Eagles eliminated but beat Dallas behind QB Vick

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas

Michael Vick threw two touchdown passes to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a 20-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday in a game that had all the intensity of a preseason dress rehearsal.

This game became somewhat meaningless midway through the first quarter. A victory by the Giants eliminated the Eagles from the playoffs and turned the Dallas-New York game next weekend into a showdown to decide the NFC East title.

The Cowboys still had wild-card hopes to play for, but clearly were more concerned about getting ready for the “win and you’re in” route to the playoffs. Quarterback Tony Romo left after injuring his throwing hand on the first series and oft-injured running back Felix Jones hit the bench for good after the second series. They came within seven seconds of getting shut out.

Vick threw a touchdown pass on the opening series and again just before halftime. Alex Henery kicked field goals of 43 and 51 yards for the Eagles’ only points in the second half.

Philadelphia (7-8) won its third straight, giving the preseason “Dream Team” the chance to avoid a losing record by beating the Redskins at home in its finale next weekend. The Eagles also swept the season series against the Cowboys for the first time since 2006, having clobbered Dallas 34-7 in October.

The Cowboys (8-7) lost for the third time in four games, and are guaranteed another losing record after Thanksgiving. If they end up missing the playoffs, that flop at the finish will loom large all offseason. Of course, if they win the division, it’ll only be a footnote. The upcoming week will be filled with all sorts of similar high-stakes ramifications that will be riding on the finale for both Dallas and New York.

When this game kicked off, the Giants were up by only six points midway through the fourth quarter, so the Cowboys and Eagles still had a lot to play for.

Philadelphia got the ball first and Vick picked up where he left off the last time these teams met, cruising 80 yards in eight plays for a 7-0 lead. Then Eagles snuffed Romo, forcing a punt from around midfield.

On the final play of that series, Romo rushed a third-down pass to avoid a sack. On his follow-through, he smacked his passing hand on Jason Babin’s helmet. That’s when things got about as interesting as they’d be the rest of the afternoon.

Romo returned to the sideline, doctors having determined he had no broken bones, just a bruise. Romo threw a few wobbly warm-up passes, spoke to a trainer, then got his wrist wrapped.

Vick was 18 of 32 for 293 yards, with the touchdowns going to Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek. Jason Avant nearly had another TD, but fumbled inches before touching the pylon, resulting in a touchback for the Cowboys.

DeSean Jackson caught five passes for 90 yards, and he ran for 27 yards on a pair of end arounds, both coming on consecutive plays.

Dallas’ Stephen McGee was 24 of 38 for 182 yards, and ran four times for 28 yards