By GIL LeBRETON
glebreton@star-telegram.com
PHILADELPHIA — All chanted profanities and fall-down drunks aside, there is something reassuring about seeing the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys back on the same field again, fighting in November for first place.
The Eagles, after all, are the ones who first put the post-Jimmy Cowboys in their places, which is to say on their silver-pantsed posteriors, wondering where all the America’s Team mojo went.
If the Cowboys were going to pronounce themselves truly back, though, they had to do more than come into Lincoln Financial Field and not wet those same silver pants.
As they did last December, for example, when Philadelphia embarrassed the Cowboys and spanked them 44-6, laughing all the way into the playoffs.
The Cowboys needed their defense, in other words, to right itself in the second half Sunday night and resume holding the upper hand over a Philly offense that was without Brian Westbrook.
They needed their offense in the fourth quarter to seize the field position that Eagles coach Andy Reid had brashly given them and get the ball to the end zone.
They needed Tony Romo, Roy Williams, Miles Austin, the pass rush and the entire secondary to finally put together a complete game.
Most of all, they needed to show themselves that they could put together four fearless quarters against a bullying division rival.
And, in the end, they did.
Austin grabbed a Romo pass and dashed 49 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, and the Cowboys held on to defeat the Eagles 20-16.
In so doing, the 6-2 Cowboys gained sole possession of first place in the NFC East for the first time in two seasons.
They have won four games in a row. And whatever smirks we may have rendered for that end zone celebration against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs, there should be no disparaging this hard-earned road victory over an old and bitter foe.
Perusing the Cowboys’ schedule before the season, most fans — and even Jerry Jones? — would have been amply happy with a 6-2 record through the season’s first half.
Receiver Austin continues to steal the headlines, but the Cowboys’ current streak has been held intact by their defense.
Toss out the season’s second game, in fact, against the New York Giants, and Cowboys defenders have held opponents to 21, 7, 17, 20, 21, 17 and now 16 points.
That kind of frugal defense will win a lot of NFL games. And in the Cowboys’ case, it also is taking pressure off quarterback Romo and the offense to drive the length of the field on every possession.
The Eagles’ offense finished with 297 yards, 89 of them on the ground. It was a far cry from the 44-point season finale last year.
Unlike last season, the Cowboys were able to keep the heat on Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb most of the night. They sacked McNabb four times and pressured him into two interceptions.
McNabb remains elusive, but the night-long rush kept him constantly dancing around and out of the pass pocket.
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