It has come to this for the Cowboys: Winning is not enough.

A team filled with Pro Bowlers and considered NFL elite – even only five weeks into the season – must look good doing it, too.

That's the price of expectations with a franchise that hangs five championship banners from the Texas Stadium roof.

For only the fifth time since 1994, the Cowboys have improved to 4-1. But their 31-22 win against Cincinnati was not stylistically pleasing.

It all must seem a little silly to 0-5 Cincinnati, considering the Bengals would take any victory, any way.

"During the game, you always want things to be perfect," said quarterback Tony Romo, who threw three touchdown passes for the third time this season. "I don't know what standard everybody wants it to be. We want to get every first down and score every time we touch the ball. Is it unrealistic? Probably, but we're going to strive for that. Are we disappointed or something? I mean all we can do is work as hard as we can. What else can we do?"

A win is a win, especially in the spandex-tight NFC East, because the Cowboys did not fall further behind the New York Giants (4-0) and Washington (4-1), which left Texas Stadium last week a winner.

But ...

"They won't all be easy," linebacker Bradie James said. "Everybody is going to give us their best shot. We had to overcome a lot."

Some of it was the Cowboys' making.

So much so that Greg Ellis' interception on the game's first play from scrimmage – Ellis' first since 1999 and one that ended the Cowboys' 178-pass interception-less streak dating to last season – was mostly forgotten, as was a 33-yard touchdown run by rookie Felix Jones on a fourth-down play in the first quarter.

After all, the Cowboys had a 10-0 lead before the Bengals had a first down. By the time the lead was 17-0, the Bengals had crossed midfield once, only to be knocked back for a 3-yard loss on their next play.

"You get up 17-0 with a chance to put a team away, and you can't do that," tight end Jason Witten said. "You have to learn from that."

Cincinnati whittled the Cowboys' lead to 17-16 in the fourth quarter after Shayne Graham's third field goal and had a chance to take a lead after recovering an ensuing onside kick.

Looking at least at a fourth field goal attempt by Graham to take the lead, Tank Johnson forced a Chris Perry fumble that the Cowboys turned into a Terrell Owens touchdown after two plays for a 24-16 lead with 11:46 to play.

The Bengals, however, returned the favor on their next drive and were within a two-point conversion of tying the score. Keith Davis, starting only because of injuries to Roy Williams and Pat Watkins, broke up a fade pass to Ben Utecht.

"He's a smart player," coach Wade Phillips said. "He knew what was coming and made a really good play."

Even the Cowboys' game-clinching score was more a product of luck than execution.

After leaning on Marion Barber (84 yards) and Felix Jones (96 yards), the Cowboys faced third-and-11 from the Cincinnati 15 at the two-minute warning.

Romo found Miles Austin near the goal line, but the pass slipped through his hands only to find Patrick Crayton in the end zone for a nine-point advantage.

"You don't get crowned champions for being the best looking team right now," Romo said. "You just keep continuing to get better and keep stacking up wins."
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