Cowboys vs. Panthers 2012: Dallas shows 'intestinal fortitude' in win

The Dallas Cowboys in recent years have become the punch line for fourth quarter jokes, losing lead after lead in the final quarter. Tony Romo has been at the center of criticism for Dallas' fourth-quarter failures, and is not viewed as a "clutch" quarterback by many.

On Sunday, Dallas flipped that script, winning a close road game -- a game that required the Cowboys to score in the fourth quarter to come away victorious.

Though they didn't find the end zone, the Cowboys did kick two field goals late in the fourth quarter, securing a 19-14 win over the Carolina Panthers.

The dedicated Cowboys fans over at Blogging the Boys, SB Nation's Cowboys blog, thought that the Cowboys showed guts -- the same type of guts that have been lacking in recent years.

I choose to think that yesterday the Cowboys displayed the type of intestinal fortitude that has been lacking in Dallas for quite some time. They'll need more of it, and more often, if they're going to succeed down the line, but at least we know they have it.

Dallas will need to continue to show intestinal fortitude, as the scheduled flips to Week 8 when the Cowboys are set to take on the New York Giants.