunday's game was one to forget for everyone involved. There was a first-half offensive quagmire, a late special teams breakdown, and enough penalty flags to fill a 10-gallon hat. The home team barely trumped the previously 2-7 Cleveland Browns, but they're .500 again, and winners of two games in a row for this first time since last November.

"How you get there sometimes is not how you want to get there," says Cowboys defensive tackle Marcus Spears. "But when you put it in that column as a W, it looks a lot better than an L.

"Two weeks ago, we were sitting here at 3-5, now we're 5-5. So you don't think we're going to take this one?"

The 6-4, 315-pound linemen laughs hard at the idea. His are the only laughs heard after a weird day for the Cowboys. Overtime wasn't in the pregame plans, especially with a pending Thursday visit from the Washington Redskins, fresh off a rout of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cowboys needed a last-second Dan Bailey field goal to lift them from the three-point hole produced by a Brandon Weeden touchdown pass with 1:10 remaining. Weeden got help on the drive when John Phillips horse-collared Browns returner Josh Cribbs on a punt kicked from deep in Dallas territory.

A Browns three-and-out on the second possession of overtime and Dwayne Harris' 20-yard punt return helped set up a 38-yard Bailey field goal for the win, putting a merciful end to a game which included 21 penalties. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo pulled himself out of a first-half slump to pass for 313 yards and a touchdown to Dez Bryant.

If there is one positive takeaway for Dallas, it's the improved play of Bryant, who was a nightmare for a Browns defense which was without top cornerback Joe Haden due to an abdominal injury. Bryant drew multiple pass interference calls and caught 12 passes for 145 yards. He was far and away the top target for Romo, who completed 35 of his 50 passes.

"We've always known that if you can get him going, get him hot enough, get him catching some balls, that he can really catch fire," said team owner Jerry Jones. "And I think we had some of that."

On the other hand, the negatives were numerous. The Dallas pass rush was largely nonexistent for the first three quarters as the Browns jumped out to a 13-0 lead while Weeden enjoyed ample time to survey the field. By the end of the day, Dallas managed a couple sacks, with DeMarcus Ware extending his streak of games with at least a half a sack to eight.

On offense, an already limping line suffered an ankle injury to tackle Tyron Smith. Garrett wasn't sure of the severity of his injury after the game.

Several Cowboys were determined to not let those issues linger over the next three days of prep.

"I have a short memory," said Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr. "The game is over now. Time is ticking while I'm standing here right now. It's going to be a tough game against a divisional opponent."

If the clock is ticking, Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III is holding the stopwatch.

Thanks to his four-touchdown, near-perfect passing performance in a dismantling of the Michael Vick-less Eagles, the NFC East picture has a clear pecking order. The New York Giants (6-4) have the lead, with the Cowboys (5-5) and Redskins (4-6) trailing.

Garrett is aware of the challenges Griffin poses to his defense, though Thursday's Thanksgiving slate will be the first meeting between the two.

"He's a great football player," Garrett says. "He's a great, great athlete. You see that on tape and hes certainly a very mature quarterback at this stage in his career. So, we are certainly going to have our hands full."