Septien Sees Winning Field Goal, Then Kicks It

Rafael Septien knew he was going to be a hero.

Septien had a premonition on the sideline before kicking a 38-yard field goal with two seconds left Sunday to give the Dallas Cowboys a 17-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

“When the Eagles tied the game, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to win this game.’ ” Septien said. “I put myself in a mental position and after that just let it flow.

“I could see there was a little bit of a crosswind, so mentally I told myself, ‘Kick it a little harder and aim a little to the right.’ ”

Septien has made 7 of 8 field goal attempts this season and has made 5 game-winning kicks since he joined the Cowboys as a free agent in 1978.

In fourth-quarter situations when Dallas has been tied or behind by three or fewer points, Septien, 32, has connected on 9 of 13 field-goal attempts. He has kicked 172 of 243 in his pro career, better than 70%.

Septien said he wasn’t sure this one was good when it left his foot.

“Other times I have felt it immediately,” he said.

The Eagles (2-5), who lost their fifth of seven games, played without starting quarterback Ron Jaworski, who was sidelined with two numb fingers on his passing hand.

Coach Buddy Ryan started Matt Cavanaugh in place of Jaworski, but switched to Randall Cunningham at halftime because, “We didn’t produce in the first half with Cavanaugh quarterbacking.”

The Eagles gained 62 yards in the first half, but Cunningham came on and ran 14 yards for one touchdown and passed 15 yards to Mike Quick for another, tying the score with 7:19 left.

“We played hard as hell and also dumb as hell,” Ryan said.

The Cowboys (5-2) looked a little bit like their old Doomsday Defense by collecting 10 sacks, 3 by defensive end Jim Jeffcoat and 2 each for strong safety Bill Bates and defensive tackle Randy White.

Steve Pelluer, replacing injured Danny White for the third straight week, completed 18 of 31 passes for 244 yards. He threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Doug Cosbie and set up Tony Dorsett’s 15-yard scoring run by connecting with Tony Hill on a 53-yard pass play.

However, Pelluer gave way to White in the middle of Dallas’ game-winning drive. White passed to Timmy Newsome for 18 yards to the Eagles’ 18 to set up Septien’s kick.

“It wasn’t a very pretty game for us, but give the Eagles credit, too,” Dallas Coach Tom Landry said. “We really weren’t doing the things you have to do to win.”