Eagles Hold On, Beat Dallas for NFC East Crown
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Rich Shultz/Getty Images(DALLAS) — Following a season in which they finished dead last in the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles won the division crown Sunday night with a 24-22 win over Dallas (8-8). The victory was sealed when Brandon Boykin intercepted Kyle Orton with 1:49 remaining.
The Eagles (10-6) jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter when Nick Foles connected with LeSean McCoy on a three-yard touchdown pass. The Cowboys answered with a scoring drive of their own capped off by Gavin Escobar’s 17-yard reception in the endzone. Philadelphia would take a 17-10 lead into the halftime break before Dallas closed the gap to 17-16 on two Dan Bailey field goals heading into the fourth.
With just over six minutes left in regulation, Bryce Brown scored from six yards out to put the Eagles ahead by eight. Orton again led Dallas downfield and found Dez Bryant on a 32-yard scoring pass. The ensuing two-point conversion failed, leaving the Cowboys trailing 24-22 with under four minutes to play.
Dallas’ defense would give them one last shot, but Orton threw behind Miles Austin trying to march his team into field goal range, resulting in his second interception. Orton, who was playing in place of Tony Romo — out following back surgery — finished the game with 358 passing yards and two touchdowns. Foles was 17-of-26 in his attempts for 263 yards and two scores while rushed for 131 yards.
It marks the third straight season in which the Cowboys have lost on the final day of the regular season with a chance to clinch a playoff berth. Philadelphia will now host New Orleans on Sat., Jan., 3 in the Wild Card Round.
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