Cowboys snap playoff skid, beat Philadelphia

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — These aren’t the same old disappointing Dallas Cowboys. If anything, they’re starting to play like some of the really old versions.

Tony Romo broke open a scoreless game with five straight scoring drives in the second quarter, sending Dallas past Philadelphia 34-14 Saturday night for the Cowboys’ first playoff victory since 1996.

Dallas had lost six straight postseason games and would’ve set an NFL record with another one. But now all those skids are history, buried along with the notions that Wade Phillips (0-4 as a head coach) and Tony Romo (0-2) couldn’t win a playoff game.

And the way the Cowboys have played over the last four games — all wins, behind dominating defense and efficient offense — they could be sticking around a while this postseason.

Next up for Dallas is a trip to Minnesota on Sunday, with Romo taking on childhood hero Brett Favre.

The Eagles are one-and-done in the playoffs for the first time under coach Andy Reid. Philadelphia had been 7-0 in playoff openers with Reid and 6-0 with Donovan McNabb at quarterback.

The Cowboys rolled up a 34-7 advantage after three quarters, with Romo throwing for 216 yards with two touchdowns entering the fourth quarter.

Felix Jones had 134 yards rushing with a long score over that stretch at the new $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium.

Dallas surged ahead with 27 points in the second quarter, scoring on five consecutive drives and setting a team record for most points in a quarter during a playoff game.

The Cowboys are in the playoffs for the 30th time in their 50-season history; their 32 playoff wins and 56 games going into Saturday night were both already the most in NFL history.

The Eagles had won their first game in seven consecutive postseason appearances since Reid became coach and McNabb their quarterback in 1999. Philadelphia won 10 playoff games in that span — Dallas none.