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From Joe: You know what was best about this? The Cowboys couldn't beat a team that had players that weren't even in the NFL last week - they had guys dressed and in the game who were ON THE STREET before this. Buahahahahaha. Romo fumbled twice on a single play. I'd laugh at that, but it's difficult to fumble on the same play twice. OK, I lied. Buahahahahahahaha - I'll laugh anyway. Buhahahahaha

Initial Story, about 15 minutes after end of game:

SEATTLE (AP) -- All Tony Romo had to do was put the ball down and let Martin Gramatica make a short kick. He couldn't do it -- and the Seattle Seahawks are still alive in the NFL playoffs.

Romo's botched hold on a 19-yard field goal try with 1:19 left forced the Pro Bowl quarterback to scramble left, but he was tackled at the 2 and the Seahawks escaped with a 21-20 victory in the wildest of wild-card games Saturday night.

Seattle trailed 20-13 after getting stopped on fourth-and-goal with about 6:40 to go, but rallied thanks to a Dallas fumble-turned-safety on the next snap and a 37-yard touchdown from Matt Hasselbeck to Jerramy Stevens on the ensuing drive.

Romo moved the Cowboys from their 28 to the Seattle 2 on a pass to Jason Witten that initially was ruled a first down. But a replay showed the Cowboys were short. Dallas had its offense still on the field after being told it was fourth down, then sent in Gramatica -- who already had made kicks of 50 and 29 yards -- to win it.

At least, that was the plan.

Longer Story from later:

SEATTLE (AP) -- All Tony Romo had to do was put the ball down and let Martin Gramatica make an easy kick -- just 19 yards, even closer than an extra point.

That's where it all slipped away from the Dallas Cowboys. The Pro Bowl quarterback who saved their season ended it, too.

Romo's bobble on the field-goal try with 1:19 left led to a scramble that ended 2 yards shy of the end zone and a yard short of a first down, preserving a 21-20 victory for the Seattle Seahawks in the wildest of wild-card games Saturday night.

"You coach long enough, you end up seeing just about everything," Seattle's Mike Holmgren said. "One more thing for the journal."

And one moment Dallas coach Bill Parcells would rather forget after coming oh-so-close to his first playoff win since 1998 and the Cowboys' first postseason victory since 1996.

"It was just one of those things," Parcells said. "It looked like a good snap. I can't tell you what happened after that. We're an extra point from being down to the eight teams left. That's what's the hardest thing."

Seattle will play on the road next weekend, its foe determined by the Philadelphia-New York Giants game Sunday. If the Eagles win, the Seahawks play at Chicago. If the Giants win, the Seahawks play at New Orleans.

Romo was a big reason the Cowboys even made it this far, having turned their season around by winning five of his first six starts after replacing Drew Bledsoe and blossoming into a Pro Bowler.

That was little comfort after Romo's last-second heave fell incomplete. He walked off the field briskly, head down, and was choked up during a postgame interview. In the locker room, he sat on a chair facing his locker, his shoulders hunched.

"I know how hard everyone in that locker room worked to get themselves in position to win that game today and for it to end like that, and for me to be the cause is very tough to swallow right now," Romo said. "I take responsibility for messing up at the end there. That's my fault. I cost the Dallas Cowboys a playoff win, and it's going to sit with me a long time."

Gramatica was supposed to cap a thrilling rally by Dallas.

After protecting a 20-13 lead with a stop by the defense, the Cowboys fell behind when Terry Glenn's fumble turned into a safety and Seattle followed with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Jerramy Stevens. But with Dallas down a point and 4:24 left, Romo drove the Cowboys right back down the field and into position for the win.

He moved the Cowboys from their 28 to the Seattle 2, where a pass to Jason Witten was initially ruled a first down before a replay showed the Cowboys were short. Parcells seemed tempted to go for it on fourth-and-1, leaving his offense on the field until Seattle called a timeout. Then he sent in Gramatica, the late-season replacement for Mike Vanderjagt who'd already made the coach look good by hitting from 50 and 29 yards.

Romo -- who has been holding on kicks since last season, long before he ever threw a pass in the NFL -- caught the snap cleanly but fumbled the ball as he tried to place it down.

Gramatica never swung his leg, instead forced to get out of the way as Romo picked up the ball and darted left to try to make up for his mistake.

He never reached the end zone -- or even the first-down marker. Romo was stopped at the 2 on a shoestring tackle by Jordan Babineaux, whose last-minute interception set up Seattle's game-winning kick the last time Dallas played here.

"I just tried to walk him down," Babineaux said. "I grabbed him by the ankles, saved the tackle. It was very huge."

Holmgren already was thinking about what plays the Seahawks would try on their last drive. Shaun Alexander was talking to receiver Deion Branch about only needing to get within kicker Josh Brown's range.

"We're giving the plan for how we can get to the 35 so Josh can make it," Alexander said. "Then, at the last second, I said, `What if he misses it? Deion was like, `Don't even say that. Why even say that?"'

The Seahawks still had to get away from the shadow of their goal line to protect the victory, but did so right away with Alexander running through the middle for 20 yards. Seattle milked the clock to 8 seconds before a punt that gave Dallas one last chance from the 50.

Romo weaved right then left, then heaved the ball into the end zone. Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys who failed to grab it. With that, Seattle's rabid fans began smacking together the Shrek-colored gloves they'd been given, producing their loudest cheer of the night. The goal, of course, is another long playoff run that leads to the Super Bowl, as it did last season.

"Some unusual things happened. That's the playoffs for you," Holmgren said.

As bizarre as this finish was, it was only the second-craziest of the season for Dallas. On Nov. 5, the Cowboys lost 22-19 to Washington after a last-second field goal was blocked and a flag on the return let the Redskins kick the winner with no time left. It was their only other road loss under Romo.

The punch to the gut of that loss, though, was nothing compared to this one. It will haunt Dallas at least until next season and likely until the longest postseason drought in franchise history ends -- whenever that is.

And Romo will have to live with one of the most memorable blunders in playoff history.

"I don't know if I have ever felt this low," the disconsolate quarterback said.

Added team owner Jerry Jones: "I feel empty."

The Cowboys are 0-for-2 under Parcells in the playoffs and might have played their last game for him. If so, his four-year tenure would end with three straight losses and four in his last five games.

"I'm going to take a look at things, take a look at what we need to do, and go from there," Parcells said.

Jones wants Parcells back.

"I think we gave ourself a chance this year to meet our goal. We didn't get them met, but we gave ourselves a chance," Jones said.

Hasselbeck was 18-of-36 for 240 yards with two touchdowns, both to Stevens, and two interceptions, both of which resulted in Dallas field goals.

Alexander ran 24 times for 69 yards. His 20-yard burst at the end was his longest of the game.

Romo was 17-of-29 for 189 yards and a touchdown. He didn't have any turnovers after a spurt of them in recent weeks, although he did fumble once. And, of course, there was the botched hold that mattered most.

"It was perfect," Alexander quipped. "Just how we planned it."

Miles Austin, an undrafted rookie, had the first kickoff return for a touchdown in Cowboys playoff history. His 93-yarder put Dallas up 17-13 in the third quarter only 11 seconds after the Seahawks had gone ahead.

The Cowboys' defense was way better than usual, too. They allowed only two first-half field goals, their stingiest half in eight games, and kept Seattle from ever getting into a groove.

Dallas is 0-5 in the playoffs since winning a wild-card game at Minnesota on Dec. 28, 1996. The Cowboys had never lost more than three straight postseason games.

Parcells had never even lost two straight playoff games before this 0-3 drought. In 2003, his first year in Dallas, he became the only coach to guide four teams into the playoffs, but another loss kept him from upping that mark to the only coach to win playoff games with four clubs.

"I did the best I could," Parcells said. "It wasn't quite good enough."

Holmgren won his 12th career playoff game, tying Bill Cowher for fifth-best in NFL history.

Notes

There was a pregame moment of silence for slain Denver cornerback Darrent Williams. ... Seattle had two sacks, matching its total for the previous four games. ... The longest kickoff return by Dallas in a playoff game had been an 89-yarder by Rod Hill in January 1983. ... Injured Seahawks safety Marcus Trufant raised the team's 12th Man flag to a boisterous ovation before kickoff. ... T.O. on his future in Dallas: "Definitely, I see no reason not to" be back.

NFC East
Team		W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	AFC	NFC	DIV	Streak
y-Philadelphia	10	6	0	.625	398	328	5-3	5-3	1-3	9-3	5-1	Won 5
x-Dallas	9	7	0	.562	425	350	4-4	5-3	3-1	6-6	2-4	Lost 2
x-N.Y. Giants	8	8	0	.500	355	362	3-5	5-3	1-3	7-5	4-2	Won 1
Washington	5	11	0	.312	307	376	3-5	2-6	2-2	3-9	1-5	Lost 2

From Joe: You lose to a 2-13 team. Makes all those chest pounding emails I got earlier in the season about guaranteeing a Super Bowl victory all the more stupid, eh? Watching this team implode like that is just too darned funny. The increased font size and red color below was my idea - wanted to make sure people saw that.

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- So much for working out the kinks before the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys are headed into "the tournament" at their worst.

They couldn't even beat Detroit on a day when a loss would've given the Lions the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Done in by repeated mistakes from Tony Romo and a few more by Terence Newman, the Cowboys blew their last chance to win the NFC East with a 39-31 loss to the Lions on Sunday.

Roy Williams caught a pair of touchdown passes, Mike Furrey and Mike Williams each caught one and Jason Hanson kicked four field goals, helping Detroit (3-13) score its most points of the season and win a game the franchise might've been better off losing. Now Oakland gets the top overall pick and the Lions will go second.

Furrey punctuated his score by firing the football into a plastic Cowboys logo behind the end zone, knocking it off the wall and putting a crack in it.

How symbolic.

Despite owning the top wild card, Dallas (9-7) goes into January having lost consecutive games for the first time all season. The Cowboys also have dropped three of four since owning a two-game division lead in early December.

All three losses were at home, guaranteeing no playoff games at Texas Stadium. Dallas will open the playoffs at Seattle on Saturday or Sunday.

From Joe: T.O. Two dropped passes. One interception right in front of him. Madden says TO will be out of town after season. Buhahahahaha.

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Move over, Tony Romo. Jeff Garcia is taking a run at being the backup quarterback of the year.

After all, he led the Philadelphia Eagles past Romo and the Dallas Cowboys and into first place in the NFC East with a week to go in the season.

Garcia took the Eagles to scores on four of their first five drives and the Philadelphia defense humbled Romo in a 23-7 victory Monday that secured at least a wild-card berth.

The Eagles (9-6) can win the division for the fifth time in six years by beating Atlanta at home Sunday. Philadelphia also could clinch if Dallas loses its finale to Detroit.

"It's not about looking too far in the future, it's about playing today," Garcia said. "Hey, Philadelphia -- Merry Christmas!"

The only way the Cowboys (9-6) can win the NFC East is by beating the Lions and by the Falcons knocking off the Eagles.

One thing settled by this game is that New Orleans clinches the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.

Philadelphia is enjoying a stunning turnaround for a club that was 5-6 going into December after Garcia lost his first start in place of an injured Donovan McNabb.

Now Garcia and the Eagles have won four straight. The last three have come on the road against division foes, the exact patch of the schedule that was supposed to bury Philadelphia.

"Last year, we had a lot of injuries and we had other things going on. This year, we stuck together through all those things, through all the naysayers," veteran safety Brian Dawkins said. "We knew what we could do, continued to push each other. We're doing what people didn't expect, but everyone in the locker room expected it."

The Cowboys were the ones steamrolled Monday. They never led and hardly threatened, setting a season-low for points by 10 and yards by 119, which was set in a 38-24 loss at Philadelphia.

It also was their second straight falling-on-their-face performance in a high-profile game. Dallas was stomped 42-17 by New Orleans two weeks ago in a game for the second-best record in the NFC.

"We were noncompetitive," Parcells said, adding he told the team the same thing. "There's nothing good to say. We just didn't make any plays at all, either side of the ball. Just awful."

The Eagles went 89 yards in 13 plays on their first drive, converting four third-down tries before Garcia lobbed a 25-yard touchdown pass to a barely covered Matt Schobel.

And the defense made three straight goal-line stands against NFC rushing TD leader Marion Barber, capped by a 3-yard loss on fourth down. Then Garcia took Philadelphia from its 4-yard line to the Dallas 2, settling for a 25-yard field goal by David Akers. Akers also nailed a 45-yarder as the first half ended and made a 21-yarder on the opening series of the third quarter.

Down 16-7, Romo looked more like a guy who spent 3 1/2 years on the bench than one who earned a Pro Bowl invitation for a half-season's work.

He short-circuited the next four drives with two sacks, then two interceptions. Dallas also was hurt by Terrell Owens dropping a perfectly thrown deep pass on the series right after Philadelphia's final field goal.

"We had a couple chances there and just didn't get the job done," Romo said.

The Eagles stretched the lead to 23-7 midway through the fourth quarter, grinding out most of their 80 yards on the ground and burning plenty of clock. When Romo's next pass was picked off, fans began hurrying to the exits even through there was still 6:39 left. Romo-mentum was dead, at least not worth waiting for on a chilly Christmas evening.

Those who remained mustered the energy to loudly boo Owens for another drop with 3:07 left. Of course, many of those could've been Eagles fans who might boo T.O. for breathing.

Garcia was 15-of-23 for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and ran for 43 yards. Brian Westbrook ran for 118 yards and Correll Buckhalter had 38 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles' 205 yards rushing were easily the most Dallas has given up this season and the most by an opponent at Texas Stadium since 2000.

Romo was 14-of-29 for a season-low 142 yards, with a touchdown and the two interceptions. Owens caught only two passes for 23 yards, but one was a 14-yard touchdown.

"I had to throw the ball away a lot," Romo said. "I definitely had to move around a bunch. They covered well."

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- No matter how much Sean Payton insisted he wasn't trying to prove anything to Bill Parcells, Drew Brees knew his coach was lying.

The facts support Brees' side of the story.

Facing his former boss for the first time, Payton called for a reverse on a fourth-and-1 and made featured players out of guys who had never scored. Everything he drew up worked so well that the first-year head coach was brazen enough to call for an onside kick while his New Orleans Saints already were well on their way to a 42-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

The onside kick worked too, by the way, making the Saints (9-4) big winners in a showdown for sole possession of the second-best record in the NFC.

"I have a ton of respect for Bill and all he's accomplished in Dallas," Payton said of the man he was an assistant to for the last three seasons. "This was two good 8-4 teams playing a big game. It wasn't me competing against Bill. It was about the teams, not the head coaches."

Yeah, right, said Brees, who took advantage of Payton's nifty play-calling to match his career high with five touchdown passes, all before the third quarter ended. The only excitement in the fourth was Payton getting doused by a bucket of Gatorade.

"I could tell it was very special for him," said Brees, who was 26-of-38 for 384 yards. "He didn't put a lot of added pressure on us this week. He just went on with his business. But I could see in the gleam in his eye at the end of the game. ... I could tell it meant a lot."

Parcells absorbed most of this one with his lips pinched and his arms crossed. Not even Tony Romo could save the Tuna from the embarrassment.

Romo had the worst game of his budding career: 16-of-33 for 249 yards, with two interceptions and a fluke touchdown to Terrell Owens on what would have been another pickoff if cornerback Fred Thomas wasn't wearing a cast.

"That was a pretty good licking," said Parcells, who shared a quick handshake with Payton at game's end. "I can't think of anything we did very well."

The Cowboys (8-5) had won four straight games and five of six. They were playing so well that on Monday he spoke to them about what it takes to win a championship.

Dallas still has a one-game lead over the New York and Philadelphia in the NFC East.

"We just made some mistakes on things that we shouldn't have," Romo said. "We'll see what we're made of now."

With Seattle losing earlier Sunday, Dallas went out knowing the No. 2 seed was there for the taking. Maybe it was too easy at first, with a four-play stand by the defense followed by a 77-yard touchdown run by Julius Jones on the Cowboys' second snap.

Hardly anything else went right for Dallas.

A defense that hadn't allowed more than 22 points in any of the last six games gave up 21 in the second quarter, then another 21 in the third. The offense's only other touchdown came on the fluke grab by T.O.

"For whatever reason, we weren't ready," Dallas nose tackle Jason Ferguson said.

Cowboys fans headed for the exits when the third quarter ended -- it was already 10 p.m., after all -- leaving the seats mostly to the gold-and-black clad Saints fans. And there were plenty of them, as heard every time "Dooooo-ce" McAllister got the ball, or when "Reg-gie!" Bush did something exciting. Chants of "Who Dat?!" rang out throughout the fourth quarter.

New Orleans has a two-game lead in the NFC South with three games left. The Saints also are in position to grab a first-round playoff bye for the first time in franchise history.

They certainly looked worthy to a national prime-time audience Sunday night.

"We let a lot of people know what we are all about," Brees said.

Picking up where he left off in his last game at Texas Stadium, a championship victory for Austin high school in 1996, Brees led New Orleans to six touchdowns in a span of seven drives over the middle two quarters. Along the way, he took them 88 and 95 yards for scores, plus cashed in on an interception and the onside kick.

A lot of his success came from great play-calling by Payton, such as trusting Mike Karney, a burly fullback who had never scored in 43 NFL games. He wound up with two receiving TDs and one rushing.

Another surprise was Jamal Jones. He had only two catches in his 10-game, two-year career, but caught a 27-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half.

On the play before, Jones was ruled to have caught a pass for a first down at the Dallas 15. The ball came out at the end and Parcells thought it was an incompletion, so he threw his challenge flag. However, it was in the final 2 minutes, when all challenges come from the booth. So he was hit with a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Payton was more successful in his use of the red hanky, getting an out-of-bounds call on Karney turned into his third TD. It wasn't as dazzling as a 61-yard catch and run by Bush earlier in the third quarter, but it proved to be more of a turning point because of the onside kick, which led to a 42-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson.

Bush caught six passes for 125 yards and ran six times for 37. McAllister ran for 111 yards on 21 attempts.

Saints rookie Marques Colston caught five passes for 48 yards after missing the two previous games with a sprained left ankle.

Jones finished with 116 yards rushing for Dallas and Terry Glenn caught eight passes for 150 yards.

Notes

Already the NFL leader in yards passing, Brees topped 4,000 for the first time in his career. ... Jones' TD tied the second-longest ever allowed by the Saints and matched the fifth-longest in Cowboys history. ... Cowboys kicker Martin Gramatica missed a 43-yarder just before halftime, then made a 24-yarder in the third quarter.

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- Joe Gibbs watched his Washington Redskins go from blowing a chance for a last-minute victory over the Dallas Cowboys to preventing a last-minute loss to, somehow, pulling out a win with no time left on the clock.

"Gosh," the Hall of Fame coach said, "I don't know if I've experienced anything like that."

In a finish as crazy as they come, Washington's Nick Novak got two chances to try a winning field goal, missing the first from 49 yards with 31 seconds to go before barely making the second, a 47-yarder after time expired that lifted the Redskins past the Cowboys 22-19 on Sunday.

"It's a short walk from the outhouse to the penthouse," Novak said. "This is what a kicker dreams about. There are ups and downs, and this was the up."

Between Novak's low and high, Dallas kicker Mike Vanderjagt's chance to win it -- a 35-yarder with 6 seconds left -- was blocked by Troy Vincent. The ball bounced around until Sean Taylor picked it up and made a weaving, tackle-busting return into Dallas territory as time expired. Dallas' Kyle Kosier was flagged for a facemask penalty on the return, tacking on another 15 yards -- and meaning regulation would continue for one more play.

Novak came through this time, sneaking the ball inside the right upright. With his arms up, Novak ran about 50 yards back downfield, and several of his teammates piled on top of him, led by Vincent.

A five-time Pro Bowl defensive back in his 15th year in the league, Vincent was signed last month after the Buffalo Bills released him from their injured reserve list. He'd never blocked a kick in his career, he said, and wasn't even told until Saturday night that he'd be on field-goal duty.

"A win is a win," Vincent said, "and it's good to get back in the win column."

The Redskins (3-5) snapped a three-game losing streak and dropped Dallas (4-4) into a second-place tie in the NFC East with idle Philadelphia.

In many ways, the Cowboys could only blame themselves, with all kinds of miscues and, perhaps, errors in judgment: a safety on their first offensive possession; a failed 2-point conversion early in the second quarter ("I go by the chart," coach Bill Parcells said); and plenty more errors that wasted another fine performance by quarterback Tony Romo in his second NFL start.

"When you've got that much going for you, and you screw it up like that, it's how you end up 4-4," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

There was, of course, the flubbed field goal by Vanderjagt, who came in 5-for-5 in the fourth quarter this season. And that key flag on Kosier, one of 11 times Dallas was penalized for 153 yards. Without that penalty, the game would have gone to overtime.

"It's a heartbreaker," Parcells said, "and I really don't have too much to say."

Another flag came on Terrell Owens for excessive celebration: He pretended to take a nap by using the football as a pillow after his 4-yard touchdown catch from Romo put the Cowboys ahead 19-12 in the third quarter.

Later in that quarter, a wide-open Owens dropped a long pass when he was behind the defense and seemed certain to give Dallas a two-touchdown lead.

"I owe this one to the team," Owens said. "I let the team down. Honestly, I think it was a lack of concentration."

So when beleaguered Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell connected with Chris Cooley on an 18-yard score on the third play of the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 19.

The Redskins came off their bye week knowing they needed a victory to make the rest of the season meaningful, and Gibbs vowed to revamp the playbook. There was only one significant personnel change, though: inserting Vincent as a starting safety in place of free-agent disappointment Adam Archuleta.

Still, Romo went 24-for-36 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. He repeatedly bought time by scrambling away from pressure and settled down after a rough start: Dallas gained 4 yards on its first two possessions, then totaled 235 with two TDs and two field goals on its next four drives.

But given these teams are coached by men who've won a total of five Super Bowls, there was an awful lot of sloppy or ineffective play.

The Redskins failed to score on their opening possession, despite starting seven plays inside the 5. Dallas' first possession ended with a safety, when Lemar Marshall dragged down Julius Jones in the end zone.

Washington's first possession of the second half began with a holding penalty, 3-yard run, loss of 9 on DeMarcus Ware's sack, and a gain of 8 on third-and-26. That was enough to draw boos.

By game's end, there was nothing but cheers.

As Novak walked off the field, his helmet aloft in his hand, he was smiling, the kick he'd missed moments earlier a distant memory.

Notes

Parcells is 14-9 against Gibbs. ... Brunell was 14-for-23 for 192 yards and a TD, even though top target Santana Moss (hamstring) missed the game. ... Redskins RB Clinton Portis carried 23 times for 84 yards, including a season-long 38-yard run for a touchdown.

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- The New York Giants had their way with Drew Bledsoe so much that he got benched at halftime. Tony Romo's on-field promotion thrilled Dallas Cowboys fans -- until he threw an interception on his first snap.

That's how it went Monday night: The Giants made all the big plays, the Cowboys made the big mistakes.

Eli Manning threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress on the fifth play, LaVar Arrington sacked Bledsoe for a safety soon after and the Giants fended off several potential momentum-changers, beating the Cowboys 36-22 to stake a big head start in defense of their NFC East title.

A week after sacking Michael Vick seven times, New York got four against Bledsoe -- two by Michael Strahan, tying Lawrence Taylor's club record -- and two against the more-mobile Romo. More important for the Giants (4-2) was their four interceptions.

Sam Madison picked off Bledsoe on a potential go-ahead pass into the end zone, costing the statuesque quarterback his job, at least for the rest of the night.

Romo was intercepted three times, with Kevin Dockery taking the last one 96 yards with 2:33 left for the game-sealing touchdown, leaving coach Bill Parcells staring down with his arms folded, seemingly out of answers for Dallas (3-3).

While Romo sparked the offense at times, his miscues were too much to overcome. He got little comfort from Bledsoe, who stood alone on the sideline wearing a visor pulled down over his eyes, mostly keeping his fingers curled inside his collar.

Romo, who hung his head after the last interception, perked up spirits moments later with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton soon after. But it was too little, too late.

The Giants clearly enjoyed themselves in this one, from their defense's trademark jump-shot celebrations to running back Brandon Jacobs celebrating a touchdown T.O.-style -- on the Cowboys' star logo in the end zone.

New York should be happy now that it has beaten each division foe -- Dallas (3-3), Washington and Philadelphia -- and gets to play its next three game at home. However, the Giants also come away facing two serious injuries.

Arrington tore his left Achilles tendon and is likely for the season, and defensive end Osi Umenyiora missed most of the second half with a strained hip.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- With Terrell Owens watching from the sideline, Donovan McNabb turned ordinary receivers into big-time playmakers.

McNabb threw touchdown passes of 40 yards to Reggie Brown and 87 yards to Hank Baskett, and Lito Sheppard returned an interception 102 yards in the final minute to seal the Eagles' 38-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

As for T.O., the most overhyped homecoming in recent memory was totally ordinary: three catches, 45 yards, 0 on-field drama. In fact, a frustrated Owens might be closer to having one of his infamous sideline blow-ups than another provocative touchdown celebration.

Owens clearly was unhappy after quarterback Drew Bledsoe misfired on a few passes to the star receiver. At one point, Owens was screaming as he walked off the field and took a seat alone on the bench.

As he ran into the locker room, an animated T.O. was yelling and asking why the Cowboys bothered signing him in the offseason, according to a stadium employee who witnessed the tirade but didn't want to be identified because he is not authorized to talk about team matters.

A short time later, Owens could be seen talking to team owner Jerry Jones, who appeared to be encouraging the player he personally brought to Dallas.

"I'm not going to sit up here and point a finger, so you guys can create a story," Owens said later during the press conference, refusing to blame Bledsoe for the loss. "It's not about that."

Owens' return to Philadelphia dominated the headlines this week, with Philly fans planning a hostile welcome. But Owens was merely a decoy for most of the game, and those fans were too dazzled by McNabb to fixate much on the erstwhile Eagles receiver who helped them reach the Super Bowl in 2004 before last year's bitter departure.

"It's frustrating," Owens said. "Opportunities were there and we didn't make them. I'm a competitor. I do not like to lose. Maybe I need to work harder."

Not only did Owens not score, he didn't catch a pass until the third quarter -- then dropped the next one thrown to him, much to the delight of a frenzied crowd that showered Owens with derisive chants, insults and boos.

"I was surprised Terrell didn't have more catches. That was not our plan," Jones said.

The Eagles (4-1) took the lead for good when McNabb connected with Brown on a flea-flicker pass with 9:13 left that made it 31-24. Brown, a second-year pro who replaced a suspended Owens in the starting lineup last year, beat rookie safety Patrick Watkins and caught the ball deep in the end zone.

The Cowboys (2-2) drove to the Eagles 33 on the ensuing drive. But Sheppard intercepted Bledsoe's badly underthrown pass -- intended for an open Owens.

Owens angrily snapped at his chin strap, walked off the field and took his usual spot at the end of the bench.
The Cowboys had one more chance after a pass interference penalty on Michael Lewis allowed them to convert a fourth-and-18 from their 37.

But from the Eagles 6, Sheppard stepped in front of Bledsoe's pass and raced the other way to put the game away. Bledsoe threw three interceptions and was sacked seven times.

For a while, the Cowboys were doing just fine without getting Owens involved. DeMarcus Ware scored on a 69-yard fumble return and Bledsoe ran in from the 7 to give Dallas a 21-17 halftime lead.

But Philadelphia's struggling offense turned it around with one big play.

McNabb took a deep drop, eluded a sack, stepped up and heaved a pass downfield. Baskett ran past Watkins, caught the ball in stride, broke a tackle near the 30 and streaked into the end zone for his first career touchdown.

Baskett, acquired in a trade after he was signed by Minnesota as a rookie free agent, was starting for the injured Donte' Stallworth. He finished with three catches for 112 yards.

Dallas tied it at 24 on a 39-yard field goal by Mike Vanderjagt early in the fourth quarter. Then McNabb took over.

"This is a total team game," said McNabb, who was 18-of-33 for 354 yards and two TDs. "It's not T.O. vs. Donovan. All of us play together."

Owens was a non-factor in the first half as the Cowboys relied on their running game. Bledsoe finally looked Owens' way on the Cowboys' 17th offensive play, but he was hit on the throw and Brian Dawkins intercepted.

Owens' first catch -- on Dallas' 41st play -- was a short pass that he turned into a 9-yard gain. He then looked toward the Eagles' sideline and spun the ball on the ground in their direction while gesturing.

Perhaps distracted by the Owens' hoopla, both teams were sloppy at the start.

Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, who didn't practice all week because of a knee injury, looked fine on a 24-yard screen pass on the first play from scrimmage. But he fumbled on the next play, giving Dallas the ball at its 38.

Cowboys punter Mat McBriar later fumbled a snap and Shawn Barber recovered at the 12. Westbrook ran in from the 5.

Darwin Walker sacked Bledsoe on Dallas' first play on the ensuing possession, forcing a fumble Trent Cole recovered at the Cowboys 14. But the Eagles settled for David Akers' 27-yard field goal that made it 10-0.

Marion Barber's 2-yard TD run made it 10-7.

In the second quarter, Greg Ellis hit McNabb and the ball popped. Ware caught it and, with no one in front of him, raced 69 yards for a touchdown.

The Eagles answered quickly, taking a 17-14 lead on McNabb's sneak from the 1. McNabb connected with L.J. Smith on a 60-yard pass to set up the score.

Bledsoe, not known for his scrambling, scored on a 7-yard run to give the Cowboys a 21-17 lead.

"We came out in the second half, showed a lot of character," said linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. "I think we really took a great step forward."

Notes: Stallworth (hamstring) and CB Rod Hood (heel) missed their second straight game for the Eagles. ... The Eagles snapped a seven-game losing streak against NFC East opponents.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Terrell Owens gave the Dallas Cowboys almost everything they wanted in the season opener: big plays, a touchdown and no surly behavior.

The only thing missing was a victory.

Byron Leftwich threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score, Fred Taylor had 115 combined yards and the Jacksonville Jaguars spoiled Owens' much-anticipated Dallas debut with a 24-17 win Sunday.

"I was hoping he wouldn't even score a touchdown," said Taylor, who also had a 3-yard TD run with 3:13 to play.

Owens made his presence felt early and late. It was just too early to hurt the Jaguars and too late to help the Cowboys.

He finished with six receptions for 80 yards and a score, but the Jaguars held him without a catch through much of the second half. Still, Owens keyed all three of Dallas' scoring drives, including a 21-yard TD reception with 1:54 to play that cut the lead the 24-17.

Jacksonville recovered the onside kick and was forced to punt. The Cowboys got the ball back with 51 seconds to play, but Drew Bledsoe's third-down pass was intercepted by linebacker Mike Peterson.

It was Bledsoe's third interception of the game and gave the Jaguars their ninth opening-day win in 12 seasons.

"Too many mistakes," Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said. "We had our chances. We just couldn't get it all together there."

Dallas missed several chances, most of them early.

They scored on their first two possessions -- a touchdown and a field goal -- and were looking to make it 17-0 in the second quarter. But Bledsoe overthrew Owens, who was wide open near the goal line.

The Jaguars kicked a field goal on the ensuing possession. Then, instead of running out the clock after a holding penalty with less than two minutes to play in the first half, Bledsoe tried to throw downfield and was picked off for the first time.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich, center, crosses the goal line for a fourth-quarter touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Four plays later, Leftwich found Reggie Williams in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown that tied the game. Williams appeared to push Anthony Henry's head down before the ball arrived, but officials didn't throw a flag.

"Once we let them hang around, we started making mistakes and that's the story of the game," said Bledsoe, who 16-of-33 for 246 yards and was sacked twice.

Dallas had several other key miscues:

-- Owens had a 25-yard reception negated in the third quarter by an offensive pass interference penalty on tight end Anthony Fasano.

-- Jason Witten had a 10-yard TD catch nullified by offensive pass interference late in the third quarter. He pushed Rashean Mathis just before the ball arrived.

-- Shaun Suisham, subbing for injured place-kicker Mike Vanderjagt, missed a 36-yard field goal two plays after Witten's penalty. The kick bounced off the right upright.

"I don't like coming in and starting with a loss, but by no means are we down on ourselves," said Owens, who said all the right things following his debut.

Owens was the catalyst for all three scores.

He had two catches on Dallas' opening touchdown drive and helped set up a field goal on the team's second possession. He ran a simple slant pattern on Dallas' first play from scrimmage, beat Mathis and gained 13 yards. He jumped up, slapped Bledsoe's hand and returned to the huddle with a big smile.

On the next possession, Owens drew extra coverage that allowed Jones to run wide open down the sideline for a 39-yard reception, setting up Suisham's 32-yard field goal.

"I thought he got us started pretty well early," Parcells said. "Made a big catch there at the end and gave us another chance. That's about it. It's disappointing. It really is."

Owens, benched by Philadelphia for the final nine games last season after griping about his contract and bickering publicly with quarterback Donovan McNabb, was released in March and signed with Dallas four days later. He missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury, but vowed to be ready for the opener.

And he was, as the game started to look like it would become the T.O. Show. But the Jaguars adjusted and held Owens to just two catches in the second half while putting constant pressure on Bledsoe, who threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter.

"He was not about to run out there on my Jaguar," defensive tackle John Henderson said, referring to Owens' famed pose on the Dallas star when he played with San Francisco.

Notes

Jags DE Reggie Hayward tore his left Achilles' tendon and was lost for the season. ... The Jags looked like they had little trouble replacing five-time Pro Bowl receiver Jimmy Smith. Matt Jones caught five passes for 71 yards. Reggie Williams had six receptions for 47 yards. Ernest Wilford caught three passes for 58 yards. ... Dallas had nine penalties for 93 yards.