IRVING, Texas - That Roy Williams made his Cowboys' debut at Texas Stadium couldn't have come at a better time.
His touchdown catch with one second left in the first half would turn out to be the winning score in a Cowboys' tight but necessary 13-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers here on Sunday afternoon.
In fact, Williams' first Cowboys touchdown was the only one scored by either team in a game filled with field goals.
"That's what I'm supposed to do," Williams said. "That's what I was brought in for and that's what I said in my first interview when I came in here: All I want to do is help this team win."
The touchdown capped a 10-play, 59-yard drive some might say has rescued the Cowboys season from spiraling out of control and leaving them 5-3 at the halfway point.
With six seconds left in the first half, the Cowboys coming out of a time out with first-and-goal at the two, Williams lined up on the left side against Tampa Bay cornerback Phillip Buchanon. Williams perfectly ran a fade route, catching quarterback Brad Johnson's back-shoulder pass to give Dallas a lead it would not give up for the rest of the game.
"After I scored, it felt good and my reaction after scoring was what I've been doing a long time - putting the 'Horns' up. That's what I do and that's what I did," Williams said, alluding to his Texas Longhorns connection.
And his first Cowboys touchdown - he had two catches for 10 yards - meant a little more since it came in his first home game as a member of the team. Williams joked that he thought the score meant more to his mother, who was at the game along with other family members, than it did to him.
The win was also Williams' first of the 2008 season. When he was traded from Detroit, the Lions were 0-5, and Dallas lost last week to St. Louis. He said he was glad to get a win under his belt and hopes the Cowboys can get moving on the right track again.
"I felt it in pre-game and all throughout the week," Williams said. "That's why we played with today's energy and came out with this win."
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