For the first time in the 2012 season, the Cowboys came out on the winning end of a nail biter. For at least another four days — until they meet the resurgent Redskins on Thanksgiving Day — the Cowboys' playoff hopes remain alive.

It was a tale of two halves (plus overtime), as the Cowboys offense looked painfully inept for the first 30 minutes and nearly unstoppable for the next 30-plus.

In the end, the Cowboys steered clear of mistakes, got the passing game going, and put up a string of clutch defensive stops against a Cleveland offense that looked far more formidable than their record would indicate. When the game was on the line, these game changers swung the balance in Dallas' favor:

Pass-happy Romo goes on second-half tear
After 30 minutes of play, the Cowboys offense had 68 yards to its name. Jason Garret, reminded once again just how bad his running game is, put the ball in Tony Romo's hands and let him air it out. Two-hundred-and-thirty-nine yards later, Romo showed that he has the ability to carry this team even when everything else is falling apart.

For all the well-earned criticism he has garnered this season, Romo gave this offense its only chance to win the game.

With an offensive line that was undeniably pitiful and a running game that was nonexistent, Romo got the ball out of his hands quickly while maintaining near-perfect accuracy for the final 50 minutes of the game.

And, for a quarterback who came into the game leading the NFL in picks, Romo is now three weeks removed from his last interception.

Cowboys offensive line almost turns Romo into Vick
The fact that the Philadelphia Eagles are happy to report that Michael Vick has finally regained his full field of vision after last week's Cowboys-induced concussion is a scary prospect for Romo's health this season. Romo was sacked seven times, a fact made even more amazing when considering his established ability to evade the blitz.

Between Doug Free getting beaten on the outside and Derrick Dockery allowing rushers straight through the inside, the offensive line played their worst game of the past half decade against the Browns. Moreover, their inability to make a single significant hole in the running game meant that the Browns were able to set the cross hairs on Romo and dial up the blitz with abandon.

The Cowboys have four days to get Phil Costa and Tyron Smith back into the lineup — as well as teach Free how to move his feet.

Losing to the Browns would have been one thing, but the Cowboys could have very easily lost their starting quarterback as well.

Bryant shows up
Dez Bryant once again showed that his best games come not by torching the opposing defenses on long bombs down the field but by slowly and methodically moving the chains. His 12 receptions for 145 is easily the best stat line of his career, even if the game didn't look like his best overall performance.

Bryant dropped a third-down pass and couldn't come up with his lone deep ball of the night. But he made up for his lack of big plays with a workman-like consistency that allowed the Cowboys to come crawling back in the second half.

With a steady, game-changing performance to his credit this week, Bryant is due to take next week off. How else can you explain his yardage of 94, 14, 110, 15, 87 and 145 through the past six games? Bryant led the Cowboys to a win against the Browns, but his ability to deliver in next week's game against the Redskins is anything but certain.

Credit where credit is due
Having endured the wildest fourth quarter and overtime imaginable, the Cowboys won because of clutch plays by clutch players. In the fourth quarter, Gerald Sensabaugh's world-shaking hit on Trent Richardson forced a punt — a monumental momentum changer.

Lawrence Vickers had the ultimate revenge against his old team with a phenomenal fingertip grab to keep the game alive on fourth-and-1. And both Kevin Ogletree and Dwayne Harris did a great job of getting fouled on the Cowboy's final possession in the fourth quarter (even if neither of them was actually good enough to make his respective catch).

Shame where shame is due
All shame goes to Ed Hochuli and his crew of inept referees for calling a terrible game, including a handful of game-changing bad calls and non-calls. All of America saw Josh Cribbs get pulled down by his hair, Jeremy Parnell jump offsides and the Cowboys take 50-plus seconds setting up a play when the game clock was off. But the refs missed all of it.

This is in addition to the non-reviewable play that Hochuli reviewed (and then un-reviewed). But the most shameful event of the whole game was the taunting call on Jay Ratliff.

A 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive lineman slams the opposing quarterback into the dirt, and you're upset at his posture as he steps over the QB's limp body? Was it a case of emotional roughness against the quarterback?