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Arlington, Texas • Brandon Carr found a way to silence thousands of Terrible Towel-waving Pittsburgh fans at Cowboys Stadium and send the Dallas crowd home happy.
The Cowboys cornerback intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass in overtime, returned it 36 yards to the 1, and Dan Bailey kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 27-24 win over the Steelers on Sunday.
Bailey's kick 1:24 into OT won a game for the second straight week since Dallas practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown was killed in a one-car accident that led to manslaughter charges against teammate Josh Brent.
The win pulled the Cowboys (8-6) into a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East with the Giants and Redskins with two games left in the season. Dallas has won five of its last six.
"Those are the plays you dream about in the backyard, making the game-winning interception or touchdown," Carr said.
Carr, who said he was anticipating Roethlisberger's throw to Mike Wallace because Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley was his coach in Kansas City, made a diving catch and jumped up along the Pittsburgh sideline. Legions of black-and-gold clad fans on that side of the stadium watched as Carr ran it back and was stopped inches short of the goal line.
The winning kick came after Tony Romo, who broke the 25,000-yard passing milestone earlier in the game, took a knee to put Bailey in better position.
The Steelers (7-7) lost for the fourth time in five games and trail AFC North rival Cincinnati by a game for the second wild-card spot. They host the Bengals next week. Roethlisberger is 0-2 since returning from a three-game absence with shoulder and rib injuries.
"There won't be any quit from us, especially from me," Roethlisberger said. "This one is going to sting real bad. It will hopefully make me and make us better."
The defining play came from a Dallas defense playing without six injured starters, the latest being Carr's playing partner on the other side, first-round pick Morris Claiborne. The rookie was sidelined after sustaining a concussion against the Bengals.
"I really can't explain it. It's something destined about this team," defensive end Jason Hatcher said. "You look back there and you don't know nobody back there behind you." Cowboys 27,Steelers 24 OVERTIME
Pittsburgh 0 10 7 7 0 24
Dallas 3 7 7 7 3 27
First Quarter
Dal • FG Bailey 50, 8:36.
Second Quarter
Dal • Witten 17 pass from Romo (Bailey kick), 11:02.
Pit • FG Suisham 32, 6:03.
Pit • Miller 30 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick), :34.
Third Quarter
Dal • Bryant 24 pass from Romo (Bailey kick), 6:03.
Pit • Dwyer 1 run (Suisham kick), 4:16.
Fourth Quarter
Pit • A.Brown 7 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick), 12:37.
Dal • Murray 3 run (Bailey kick), 6:55.
Overtime
Dal • FG Bailey 21, 13:36.
Pit Dal
First downs 20 23
Total Net Yards 388 415
Rushes-yards 17-69 21-87
Passing 319 328
Punt Returns 3-51 2-38
Kickoff Returns 2-49 1-25
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-36
Comp-Att-Int 24-40-1 30-42-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 4-20 1-13
Punts 6-43.0 6-48.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 0-0 8-61
Time of Possession 27:00 34:24
Individual Statistics
Rushing • Pittsburgh, Redman 3-30, Dwyer 9-22, Rainey 3-15, Roethlisberger 2-2. Dallas, Murray 14-81, F.Jones 3-10, Romo 4-(minus 4).
Passing • Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 24-40-1-339. Dallas, Romo 30-42-0-341.
Receiving • Pittsburgh, A.Brown 8-76, Miller 7-92, Wallace 4-95, W.Johnson 2-34, Cotchery 2-28, Redman 1-14. Dallas, Austin 7-79, Witten 5-43, Bryant 4-59, Harris 4-46, Murray 4-31, Hanna 2-45, Beasley 2-14, Vickers 1-15, Ogletree 1-9.