Romo rallies Cowboys to key win over Redskins

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Returning quarterback Tony Romo rallied the Dallas Cowboys to a much-needed 14-10 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Romo, back in the lineup after missing three games with a broken finger, connected with Martellus Bennett on a 25-yard pass for the winning touchdown 10:43 from the end of the game.

The win lifted the Cowboys, who had lost to the Redskins earlier in the season, into a tie with Washington for second place in the NFC East and moved them back into the playoff picture. Both teams have 6-4 records.

"Tonight was a very, very important game for us really to kind of see the direction we are going to go for the rest of the year," Romo told reporters.

The Cowboys, who started the season 4-1, had lost three of their past four games.

Romo was intercepted twice in the first half but the Cowboys defense was able to shut out the Redskins after falling behind 10-7 at the half.

"We just kept grinding and kept grinding and eventually it came our way," Romo said.

"Our goal this year is to finish. It was not about the beginning or the middle, it's going to be about the finish, and this gives us a chance to do that."

The broken finger caused him no major problems.

"It didn't hurt or anything," Romo said. "A couple of times I couldn't get a good enough grip, but honestly I was really pleased with just the way it did not cause me a lot of trouble."

Marion Barber rushed for 114 yards and scored on a two-yard run for Dallas in the second quarter to tie the contest at 7-7.

He also helped the Cowboys run out the clock at game's end, sparking a drive that enabled them to keep the ball for the final six minutes.

"They gutted it out at the end, and we didn't make the plays when it mattered," Washington cornerback Fred Smoot said. "They threw a punch, we threw a punch, they threw the last punch, and it knocked us out."

The Redskins' lone touchdown came on a two-yard pass from Jason Campbell to Mike Sellers in the first quarter and Shaun Suisham's 41-yard field goal just before halftime gave them a 10-7 lead.

(Writing by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Ed Osmond)