IRVING, Texas -- A stats-eyed view of the Dallas Cowboys' 20-17 overtime win against the Houston Texans from ESPN's Stats & Information:
Withstanding the heat: Tony Romo's two longest -- and arguably most important -- pass plays came when he was put under pressure by the Texans' defense. Romo hit Terrance Williams for a 43-yard score to give the Cowboys a 10-7 lead and then hit a 37-yard pass to Dez Bryant in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal.
He did a better job against the pressure Sunday than he did in the first four games.
Lots of drops: The Cowboys nearly were held scoreless in a first half for the first time since the 2011 finale against the New York Giants, but Dan Bailey's 33-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the second quarter got the Cowboys on the board.
The receivers did not help. They dropped four passes in the half. The Cowboys finished with five drops total Sunday after recording one in their first four games.
Running to win: The Cowboys ran the ball on 22 of 32 first down plays Sunday, including 21 rushes for 93 yards by DeMarco Murray. The first-down passing led to big gains on second down as Romo went 15-of-20 for 185 yards on second down.
Different company: With five straight 100-yard games to open the season, Murray finds himself being compared to Jim Brown and O.J. Simpson. They are the only backs to open a season with 100-yard efforts in the first five games and Murray can tie Brown with a sixth next week against the Seattle Seahawks.
But Murray also finds himself in a conversation with Peyton Hillis, too. He had his fourth first-quarter fumble. Hillis was the last player with four lost fumbles in the first quarter for a season, doing it in 2010.
"We've talked about that too much," coach Jason Garrett said of Murray's fumbles, "but he's such a damn good football player. The biggest thing I try to emphasize with him is, 'Let's get people not talking about that, opponents and otherwise, and let's get people talking about how good a player you are,' because he's having a great year for us and doing so many great things."
