Cowboys rout Eagles for NFC East title; Ravens in playoffs; Steelers get eliminated

Cowboys wins NFC East, Ravens in, Steelers out

For the second straight year, the Eagles-Cowboys showdown was a rout. This time, Dallas did the damage.

The Cowboys won the NFC East on Sunday by romping past Philadelphia 24-0. The teams will meet again next weekend at Cowboys Stadium in the wild-card round. Dallas swept Philadelphia this season to earn the division crown, dropping the Eagles to the sixth seed, both at 11-5.

A year ago, the Eagles kept the Cowboys out of the postseason with a 44-6 victory in the season finale. That gave Philly a wild-card spot and the Eagles rode it to the NFC title game, where they led late before Arizona rallied to advance to the Super Bowl.

Baltimore (9-7) grabbed one AFC wild-card spot when it beat Oakland 21-13, leaving only Houston and the Jets in contention for the other berth.

No AFC matchups could be settled until after Sunday night’s Bengals-Jets game. New York gets a wild-card berth with a victory, the Texans get it with a Cincinnati win.

Houston has never been to the playoffs and its 9-7 record this year makes for its first winning season. It beat AFC East winner New England 34-27 Sunday.

The Bengals already own the AFC North and were resting some regulars, including running back Cedric Benson, for the matchup with the Jets.

The Cardinals will host the Packers next weekend after Green Bay (11-5) beat them 33-7 Sunday. Arizona (10-6), the NFC’s third seed a year ago, will be No. 4 this time.

Baltimore, which began the season 3-0 — as did the Jets — will be at either New England or Cincinnati in the wild-card round.

Minnesota’s 44-7 blitz of the New York Giants gave Brett Favre and the Vikings (12-4) a first-round bye. New Orleans (13-3) is the NFC’s No. 1 seed, but lost its final three games.

“I think it’s proof of what we’re capable of doing,” said Favre, who completed 25 of 31 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns in less than three quarters without a turnover. “Where it takes us from here, I have no idea. But it was definitely a momentum boost and confidence.”

Indianapolis, which dropped its last two games, is the AFC’s top seed at 14-2. San Diego (13-3) also has a bye and won its final 11 games.

Out of the playoffs are the Super Bowl champion Steelers, who finished 9-7 but lost out on tiebreakers.

“I’d rather we go out with a win than a loss,” said Ben Roethlisberger, who threw three touchdown passes in a 30-24 win at Miami.