LANDOVER, Md. -- Tony Romo celebrated the go-ahead touchdown pass by bouncing up and down like a little kid and patting teammates on the back with his left hand, carefully avoiding any further damage to his heavily wrapped right pinkie.
A few minutes later, Terence Newman celebrated a fourth-down stop by running around with both arms outstretched, like a child imitating an airplane.
Romo and Newman were back Sunday night, and so are the Dallas Cowboys, who put themselves firmly back into the NFC playoff race with a 14-10 victory over the Washington Redskins.
Romo, returning after missing three games with a broken pinkie on his throwing hand, overcame a pair of first-half interceptions to complete 19 of 27 passes for 198 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to rookie Martellus Bennett that put the Cowboys ahead for good with 10:30 to play.
"I think Tony might have been a little rusty in the beginning, but then later on he scrambles and flips the ball for a first down and he started making plays like he routinely does," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "He threw all of the passes -- it was more the gusts of wind, especially in the beginning of the game that was more of a concern than Tony’s hand."
Newman, back after missing five games with a sports hernia, had an even more impressive return. He had a second-half interception deep in Cowboys territory and shut down Santana Moss, holding the Redskins' best receiver to 29 yards on five catches. Newman batted away a pass to Moss on fourth-and-4 at the Dallas 37 with 6:40 remaining, ending Washington's final drive.
"I was pumped," Newman said. "The first game I played I was hurt, I tried to fight through it and I didn't have a great game. I wanted to get healthy and come out here because I kept hearing my name on television. I had something to prove so my focus was to come out here and play my game."
The Cowboys then ran out the clock, with Marion Barber finishing off a 114-yard night on 24 carries, to improve to 6-4, tied with the Redskins and a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. The threesome can virtually give up on catching the division-leading New York Giants (9-1), putting them into what promises to be a tight battle for wild-card berths over the final six weeks of the season.
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Dallas had gone 2-4 after a 3-0 start and performed miserably on offense during Romo's absence. Fortuitously, last week's bye gave Romo, Newman and left guard Kyle Kosier a chance to heal, even as owner Jerry Jones publicly fretted about the direction of the team.
Clinton Portis helped set up a touchdown on Washington's opening drive after starting despite a sprained knee, and the Redskins led the Dallas Cowboys 10-7 after three quarters Sunday night. Washington's lead could have been larger, but Shaun Suisham missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt with 3:15 left in the third quarter. That came after a 20-yard run by Portis put Washington inside Dallas' 40.
"I thought our defense battled hard. Our special teams gave us field position. Our punter did a nice job of putting the ball down inside the 20 yard line. We even did a nice job offensively in certain areas. Our run game wasn't bad –- we actually got some yardage," Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. "If we could pass protect a little more and get a little bit more time, then we'll have some things open down the field."
Portis, who didn't practice all week, ran for 29 yards on five carries on the Redskins' opening possession, including a gain of 9 on fourth-and-1 at Dallas' 11.
On the next play, Jason Campbell rolled out and found Mike Sellers open in the right flat for a 2-yard touchdown pass. That play gave Sellers as many receptions -- two -- on that drive as he had through the season's first nine games.
Portis' run for 5 yards on his first carry of the game gave him 1,000 yards rushing for the season, the sixth time he has reached that milestone in the NFL -- and earliest in any season.
"It was very interesting because during the week we said right from the start that it would be a game time decision and it truly was –- it came right down to the pre-game workout before anyone was in the stadium," Zorn said. "We went out on the field and ran him around, and what I saw was a guy who could make cuts, he actually warmed up and got some good acceleration so I put him on the field. I thought he did very well. He was tough."
Portis said once his adrenaline got going in warm-ups, he was going to give it a go, even if it meant more pain after the game.
"I know [I'll be sore], but I'll worry about that when it gets here," Portis said. "I think that I had the opportunity to get out and help my teammates, so I needed to be out there."
Romo completed his first six passes, but then completed only three of his next seven attempts, with the two interceptions. Dallas' second drive began at its own 22 and extended all the way down to Washington's 27. But on third-and-3, Romo threw the ball behind Terrell Owens, and DeAngelo Hall grabbed it -- precisely the sort of play the Redskins were hoping for when they signed the cornerback last weekend after he was waived by the Oakland Raiders.
Both Dallas and Washington were coming off a bye week.
Redskins receiver/returner Antwaan Randle El and running back Ladell Betts limped off the field in the third quarter. Washington linebacker Marcus Washington left with a left ankle injury, and X-rays showed there was no break.
