Kevin Sherrington

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ARLINGTON – In what will not go down as one of his more magnanimous moments, Roy Williams recently characterized Miles Austin's breakout two-touchdown, 250-yard performance two weeks ago as "Miles' day."

Considering Austin's 171-yard, two-touchdown encore in a 37-21 win over Atlanta on Sunday, maybe he'd like to amend that to "Miles' month."

Better thought: If the Cowboys are going anywhere at all, it'd better be Miles' season.

Funny how one player can change your perspective.

Before the Cowboys lost in Denver, I wrote that Tony Romo should learn a lesson from Kyle Orton, the erstwhile bus driver. Take care of the ball, don't force the issue, play to your team's strengths. A few thoughtful readers misunderstood the purpose. One radio show host even called it "crap."

Well, after much careful consideration and a couple more weeks watching the Cowboys play their unique brand of flag football, I surrender.

Frankly, the Cowboys make too many mistakes to play a ball-control offense. One of the league's most penalized teams, a prime characteristic of a losing one, Dallas doesn't have the discipline to win running the ball, like good teams do. The Cowboys can run, all right, but they can't score enough to keep up, not when they have to retake previously captured ground because of all the penalties.

They don't mean to be so sloppy. They simply can't help themselves.

In the first half alone against the Falcons, they were called for four false starts. Everyone on the offensive front got one except two players, and one of the innocent was Flozell Adams.

But in the locker room and news conferences afterward, all anyone could talk about when describing the first half was Austin's 59-yard touchdown catch and what it did for the Cowboys' confidence.

Or as Romo summed it up, "It definitely makes it a little easier not to have to be perfect at times."

No one's asking Romo to be perfect, and that comment says much about his mental approach. He's simply not the kind of quarterback happy to drive the bus.

And when he's not happy, he's not much good.

When he's part of an offense that's occasionally exciting, it raises his level of play.

Example: Just before the half, he spins out of two sacks, then patiently waits for Patrick Crayton to come open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

"That play to Patrick," tight end Jason Witten said of Romo, his best buddy, "that's him at his finest."

For whatever reason, it's Austin that brings out the best in Romo.

Maybe the chemistry comes from the fact that both were undrafted free agents from small schools. Maybe it's because both worked hard and waited their time. Maybe it's the way they smile at work.

Maybe it's because Austin is 6-3, 214 pounds and fast.

Maybe it's because the Cowboys finally decided to give him a shot.

Asked what's changed recently that would allow him to amass the best two-game receiving yardage total in Cowboys history, Austin said, "He's throwing me more balls."

Hey, it's football, not calculus.

Bottom line: Austin gives the Cowboys a dimension they lacked.

His ability to run after the catch means the Cowboys don't necessarily have to throw it deep, as they were forced to do to make Terrell Owens effective. Most of Austin's big plays have come on simple stop patterns. The defensive back is doing all he can to keep up, Romo throws before the break, Austin catches it and, with the mismatch of strength and speed, breaks away.

Of course, he's not immune from the team's silly mistakes, either.

Not often do you see a ballcarrier running free down the sideline simply drop his package.

"I messed up," he said, wincing. "That's pretty bad."

As long as he can make the kind of big plays that elevate this team, however high that may be for such an error-prone crew, his sins are forgiven.

If it makes you feel any better, he's certainly not guilty of a big head yet.

"No one's a No. 1 receiver on this team," he said. "Next week, Sam Hurd could have 300 yards."

One miracle at a time, Miles.