Big D can thank its lucky star QB all the way to Glendale

That was Dallas being lucky. What happened next was Dallas being good. Without a timeout to regain his composure, Romo simply executed the fourth-and-6 play, passing to Barber for 13 yards and a first down. Romo then completed his next four attempts, culminating in the touchdown to Witten.

That still shouldn't have been enough for the win, but again, this was Dallas' day to be lucky. And if Dallas had the rabbit's foot, Detroit had more of a jackass's hoof. In addition to Lenon's bad kick, Detroit got another one from Jason Hanson, who launched a 35-yarder over the right upright with 10:45 left and the Lions leading 27-21. Had he made that chip shot -- and for his career, Hanson is 95.7 percent (246-for-257) on kicks of less than 40 yards -- Detroit would have led 30-21 and surely would have won this game.

"You play your heart out, and when you lose, especially in that manner, it's like you got your heart ripped out of your chest," said Lions quarterback Jon Kitna. "Of course guys are down. They'll probably be down for a few days."

Soon enough Detroit will have all the time it needs to recover. After a 6-2 start, the Lions have lost five straight games. They're almost assuredly not going to the playoffs. Their offseason, as usual, will be as long as possible.

Not so for Dallas, which is close to clinching a first-round bye in the playoffs and holds a one-game edge, and the tiebreaker, on Green Bay for home-field honors in the NFC. It's starting to look like Dallas won't be finished playing until Feb. 3, which is the date of Super Bowl XLII.

It would be a lucky break for the Cowboys if New England somehow stumbled along the way and someone else -- anyone else -- was waiting in Glendale, Ariz., as champion of the AFC.

Either way, Romo likes his team's chances.

"We're good enough," he said, "to win a Super Bowl."