Eagles take NFC East title with win over Cowboys

[January 04, 2014]  ARLINGTON, Texas — Eagles 24, Cowboys 22: LeSean McCoy rushed for 131 yards, Bryce Brown ran for a key touchdown with 6:09 remaining and Brandon Boykin had a late interception to lead visiting Philadelphia to a hard-fought victory over Dallas and the NFC East title.

In the final game of the NFL regular season, Dallas quarterback Kyle Orton — playing in place of the injured Tony Romo — outplayed counterpart Nick Foles for the most part, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Cowboys (8-8) from losing a do-or-die game for the division crown on the final day of the season for the third straight year. Orton was 30-of-46 for 358 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions while Foles was 17-of-26 for 263 yards with two scores and no picks, but lost a fumble.

McCoy (1,607 yards) secured the NFL rushing title and added a receiving touchdown for Philadelphia (10-6), which earned the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs and will host New Orleans on Saturday night. The Cowboys' Jason Witten set season highs with 12 catches for 135 yards and Dez Bryant had eight catches for 99 yards, including a 32-yard TD with 3:50 remaining, but the two-point conversion pass from Orton to Bryant was knocked down by Cary Williams.

Dallas turnovers were key as an early fumble by running back DeMarco Murray set up Alex Henery's 47-yard field goal and an interception by Philadelphia linebacker Mychal Kendricks came two plays before Foles hit Brent Celek with a 14-yard TD strike late in the second quarter. Dallas rebounded to close within 17-10 at the break on Dan Bailey's field goal with 18 seconds left in the half and chipped away on two more field goals — 43 and 36 yards — to close within 17-16 midway through the third period.

The Cowboys drove into Eagles territory early in the fourth quarter, but Orton's fourth-down pass was knocked down by linebacker Connor Barwin, setting up Brown's 6-yard TD run to cap an 11-play, 60-yard drive. Orton rallied Dallas within two points on Bryant's catch-and-run and the Cowboys got the ball back with 1:49 left, but Orton's pass to Miles Austin was slightly behind the receiver and Boykin snagged it to lift Philadelphia to the division title, one year after finishing last at 4-12.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Dallas stuffed Foles on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1 in the final minute of the third quarter. ... McCoy set the Eagles' franchise records for rushing yards (Wilbert Montgomery, 1,512 yards in 1979) and yards from scrimmage (Brian Westbrook, 2,104, 2007). ... Witten's previous season high for receptions was eight — accomplished twice — and his high for yards was 121 against Denver on Oct. 6.

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