Two of the NFC's seven 5-9 teams will meet Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Redskins at Texas Stadium.
It doesn't exactly conjure up visions of the glory days when these teams would meet with Super Bowl trips on the line, but the winner will stay alive for at least one more week in the NFC's less-than-dignified wild-card chase.
The Cowboys could have pulled even with Carolina, New Orleans and St. Louis in the scramble for the second wild-card spot if they'd been able to apply the finishing touches to their near upset of the Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia, but they couldn't. The Eagles scored with less than two minutes remaining to win, 12-7.
"That was disappointing for us," Cowboys Coach Bill Parcells said. "We had our chances there. You just have to be able to make plays under pressure and, at the end, we couldn't make them."
Cowboys quarterback Vinny Testaverde threw two interceptions in a 16-for-28, 176-yard, one-touchdown passing day. Both were costly. The first came on a third-and-three play from the Eagles 39-yard line in the third quarter, when a throw toward wideout Keyshawn Johnson in the end zone was tipped by Lito Sheppard and then intercepted by Sheldon Brown. The Cowboys were nursing a 7-6 lead at the time, thanks to a blocked extra point in the first half and a touchdown pass from Testaverde to Johnson set up by a fumble by Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb on a second-quarter sack.
The second interception came after the Eagles took the lead on tailback Dorsey Levens's two-yard touchdown run with 1:57 to go. One play after having an on-target pass dropped by wide receiver Quincy Morgan around midfield, Testaverde threw far too high for wideout Terrance Copper and had the ball intercepted by Sheppard. The Eagles got the first down they needed and ran out the clock.
Still, the Cowboys, Redskins and practically every other downtrodden team in the NFC clings to playoff hopes. That probably will keep young quarterbacks Tony Romo and Drew Henson on the Cowboys' bench for at least another week while Parcells goes with Testaverde to try to squeeze into the playoffs, even if it must come in embarrassing fashion with a losing record.
Rookie tailback Julius Jones has been the centerpiece of the Dallas offense recently after returning from a broken shoulder blade. He rushed for 80 yards Sunday, although it took him 25 carries to do it. Tight end Jason Witten was Dallas's best offensive player, with six catches for 66 yards. The Dallas defense looked more like the unit that ranked first in the league last season than the one that has struggled for most of this season. The only letup came when McNabb got loose for two scrambles to set up Philadelphia's winning touchdown.
The Cowboys intercepted McNabb twice. Cornerback Terence Newman did a good job on Eagles wideout Terrell Owens, helping to limit him to two catches for 24 yards before Owens exited early in the third quarter after injuring his ankle on a tackle by Dallas safety Roy Williams. Williams had an interception and delivered several solid hits, and the Eagles failed to exploit Cowboys rookie cornerback Lance Frazier.
What might have hurt the Cowboys most of all was kicker Billy Cundiff pulling a 46-yard field goal try wide left with about six minutes left, failing to extend Dallas's lead to four points.
"It was very disappointing," Testaverde said. "We had opportunities to put the game away at times. It's been the same all year. We've made mistakes when we had opportunities to win the game. It's a frustrating feeling."
-- Mark Maske
