Eagles Get Home Date in Playoffs : NFC: Philadelphia beats Cardinals, 23-21, and will play host to Redskins in wild-card game.

Randall Cunningham didn’t get his rushing record, but the Philadelphia Eagles got what they wanted.

Cunningham threw three touchdown passes, two to Fred Barnett, as the Eagles beat the Phoenix Cardinals, 23-21, Saturday to clinch the home-field advantage for their first-round playoff game.

The Eagles (10-6) will play host to the Washington Redskins in an NFC wild-card game next weekend.

“We got what we wanted and what we needed and that’s the home-field advantage,” Philadelphia Coach Buddy Ryan said. “We know Washington well and they know us well. It’ll be another tough game, like the other two this year.”

Phoenix ended its season with its third consecutive loss and finished 5-11 for the second year in a row.

“We’re not proud of our record, but we’ve grown,” said first-year Cardinal Coach Joe Bugel. “The Eagles are one of the beasts of the East. We beat them earlier this season and we almost beat them again here.”

Phoenix trailed, 23-7, early in the fourth quarter and closed to 23-21 on two touchdown passes by Timm Rosenbach--a 38-yard play to rookie Ricky Proehl with 5:56 remaining and a 45-yarder to J.T. Smith with 1:51 left.

Al Del Greco’s first on-sides kick attempt went out of bounds and his second was recovered by Philadelphia’s William Frizzell at the Phoenix 45. The Eagles then ran out the clock.

“A typical Cardinal-Eagle game,” Ryan said. “They always seem to come down to the end.”

Cunningham completed 13 of 19 passes for 172 yards and rushed four times for 60 yards before being replaced by Jim McMahon late in the third quarter.

Cunningham entered the game needing 87 yards to break the NFL’s single-season record for most yards rushing by a quarterback--968, set by Chicago’s Bobby Douglass in 1972.

“I didn’t think about bringing Randall back in,” Ryan said. “Jim was doing a good job. I also didn’t think about getting him the record. But I did give a game ball to Randall.”

Said Cunningham: “I’m not disappointed at all about not breaking the record. I’m just happy we won. Buddy told me to get it done within a quarter or two because I was coming out. Throwing a few touchdowns and having the home-field advantage is good enough for me.”