Eagles’ Defense Sacks Aikman, Cowboys, 24-0

Clyde Simmons revisited Troy Aikman in the Dallas quarterback’s worst nightmare.

Simmons, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles who separated Aikman’s shoulder last November, led a defensive charge Sunday that sacked Aikman 11 times and forced him into throwing three interceptions in the Eagles’ 24-0 victory.

Simmons had a club-record 4 1/2 sacks and Rich Miano had two interceptions for the Eagles (2-1).

The 11 sacks were a record for both teams.

“I’ll give Troy credit, he hung in there and took it,” Simmons said. “He’s a tough guy and he had a tough day.”

It was the Eagles’ eighth consecutive victory over the Cowboys (1-2).

Emmitt Smith, the leading rusher in the NFC, was held to 44 yards in 13 carries by the Eagles. The Cowboys didn’t cross midfield under their own power until the last two minutes of the game, when they drove to the eight.

“We know what we can do but we did even better than we expected,” said defensive lineman Reggie White, who held the Eagles’ previous club record of four sacks.

Said Jerome Brown, who had 2 1/2 sacks: “We dominated like we can dominate. It’s nothing new.”

The 11 sacks produced 67 yards in losses for the Cowboys, who had only 45 yards passing.

“I got hit a lot more than I cared,” said Aikman, who completed 12 of 26 passes for 112 yards. “It was one of those days. We’ve been through it before. It was very frustrating. It was not a good day for anybody.”

Dallas Coach Jimmy Johnson said Monday night’s 33-31 loss to Washington hurt his team against the Eagles.

“We were not into playing Philadelphia, to be quite honest,” Johnson said. “Washington had more of effect on us then I thought it would.”

Jim McMahon, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 207 yards, converted three third-down opportunities in the first quarter to set up an 11-yard touchdown pass to Fred Barnett, who had seven receptions for 111 yards. McMahon also threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Keith Byars with 3:31 left.

Dallas started a series from the Eagles’ 11 in the fourth quarter but Aikman was sacked three consecutive times and lost a fumble.