Cowboys Not Coy Boys After Routing Eagles : NFC: ‘We had the best team,’ Johnson says of 34-10 victory over the Eagles.

Up on his podium after an easy playoff victory, Coach Jimmy Johnson did not even try to mask a confident smirk.

Minutes after his Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-10, in this NFC divisional round playoff game Sunday, Johnson acknowledged that yes, he knew his team was going to win the game.

“We had the best team,” Johnson said.

And when he was asked the significance of Sunday’s victory, Johnson simply smiled.

“It’s a big win,” Johnson said. “But we’ve got bigger ones coming.”

Four years after Johnson replaced the legendary Tom Landry, Dallas has arrived for real, earning a spot in the NFC championship next Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers in Candlestick Park.

This is the Cowboys’ first trip this deep into the postseason since the 1982-83 season, when they lost to the Washington Redskins, 31-17, in the NFC championship game under Landry.

In this game, before a Texas Stadium crowd of 63,721, the Cowboys took control during the second quarter with their usual blend of a swarming defense and a consistent, quick-strike offense.

From the beginning of the second quarter until the end of the third, Dallas forced two Eagle turnovers and gave up only 10 total yards while getting 226, including tailback Emmitt Smith’s 23-yard scoring run early in the second half.

Eagle quarterback Randall Cunningham, who rallied his team to a 36-20 victory over New Orleans in the wild-card round last week, was sacked five times, held to 22 yards on five scrambles and had a long pass of only 19 yards.

Meanwhile, Smith had 114 yards in 25 carries and quarterback Troy Aikman, in his first NFL playoff start, overcame early nervousness to complete passes of 41, 33 and 23 yards and threw for two touchdowns.

A performance to savor?

“I don’t think any of us are going to savor anything,” Johnson said, “until we win it all.”

They have to go through San Francisco to do it this year, and the Cowboys conceded that this is the matchup they have been thinking about. It comes 11 years after Dwight Clark made “the Catch” to beat them in the 1981 championship game at Candlestick, 28-27.

“I think we’ve been anticipating this, and they’ve been anticipating this,” Cowboy defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat said. “I think we both have been looking to this for a while.

“All I know is it’s definitely going to be worth the the price of admission to see this one.”

On Sunday, the Eagles took a 3-0 lead on their first possession when a Dallas offside penalty prolonged their drive and eventually set up Roger Ruzek’s 32-yard field goal.

Running back Herschel Walker, who would not be heard from much again in the game, carried four times for 33 yards and caught two passes for 14.

The Eagles didn’t score again until 50 seconds remained in the game.

The Dallas defense, ranked No. 1 overall this year despite not placing a player in the Pro Bowl, held the Eagles to 12 first downs and never let Cunningham feel comfortable enough to pass deep to Fred Barnett.

“(The Cowboys) make plays, rock you back on your heels and they just keep on coming,” Cunningham said. “They never let up to let you back in the game. I really thought it’d be a totally different game.”

Said Eagle center David Alexander: “They were hitting us hard and fast and they just didn’t seem to tire out.”

The Cowboys dominated the Eagles with their running game once earlier in the season, and Johnson said he was confident it could be done again.

The Cowboys came out running early, but Dallas’ first two touchdowns came on short Aikman passes opened up by faking handoffs to Smith. The first one was a one-yarder to tight end Derek Tennell, who was signed only 11 days ago.

The Cowboys made the score 17-3 at the end of the first half with a Lin Elliott field goal set up when Eagle kick-returner Vai Sikahema fumbled and the Cowboys recovered at the Eagle 29.

“Turnovers, that’s what decided the game,” Dallas defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt said.

Was the Sikahema fumble the turning point of the game?

“Nah, we were already up by then,” Johnson said. “So we had enough points that if we don’t score any more, we still win. So it didn’t make any difference, did it?”

The Cowboys finished with an eight-minute-plus drive during the fourth quarter. Smith went five yards on the first play, then went to the bench and watched backup Derrick Gainer carry nine of the next 11 plays, finishing the 80-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run.

By then, the Cowboys already were looking west.

“I guess the big test will be next week when we play San Francisco,” defensive tackle TonyCasillas said. “See who’s for real.”