IRVING, Texas - Forgive the Cowboys for not apologizing for Sunday's win.
And it's not so much for winning the game, but how they won. Apparently, it wasn't pretty enough.
The Cowboys returned to Valley Ranch on Monday following a 31-22 victory over the still-winless Bengals, but seemed to answer more questions about the problems this team has endured, rather than the aspects that have led them to a 4-1 record.
Clearly, just winning games isn't impressive enough anymore. Style points seem to be needed.
The Cowboys saw the Bengals trim their 17-point lead to 17-16 late in the third quarter and came within a two-point conversion of tying the score at 24 in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys weren't exactly satisfied about the win. But they're not going to panic for not blowing out a Cincinnati team that hasn't found the win column yet, but managed to take the Giants to overtime two weeks ago, only to lose by a field goal in New York.
But Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips doesn't see a team that was supposed to win by more than two touchdowns only win by nine. To him, his team responded after losing to the Redskins the week before, and found a way to get back on track.
"I think we came through in areas we didn't come through in the game before," Phillips said. "I think the mental toughness and finishing the game and those kinds of things, I think we did well in this game. It doesn't matter who your opponent is. I thought the win was important for us.
"Somebody else can say, 'Hey this wasn't good enough or that wasn't good enough,' but it was good enough to win and that's what we're here to do. And that's what we've done and I think that's what we will continue to do."
Cowboys linebacker Bradie James, who is quietly becoming one of the team's more vocal leaders, has been through a few rough years here in Dallas. He was a part of the 6-10 season in 2004 and has experienced the disappointments that have ended the last three seasons when the Cowboys failed to meet expectations.
Only this year, despite the Cowboys not having won a playoff game since 1996, expectations are even higher, which is one reason why James says the Cowboys can't even relish a victory, especially one to a winless team.
"I come in here on a Monday, I'm trying to enjoy our win, and people come in here beating us up," James said, referring to the media. "Really, it's tough. Right now, we know, with us having so many expectations, the only people we can really make happy are the people in this locker room. That's it. And I'm happy.
"Wins are tough to get in this league. So you shouldn't worry about how you won the game. We know we have to get better, but there's not anything we can change about how we played."
And that is the general theme throughout the team, not just with Sunday's win over Cincinnati, but with the first five games as well.
The Cowboys have to be happy to beat the Bengals and collect their fourth win, but the fact they nearly lost what appeared to be a commanding first-half lead is cause for concern.
And the same goes for the season. A 4-1 record is one of the best in the NFL so far and it's probably where most experts and prognosticators had this team pegged in the first place.
"I think we're in a pretty good spot right now," said defensive end Marcus Spears, whom Phillips said had his best game of the season with eight tackles and a pass deflection Sunday. "Of course, you want to be undefeated. You never want to lose. But I don't think we're in bad shape. We're right there. I don't think we should panic about our season and where we are right now."
Panic? No. But carefree? Not exactly.
"A win is a win, which is good, but you can't be satisfied with the way we won," said outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who recorded another sack Sunday and now has one in the last eight games, dating back to last season. "There's a lot of stuff we need to work on."
Like what? Well offensively, quarterback Tony Romo does have seven turnovers in five games, including five interceptions.
However, no one seems too concerned about that, especially Romo.
"You would love to never have a turnover, but I think that's unrealistic," said Romo, who also has 11 touchdown passes this season. "Everyone strives for no turnovers. But if you never turn the ball over as a quarterback, you're probably not going to be that good. There's no way you are going to make plays sometimes if you don't trust it and let it go."
While Romo has thrown too many picks on the offensive side, the defense hasn't exactly returned the favor. With Greg Ellis' tipped interception of the Bengals' first play from scrimmage Sunday, it became the Cowboys' first pick of the season.
In a way, Sunday's win was just an isolated example of how these first five games have gone.
Pretty good, effective, but not where they want to be.
"I think overall, our team feels that way. Yeah, we played well enough to win, which is the most important thing," Phillips said. "But there are still things we can do to get better. That's what we're doing right now. I guarantee (the players are) looking at that and they're looking at themselves."
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