• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Short-handed Cowboys send Eagles to another home loss

Oct 20, 2013 - 9:58 PM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Despite missing All-Pro defensive end DeMarcus Ware, the Dallas Cowboys shut down the Philadelphia Eagles' offense in a 17-3 victory.

Many people expected a high-scoring game when the two teams took the field Sunday in a battle for first place in the NFC East. Coming into the contest, Dallas was second in the NFL with an average of 30.5 points per game and Philadelphia was fourth with 27.2 ppg.

But the Dallas defense, which came into the contest allowing 25.3 ppg, recorded three sacks, intercepted rookie quarterback Matt Barkley three times and limited LeSean McCoy to 55 yards on 18 carries.

"We just didn't finish any drives and didn't execute at all," said McCoy. "We just didn't play well. I think this was one of my worst performances since being a rookie."

On the offensive side of the ball for the Cowboys (4-3), Tony Romo completed 28-of-47 passes for 317 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. A fourth- quarter touchdown pass to Terrance Williams extended Romo's streak to 20 consecutive games with a TD pass.

"This was a good win for us, to come up here to Philadelphia and get a division win on the road is important," said Dallas head coach Jason Garrett. "We played well enough in all three phases to win this game."

Joseph Randle, filling in for an injured DeMarco Murray, carried the ball 19 times for 65 yards. Dez Bryant caught eight passes for 110 yards.

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, making his second straight start for an injured Michael Vick, connected on just 11-of-29 passes for 80 yards before leaving after three quarters with a head injury. Barkley completed 11-of-20 passes for 129 yards in relief.

Vick announced Thursday during a joint press conference with Foles that his injured hamstring is still not 100 percent. Vick suffered the injury during a Week 5 win over the New York Giants.

Philadelphia (3-4) had a two-game winning streak snapped and set a new, dubious franchise record with its ninth straight home defeat. The Eagles' last win at home came on Sept. 30, 2012 against the New York Giants.

A scoreless first quarter featured six punts. Dallas managed to move the ball into opposing territory just once during the frame. The drive stalled when Romo was sacked by DeMeco Ryans on 2nd-and-7 from the Philadelphia 38.

The only three points of the first half came with 3:17 left in the second stanza. The Cowboys used three passing plays of at least 10 yards to move the ball to the Philadelphia 23. Four plays later, Dan Bailey made a 38-yard field goal.

The Eagles finally moved the ball past midfield in the final minute of the second quarter. Faced with a 2nd-and-1 from the Dallas 42, Foles threw two incomplete passes. Eagles coach Chip Kelly decided to send kicker Alex Henery onto the field, but he missed a 60-yard field goal.

Romo heaved the ball into the end zone with just seconds left, but rookie Earl Wolff came up with his first NFL interception.

Dallas opened the second half with a 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive. Bryant caught three passes of at least 11 yards to move the ball inside the red zone. On 3rd-and-goal, Bradley Fletcher was called for defensive pass interference. Phillip Tanner then rumbled into the end zone from one yard out, making it a 10-0 game.

The Cowboys were driving again when Romo was picked off by Ryans, who returned the ball 36 yards to the Dallas 30. Three plays later, Foles almost threw an interception in the end zone. Upon further review, it was determined that a pass intended for Jason Avant hit the ground first. McCoy picked up two yards on 4th-and-1 for a fresh set of downs, but the Eagles settled for a 31-yard field goal from Henery.

Dallas stole back any momentum that Philadelphia had gained with a 10-play, 72-yard scoring drive. This time around, Bryant caught passes of 16 and 10 yards to fuel the march. After Cole Beasley picked up a first down on 3rd- and-2, Williams caught a 9-yard TD pass to make it 17-3 with 9:25 left in the fourth.

Barkley, who was selected by the Eagles in the fourth round of this year's draft, took over for an injured Foles. The Southern Cal product did not fare much better, throwing three interceptions the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Cowboys hold a 62-47 edge in the all-time series ... Ware (quadriceps) had a streak of 134 consecutive games played snapped. Murray sat out with a knee injury ... Philadelphia safety Patrick Chung missed the game with a shoulder injury ... Riley Cooper hauled in six passes for 88 yards for the Eagles, who racked up just 278 yards of total offense ... Coming into Sunday's game, the Eagles were 29th in points allowed (29.8) and Dallas was 21st (25.3).