Cowboys Fly Past Jets, Into the Playoffs : Pro football: Aikman connects with Irvin for two touchdowns in Dallas’ 28-7 victory.

Some teams win with muscle.

The Dallas Cowboys do it with speed and skill, which is why they seem back on track to defend their NFL title.

The Cowboys qualified for at least a wild-card playoff berth Saturday by beating the New York Jets, 28-7, as Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin combined on touchdown passes of 42 and three yards and Kevin Smith returned an interception 32 yards for a score.

Aikman completed 21 of 27 passes for 252 yards. The Jets intercepted three passes in a game that featured nine turnovers, five by the Cowboys.

“We’re getting better even with the turnovers,” Coach Jimmy Johnson said as his team set the stage for a return visit in two weeks against the New York Giants, who they are trying to catch in the NFC East.

The first Aikman-to-Irvin touchdown came at the end of a four-play, 78-yard drive that took only 52 seconds at the end of the first half after the teams had exchanged mistakes for two quarters.

“Troy can make plays that other quarterbacks can’t,” Johnson said of the drive, which came after a sloppy two quarters in which both teams squandered numerous chances.

The second touchdown came at the end of a 95-yard drive with 1:13 left in the third quarter. Only 51 seconds later, Kevin Smith stepped in front of Chris Burkett, picked off Boomer Esiason’s pass and ran untouched to the end zone to make it 21-0.

Dallas (10-4) is a half-game behind the Giants, who play at New Orleans on Monday night and are the only other NFL team to have clinched a playoff berth.

The Jets (8-6) dropped behind a pack of seven other AFC teams with five or fewer losses. New York’s only consolation was Brad Baxter’s one-yard touchdown run with 11:28 left that broke a streak of nearly four games without a touchdown. The Jets go on the road for their final two games, against Buffalo and Houston.

The first half appeared to be heading for a scoreless tie, fitting for the Jets, who came into the game without giving up a touchdown in 12 quarters and without scoring one in 14.

“The bottom line is that they overcame mistakes and we didn’t,” Esiason said. “Troy threw three interceptions and he’s still out there throwing and making the plays. It’s hard to keep them down, even when they make mistakes.”

Said Irvin: “It’s always important to get on the board. They were mixing it up real well, double-teaming on me, doing different things. They were a defense playing with confidence. We needed a score to take their confidence away.”