As long as it meant victory, the Dallas Cowboys couldn't care less how it looked Monday night against the Washington Redskins.
The Cowboys used six field goals by Dan Bailey, the last from 40 yards with 1:47 left, to squeeze out an 18-16 victory against their archrivals, offsetting a night of fumbles and missed chances to improve to 2-1.
A 30-yard pass from Tony Romo to Dez Bryant, plus a 15-yard face-mask penalty against Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall, set up the game-winning kick.
A late Washington drive ended when Anthony Spencer sacked Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman, causing a fumble. Dallas recovered.
Though the pregame plotline centered on whether Hall would deliver on his plan to worsen Romo's broken ribs, the Cowboys quarterback remained untouched and upright in a first half defined by drives that began with promise before stalling in the red zone and resulting in field goals.
Romo finished the game 22-for-36 for 255 yards with an interception.
"He did a great job," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "He was banged up, not quite himself. I think the biggest thing he did and we did was keep playing and keep giving ourselves a chance."
Each team posted a takeaway deep in opposing territory early and got inside the 10 before fizzling. Washington had the first shot as LaRon Landry, making his debut after missing the preseason and first two games with a hamstring injury, stripped Kevin Ogletree of the ball and Josh Wilson recovered at the 10.
The Redskins could only turn it into Graham Gano's second field goal from 27 yards for a 6-3 lead in the second quarter.
The only touchdown was scored by Washington on its first second-half drive, going 76 yards in nine plays, capped by a 1-yard Grossman pass to Tim Hightower.
