NFL Recap (Dallas-Philadelphia)
Posted: Sun October 26, 1997 at 6:38 p.m. EST
PHILADELPHIA 13, DALLAS 12
Rodney Peete threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight
end Chad Lewis with 45 seconds left, lifting the Philadelphia
Eagles to a 13-12 victory over the punchless Dallas Cowboys, who
lost quarterback Troy Aikman to another concussion.
"It's the first one I've had in two years," Aikman said. "I've
had seven or eight. I don't want to minimize the seriousness of
the injury. I have every intention of playing next week."
It was sweet revenge for the Eagles, who lost 21-20 in Dallas on
September 15th when Tommy Hutton bobbled a snap on a potential
game-winning short field goal by former Cowboy Chris Boniol.
This time, the pair executed perfectly after Lewis' TD catch.
For the fourth time in eight games, the outcome came down to a
late kick for the Eagles (4-4), who beat Arizona 13-10 last week
when Boniol booted a late tying field goal in regulation and the
winner in overtime.
"This is a huge win for our football team," Eagles coach Ray
Rhodes said. "This is a game where our players can now see the
light at the end of the tunnel. When you're 3-5, it's a little
bleak for a team. But this is a big win for us and it keeps us
right in the hunt."
After losing Aikman late in the first quarter, the Cowboys (4-4)
again leaned on their defense and Richie Cunningham, who kicked
four field goals to improve to 25-of-27 this year. But after
shutting down Philadelphia all game, Dallas allowed the game's
only touchdown at the worst time.
"We just couldn't tackle the damn backs," Cowboys coach Barry
Switzer said before storming off. "We didn't line up right and
we made mistakes. All of the mistakes were made in the second
half. That's why we lost the ballgame."
The Cowboys again struggled in the red zone as they were held
without a touchdown.
"We just came away with field goals today and that cost us the
game," Wilson said. "We had opportunities down there and we
just have to find a way to score some touchdowns.
"It can be difficult going out there because he (Aikman) took
all the reps during the week. We called basically the same kind
of game if Troy would've been in there."
Peete, limited to 68 passing yards before Philadelphia's last
possession, completed 5-of-7 passes for 58 yards on the winning
march, including an 11-yarder to Irving Fryar on 4th-and-11 from
the Dallas 43. Fryar, who had two of his four drops during the
drive, received a generous spot from officials.
"Like the fans and everybody else, we were just praying that we
had enough yardage," Rhodes said. "Everybody had their fingers
crossed and anything we could possibly cross on our bodies,
because that was huge for us."
Fullback Kevin Turner caught a seven-yard screen pass before the
two-minute warning and Ricky Watters had rushes of 14 and three
yards before Peete found a wide-open Lewis in the right slot.
"The play was a five-yard out and when I broke that into the
middle I saw the ball headed my way," Lewis said. "Rodney was
reading the safety and threw a perfect pass. The defense was in
a zone and as soon as I made my second move, I was just looking
the ball into my hands."
Peete finished just 13-of-31 for 126 yards. Fryar caught six
passes for 59 yards and Watters carried 20 times for 88 yards --
74 in the second half. Charlie Garner added 55 yards on nine
carries and Rhett Hall had 3 1/2 sacks to lead the defense.
"I give all the credit to the defense today," Peete said. "Our
defense held Dallas out of the end zone and made them settle for
field goals."
Wilson was 11-of-16 for 108 yards but was unable to get anything
going on the game's final drive, which died in Dallas territory.
Aikman was just 2-of-6 for 21 yards before being sandwiched by
linebacker William Thomas and former Cowboy Jimmie Jones. After
being diagnosed with a concussion, he stood on the sidelines and
did not return to the game.
"I didn't feel quite right and I was dizzy once I got up and
wasn't able to focus in on things," Aikman said. "I came into
the locker room and shortly thereafter I felt I could've went
back in, in the second half. But the doctors, with the
concussions that I've had in the past, didn't agree."
Emmitt Smith had 125 yards on 26 carries for Dallas and Michael
Irvin made three catches for 57 yards, all in the first half.
The Eagles and Cowboys split the season series for the third
straight year, with four of those six games decided by four
points or less. The outcome further tightened the NFC East as
both teams joined the Washington Redskins 1 1/2 games behind the
surprising New York Giants.
"We've been 12-4 and 11-5," Smith said. "We still got a chance
to do some things. Don't count us out. If you want to count us
out. You've been counting us out all year anyway, so it ain't
gonna be nothing new to us."
With Watters running hard, the Eagles got back in the game
midway through the second half. Boniol had kicks of 29 and 37
yards on consecutive possessions to pull the Eagles within 9-6
early in the fourth quarter. But after the second kick, former
Eagle Herschel Walker returned the kickoff 49 yards to set up a
43-yard field goal by Cunningham with 8:55 to play.
The first half was a defensive duel of field goals -- three made
by Cunningham and two missed by Boniol.
After Brock Marion returned the opening kickoff 47 yards, Aikman
sneaked two yards on 4th-and-1 and later scrambled 13 yards to
set up a 26-yard kick by Cunningham. Two third-down passes from
Peete to Fryar kept alive the Eagles' first drive, but Boniol's
52-yarder was short.
The next possession saw Aikman clobbered headfirst by Jones and
knocked from the game with 2:26 left in the opening period.
After a trade of possessions, Marion partially blocked a punt by
Hutton. The Cowboys took over on the Eagles 28 and Cunningham
kicked a 24-yard field goal six plays later to make it 6-0 with
12:12 to go before halftime.
The teams again traded possessions before Cowboys lineman Tony
Tolbert was called for unnecessary roughness. Boniol lined up
from 47 yards this time, but again left his kick short. After
Wilson took a sack, Smith raced 13 yards and Irvin hauled in a
32-yard pass on third down. Cunningham booted a 35-yarder with
41 seconds left in the half, extending the lead to 9-0.
"We struggled in a lot of offensive areas," Rhodes said. "We
had some dropped balls, some batted balls and we had a lot of
other things that didn't go right for us."
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