Cowboys Regroup; Win, 34-17

There was no place for the Dallas Cowboys to go but up.

The Cowboys bounced back from their worst loss in history with a 34-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday.

Quarterback Danny White rifled three touchdown passes as the Cowboys (8-4) kept pace with the New York Giants for the leadership in the NFC East by making up for last week’s 44-0 pounding at the hands of the Chicago Bears.

“We’re very happy,” Coach Tom Landry said. “It was a big game, a must game if we had a chance to get into the playoffs.

“The Eagles played very well. We had to make some big plays. Danny was just excellent. He didn’t make many mistakes and found the open man.”

The Eagles (6-6), who had won five of their last six games, were dealt a severe blow to their playoff hopes.

“This loss hurts but we still have a chance,” Eagle Coach Marion Campbell said. “We had a lot of penalties at critical times. We sure didn’t get many breaks out there.”

White, showing no ill effects from a concussion and a jammed neck he suffered against the Bears, hit 12 of his first 14 passes. He finished 21 of 28 for 243 yards.

He threw two first-half touchdown passes to tight end Doug Cosbie and connected with wide receiver Mike Renfro on a 19-yard scoring pass in the fourth period.

“It was my best game and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” White said.

In the second quarter, White hit Cosbie with a touchdown pass on fourth and inches from the Eagle two-yard line. Then he threw a 23-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Cosbie for a 21-10 Dallas halftime lead.

Dallas also got touchdown runs of 3 and 10 yards from Tony Dorsett, who went over the 1,000-yard mark for the eighth time in his nine professional seasons with 86 yards in 30 carries.

Eagle rookie Herman Hunter had a 74-yard scoring run in the first quarter.