Toss in Michael Irvin, who had 117 yards and a touchdown on four receptions -- including a falling-down catch that covered 46 yards -- and it's not difficult to understand why the Cowboys (11-2) were able to hand the Eagles their fourth straight loss. It was Dallas' 14th successive NFC East vict ory.
"A lot of us expect to win it. When you expect things and it happens, it is no big deal," said safety Darren Woodson, who made the biggest play for the Cowboys. He turned the momentum dramatically in Dallas' favor with a 94-yard interception return for a touchdown after Philadelphia closed to 24 -19 in the fourth quarter.
"I don't think he (Cunningham) saw me coming out to the flat," Woodson said. "I jumped on the route."
A 49-yard punt return by Jeff Sydner gave the Eagles the ball on the Cowboys' 12 before Woodson stepped in front of Randall Cunningham's pass for James Joseph. He sidestepped a diving Cunningham at the Dallas 30 and ran down the left sideline untouched for the score.
Woodson said the Dallas defense sensed that Sydner's punt return put Philadelphia back in the game and wanted to do something about it.
"We thought the game was starting to turn and we needed to make a big play," he said.
Rodney Peete, replacing the injured Aikman (sprained knee), completed 10 of 17 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in his first start for the Cowboys.
"The thing I didn't want to do was go out and do everything myself, because there's too many great players on this team," Peete said.
The Cowboys put 42 points on the board in their last game with third-stringer Jason Garrett at quarterback. Smith said Peete's performance adds that much more confidence to a team already flush from two straight Super Bowl wins.
"It's nice to be able to show that we can win with three quarterbacks," Smith said. "It's a great feeling knowing you can count on every quarterback you have on the roster."
Cunningham, who finished 29 of 46 for 327 yards, took the blame for Woodson's clinching touchdown.
"It was just terrible," he said of the pass. "Put it on me. I threw the interception, don't blame my teammates."
Despite the losing streak, Cunningham said he saw signs the Eagles (7-6) aren't completely lost.
"I think if we had flat out got beaten badly, it would have hurt," he said. "We know what we're capable of doing now."
Cunningham completed 10 straight passes during a stretch in the third and fourth quarters. The 10th went 5 yards to Maurice Johnson to cut the Dallas lead to 24-19.
Dallas had increased its 14-6 halftime lead early in the third quarter. Smith had a 17-yard run and a 23-yard catch before going in untouched on a 3-yard run.
Trailing 21-6, the Eagles put together their first touchdown drive midway through the third quarter. Cunningham capped it with a 25-yard pass to Fred Barnett, who finished with seven catches for 99 yards.
A 37-yard pass to Irvin set up the Cowboys' fourth score, a 19-yard field goal by Chris Boniol on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys took the lead late in the first quarter following a 49-yard drive that ended with Irvin crossing underneath the zone, taking a pass from Peete and sprinting into the end zone for the 19-yard touchdown.
Philadelphia responded thanks to an interception by linebacker William Thomas, who collected a pass tipped by Andy Harmon and returned it to the Dallas 33.
Stopped at the 5 after nine plays, Eddie Murray kicked a 22-yard field goal that cut the Cowboys' lead to 7-3.
The Cowboys drove 71 yards in seven plays on their next possession, ending the drive when Smith swept into the end zone from the 4.
The Eagles closed to 14-6 when Murray hit a 20-yard field goal with 11 seconds.
Charles Haley had three sacks and Tony Tolbert two for the Cowboys.