This Philadelphia Story Has a Bad Ending for Cowboys

The Philadelphia Eagles astonished even themselves by not only scoring a touchdown, but beating the Dallas Cowboys.

The Eagles scored their first offensive touchdown in 19 quarters with 1:07 left to play, capping a 10-point, fourth-quarter comeback and stunning the Cowboys, 13-10, Sunday.

Taking away from the Eagles’ euphoria was the disgraceful reaction--even by Philadelphia standards--of Eagle fans after the Cowboys’ Michael Irvin suffered a frightful neck injury in the first quarter.

Many of the 66,669 at Veterans Stadium cheered--first when realizing Irvin was down, then again when paramedics wheeled a stretcher onto the field.

Cowboy medical staff and owner Jerry Jones, who accompanied Irvin in the ambulance, wouldn’t speculate on the severity of the injury.

Meanwhile, the seemingly hopeless Eagles (1-4) made scoring a touchdown seem like a monumental accomplishment.

So stunned was Charles Johnson that he scored, he said, “I got up and started looking for a flag or something. You don’t want to get all excited for nothing.”

Quarterback Doug Pederson walked by while Johnson did a telephone interview outside the locker room and asked him, “Is it the president?”

The thrill of victory, so rare for the Eagles and their fans, engulfed Veteran Stadium when Johnson caught a pass over the middle on third and seven, sprinted to the goal line and plunged in.

Bobby Taylor’s interception of a desperately scrambling Troy Aikman sealed the victory with 39 seconds left. The Eagles, who had lost 20 of 23, got their first victory since beating Dick Vermeil’s St. Louis Rams, 17-14, last Dec. 3.

“I’m going to get a big cheeseburger tonight,” said Eagle Coach Andy Reid, who got his first victory as a head coach.

The Cowboys (3-1) were trying to go to 4-0 for the first time since 1995, the last time they won the Super Bowl. Smith had 114 yards in 30 carries, but lost a fumble at the Eagle one late in the first quarter.

“Give them credit, but it was a lot more breakdowns on our part,” Cowboy Coach Chan Gailey said.

Philadelphia’s long-awaited touchdown came on Pederson’s 11th completion of the game in 29 attempts. Reviled almost as much as the Cowboys in Philadelphia before the touchdown, Pederson threw for 145 yards and one interception. He wildly pumped his arms after Norm Johnson’s extra point sailed through for the final margin.

“This was badly needed,” said Duce Staley, who ran for 110 yards in 22 carries. “It was almost like being in a desert with no water and no signs of water.”

The loss ended the Cowboys’ 10-game winning streak over NFC East opponents.

“We clearly don’t feel that we played as well as we could play,” said Aikman, who was 21 for 39 for 177 yards and two interceptions.

After Norm Johnson’s 48-yard field goal cut the Cowboys’ lead to 10-3 with 11:48 left, the Eagles stopped Dallas on third-and-18 from the Philadelphia 41.

Pederson connected with Charles Johnson for 36 yards, and then rookie lineman Doug Brzezinski’s holding penalty wiped out a screen pass to Staley that would have tied the score. Instead, the Eagles settled for a 31-yard field goal that made the score 10-6 with 5:42 left.

The Eagles stuffed Smith on third-and-two at the Dallas 36, setting up the winning touchdown.

“I was really disappointed that we couldn’t make two yards,” Gailey said.