ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -The Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles were scoreless after one quarter in the first playoff game played at the new $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium.
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This is the 79th time that teams have met for the third time in a season. Only 18 teams completed three-game sweeps, something Dallas was trying to do after beating the Eagles twice in the regular season – including 24-0 only six days earlier at Cowboys Stadium.
The Cowboys’ victory last weekend clinched the NFC East title and ended the Eagles’ six-game winning streak in which they had averaged 31 points a game. Philadelphia wound up the No. 6 seed instead of No. 2 with a first-round bye as they would have been by beating the Cowboys.
Philadelphia made it to the NFC championship game as the No. 6 seed last year.
Going into Saturday night, the Eagles had won their first game in seven consecutive postseason appearances since Andy Reid became coach and Donovan McNabb their quarterback in 1999. Philadelphia won 10 playoff games in that span – Dallas none.
Through one quarter Saturday night, the Eagles had only 12 total yards and their only first down came on a penalty. Dallas had 91 total yards, including Tony Romo’s 64 yards on 5-of-6 passing.
Dallas didn’t score on the opening drive for the first time in four games, even though Kevin Ogletree got into the end zone on a 17-yard play that was nullified when Jason Witten was called for pass interference. Witten was blocking ahead of the screen pass to the right.
0-yard gain, leaping over a defender along the sideline at the 25 and tiptoeing another 11 yards before finally losing his balance and falling out of bounds.
Two plays after the nullified touchdown, Witten was called for illegal motion, then Romo was sacked and had an incompletion. The Cowboys punted on fourth-and-32 from the Eagles 36.
Jones sprinted up the middle for a 20-yard gain to the Eagles 31 on the opening play of the Cowboys’ second series. Romo was then sacked again, and the Cowboys punted two plays later.
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