Eagles defeat Cowboys to grab last playoff spot
ARLINGTON, Texas – Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles completed a worst-to-first turnaround under rookie coach Chip Kelly.
The Dallas Cowboys are stuck in second place and going home early again, and nobody can blame Tony Romo for the final crushing loss Sunday night.
Foles threw two touchdown passes, NFL rushing champion LeSean McCoy had 131 yards and a receiving score and the Eagles beat the Cowboys 24-22 in a win-or-go-home game for the NFC East title.
The Cowboys (8-8), with Kyle Orton filling in two days after Romo had back surgery, lost to a division rival with a playoff berth on the line for the third straight year.
The Eagles (10-6) will host New Orleans in the playoffs Saturday night.
Dallas trailed 24-16 when Orton threw a 32-yard TD pass to Dez Bryant. Orton went back to Bryant on a 2-point try, but Cary Williams dove to punch the ball away.
The Cowboys got another chance with a stop from the league’s worst defense, but Orton’s pass was intercepted by Brandon Boykin on the first play to seal the win.
“We kept fighting. We believed in each other,” said Foles, who was 17 of 26 for 263 yards after throwing for only 80 in a 17-3 loss to Dallas at home.
“When the offense was struggling, the defense picked us up.”
McCoy finished with 1,607 yards and became the first Philadelphia running back to win the rushing title since Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren in 1949.
“For all the accolades and the stats, if we didn’t win today, none of that means nothing,” McCoy said.
Romo was the quarterback for losses the past two seasons to the New York Giants and Washington – and against Philadelphia in the same win-or-go-home scenario in 2008.
Dallas has finished 8-8 in all three of coach Jason Garrett’s full seasons, and is 136-136 since the start of 1997. The Cowboys are only the third team in NFL history to have three straight 8-8 records.
Eagles 24, Cowboys 22
| Philadelphia | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | – | 24 |
| Dallas | 0 | 10 | 6 | 6 | – | 22 |
Phi – FG Henery 47
Phi – McCoy 3 pass from Foles (Henery kick)
Dal – Escobar 17 pass from Orton (Bailey kick)
Phi – Celek 14 pass from Foles (Henery kick)
Dal – FG Bailey 44
Dal – FG Bailey 43
Dal – FG Bailey 36
Phi – Brown 6 run (Henery kick).
Dal – Bryant 32 pass from Orton (pass failed)
A – 91,166.
| Phi | Dal | |
| First downs | 21 | 21 |
| Total Net Yards | 366 | 417 |
| Rushes-yards | 34-137 | 18-59 |
| Passing | 229 | 358 |
| Punt Returns | 2-24 | 3-18 |
| Kickoff Returns | 1-11 | 2-65 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 2-11 | 0-0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 17-27-0 | 30-46-2 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 5-34 | 0-0 |
| Punts | 5-47.4 | 3-37.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-50 | 1-5 |
| Time of Possession | 29:43 | 30:17 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Philadelphia, McCoy 27-131, Brown 2-11, Foles 5-(-5). Dallas, Murray 17-51, Orton 1-8.
PASSING – Philadelphia, Foles 17-26-0-263, Smith 0-1-0-0. Dallas, Orton 30-46-2-358.
RECEIVING – Philadelphia, Celek 3-71, Avant 3-45, Ertz 3-43, Cooper 3-39, Jackson 3-28, Polk 1-34, McCoy 1-3. Dallas, Witten 12-135, Bryant 8-99, Murray 5-39, Austin 2-22, Williams 1-39, Escobar 1-17, Beasley 1-7.