Cowboys capture a shootout

Dallas’ win over the Eagles earned a huge rating for ESPN.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Jerry Jones likes to brag about the Dallas Cowboys being the top drawing card in the entire entertainment world. His premise: The Cowboys draw the highest ratings among NFL teams and the NFL is the highest-rated programming on television.

Games like Monday night sure help his claim.

Dallas’ 41-37 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles was filled with drama. The lead changed seven times, the momentum swaying on good plays and goofy ones, with big-name players from both teams at both ends of the spectrum.

Mix in the backdrop of a rivalry and division supremacy, a few injuries, some questionable officiating calls, several big milestones and the historic nugget of this being the final Monday night game at Texas Stadium, and it’s no wonder the Cowboys were ratings gold yet again — a whopping 12.95 million homes and 18.6 million viewers, the largest audience ever for a program on cable television. It’s the second time in three years Dallas has set that mark.

“What a way to have the last Monday Night Football game at Texas Stadium,” Jones said. “It had it all.”

Jones’ joy obviously is tinted by his team coming out on top. Thing is, Tony Romo and the Cowboys are getting awfully good at winning these kinds of games — both those with the entire country watching and the wild-and-crazy variety.

Just last season in Buffalo, Romo threw five interceptions and lost a fumble, but rallied the Cowboys to victory.

“From then on, his feelings have been ... [when] things aren’t going good, they can change and you can change them,” coach Wade Phillips said Tuesday. “Having the confidence of doing it before certainly makes a difference.”

That Buffalo game, by the way, also was on a Monday night.

Romo is 11-3 in nationally televised games, the ones on Sunday night, Monday night, Saturday night, Thursday night, Thanksgiving and Christmas, when everyone in the NFL are among those gathered around the tube.

Monday, Romo was hyped up from the start, getting introduced last in pregame ceremonies and coming out running so fast he practically passed Terrell Owens, who was announced right before him.

On the Cowboys’ first drive, Romo and Owens hooked up on a 72-yard touchdown, the longest play of Romo’s career and the 131st touchdown for Owens, making him second on the NFL career list. A 98-yard kickoff return stretched Dallas’ lead without Romo taking another snap.

Then Romo made things far more interesting than he would’ve liked.

Escaping a sack, he tried too hard to turn it into a big gain and wound up throwing an interception. When the Cowboys got the ball back, he turned it over again by losing control of the ball three times on the same play, with Philadelphia recovering it in the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown. The Eagles eventually went up 30-21.

Phillips went to check on Romo after his fumble.

“You all right?” Phillips asked. “Leave the last one behind. It’s over.”

“OK,” Romo said — then did exactly that.

Romo hit Owens for another TD on the next drive, then hit Jason Witten on a great play to set up a long field goal before halftime. Next came a go-ahead drive midway through the third quarter. Philadelphia reclaimed the lead, but when the Eagles fumbled on their next possession, Romo made them pay by marching Dallas for the seventh and final lead change of this instant classic.