Romo throws 2 TDs, Cowboys lead Eagles 34-7 and 1 quarter from first playoff win in 13 seasons

Cowboys lead Eagles 34-7 after 3 quarters

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys were one quarter away from winning their first playoff game in 13 seasons, and Philadelphia was in serious danger of losing a playoff opener for the first time with Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb.

Tony Romo threw for 216 yards with two touchdowns, Felix Jones had 134 yards rushing with a long score and the Cowboys led 34-7 after three quarters Saturday night in the first playoff game at the new $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium.

Jones sprinted 73 yards untouched with 5½ minutes left in the third quarter, taking a handoff to the right toward the sideline, then turning back in around the 35 to avoid a defender.

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.

But the Cowboys have lost six consecutive playoff games, a streak that began with a divisional playoff loss to Carolina at the end of the 1996 season, a week after beating Minnesota in the NFC wild-card game and a year after the last of their five Super Bowl championships.

Going into Saturday night, 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.

Romo threw a 6-yard TD pass to Miles Austin with 1:55 left in the first half for a 24-7 lead. That ended a three-play, 18-yard drive set up by a fumbled handoff exchange between Michael Vick and fullback Leonard Weaver.

Weaver fumbled on the next drive as well, losing the ball after catching a short pass from McNabb. That set up Shaun Suisham’s 48-yard field goal.

The only other snap taken by Vick resulted in a long touchdown play, when he faked a handoff, swung to the left and threw a pass that Jeremy Maclin caught near midfield after slipping away from cornerback Mike Jenkins. Maclin sprinted to the end zone for the longest pass in Vick’s career — and the longest ever given up by Dallas in a playoff game.

Vick’s 76-yard touchdown pass came two plays after Romo’s 1-yard TD pass to tight end John Phillips, set up by a 40-yard pass interference penalty against Sheldon Brown.

The Eagles thought they had the ball back when Romo’s pass was tipped at the line and Sean Jones made a tumbling play to get it. But Cowboys coach Wade Phillips threw out a challenge flag, and replay showed that the ball hit the ground before Jones popped the ball up to himself, got up and ran it back to the 15.

After Dallas kept the ball, Patrick Crayton had an 18-yard catch on third-and-9, and Roy Williams picked up 17 yards to the Eagles 19 on third-and-7. Jason Witten took an 18-yard pass to inside the 1, and Tashard Choice then plunged in for the score.

Austin had a 36-yard catch on the next drive, when Dallas settled for a 25-yard field goal.

This is the 79th time that teams have met for the third time in a season. Only 18 teams completed three-game sweeps, something Dallas was trying to do after beating the Eagles twice in the regular season — including 24-0 only six days earlier at Cowboys Stadium.

The Cowboys’ victory last weekend clinched the NFC East title and ended the Eagles’ six-game winning streak in which they had averaged 31 points a game. Philadelphia wound up the No. 6 seed instead of the No. 2 with a first-round bye they would have earned by beating the Cowboys.