IRVING, Texas (AP) -When the pass went through Miles Austin's hands at the 1 and into Patrick Crayton's hands in the end zone, everyone on the Dallas Cowboys was smiling and laughing.

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It was mostly relief.

After letting a 17-point lead shrivel to one, then breaking up a 2-point conversion that could've tied it, the Cowboys had plenty of reasons to be giddy about their lucky break in the final minutes that sealed a 31-22 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Dallas (4-1) led 17-0 after only three drives, but ended up needing big plays from Terrell Owens, Tank Johnson and Keith Davis to stave off the bumbling Bengals (0-5).