ARLINGTON, Texas -- A few thoughts on the Dallas Cowboys' 24-20 victory against the Detroit Lions at AT&T Stadium:

What it means: A team that has adopted the mantra “fight” during the course of the season lives to fight another day in the playoffs.

Moments after nearly giving the game away by attempting to pick up and run with a fumble, DeMarcus Lawrence came up with the first sack of his career on a fourth-down stop of Matthew Stafford late in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys were able to take a knee and celebrate.

The Cowboys overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit and won for the first time all season at home when losing after two quarters. Tony Romo delivered the winning drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams with 2:32 to play, and the defense came up with the crucial stop.

The Cowboys are now 2-0 in playoff games at AT&T Stadium.

When it mattered: Romo carries more burdens than most quarterbacks and some of it has been self-inflicted over the years. On Sunday, Romo was able to live for another day. It wasn’t pretty. He was sacked six times, a season high, and he held on to the ball too long at times that led to the sacks. But when the Cowboys needed it most and most everybody expected him to fail, Romo took the Cowboys 59 yards on 11 plays and hit Williams for an 8-yard score with 2:32 to play after he bought some time. This time he wasn’t sacked. In the first half, Romo and Williams hooked up for a 76-yard score when the Cowboys were struggling and trailing 14-0. He might need to win a Super Bowl to win over everybody, but Romo has had the best season of his career.

Game ball: Jason Garrett is not known as a gambler but he has stepped out of character late in the season. He went for an early fourth-and-1 at Chicago and succeeded. He called for a surprise onside kick last week against Washington and succeeded. On fourth-and-6 with six minutes to play on Sunday he went for it, and Romo hit Jason Witten for a 21-yard gain on the drive that gave the Cowboys their first lead.

Stock watch: Cole Beasley will be a restricted free agent when the season ends. He has stated his case to stick around down the stretch, including Sunday. He finished with four catches for 63 yards, including a 13-yard catch in which he was drilled in the head by linebacker Tahir Whitehead. How tough was Beasley? He did not miss a play. Beasley and Williams proved the Cowboys receiving corps is more than just Dez Bryant.

What’s next: The Cowboys head to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs. It will be Dallas’ first playoff trip to Green Bay since the 1967 NFL Championship, better known as the Ice Bowl, which the Packers won 21-17 on a Bart Starr quarterback sneak in the final seconds.