Star-Struck

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Eagles, particularly the second-year wide receiver with Philadelphia's most infamous Twitter account, promised their rematch with the Dallas Cowboys would be different.

They were right, too.

Dallas pinned a much worse loss on the Eagles last night at Cowboys Stadium than they had six days earlier in this same enormous venue. Thanks to 27 straight points, the Cowboys posted a 34-14 first-round playoff victory that earned them a second-round matchup with the Minnesota Vikings a week from today. The score wasn't as lopsided as the 24-0 win that pushed the Eagles to the bottom of the NFC playoff pack, but Dallas' domination was more thorough.

"I saw us slip as a football team the last two weeks, not as a defense, not as an offense and not as coaches," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

It was the Cowboys' first playoff victory since 1996 and it was the first time the Eagles lost an opening playoff game during Reid's eight trips to the postseason. Dallas (12-5) swept three games from the Eagles for the time in the history of the rivalry.

DeSean Jackson, the Eagles' second-year receiver who made the most bold declarations in the days leading up to the game, was once again a nonfactor unless you count his fourth-quarter touchdown catch that came with his team trailing by 34-7. In the first half, he didn't have a catch.

The Eagles finished the season 11-6 and will have all sorts of issues to sort through in the coming months with the future of quarterback Donovan McNabb at the very top of the list.

Questions about the Eagles' bend-and-break defense must be addressed before the team reconvenes at Lehigh University for the start of training camp this summer.

How much time McNabb has left in Philadelphia can now be debated. How much time McNabb had to throw the football against the Cowboys last night cannot. The Dallas defenders, especially in the first half, were constantly in McNabb's face and the results were disastrous for the offense.

The Eagles finished the opening half with 140 total yards, but that number was deceiving.

Seventy-six of those yards came on one play that gave the Eagles and their fans a brief glimmer of hope against a superior opponent.

After Dallas took advantage of a 40-yard pass interference call against Sheldon Brown to take a 7-0 lead, the Eagles answered two plays later when Michael Vick faked a handoff to LeSean McCoy and found rookie receiver Jeremy Maclin open down the left sideline. After securing Vick's pass and eluding cornerback Mike Jenkins, Maclin had open field to the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.

The Eagles' final highlight of the night and season came when quarterback Tony Romo, under intense pressure, made an errant throw in the direction of Sean Jones. It was initially ruled that the safety had pulled in an acrobatic interception and returned it from the Dallas 34 to the 14-yard line.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips used his red flag to challenge and the call on the field was overturned after referee Ed Hochuli went under the hood to watch the replays.

Given new life, the Cowboys capitalized with a 10-play, 85-yard drive to take a 14-7 lead. The drive included two third-and-long conversion passes by Romo, who picked apart the Eagles' secondary for the second straight game.

Romo shook off two early sacks and completed 23 of 35 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns to win his first playoff game in his third attempt. The Cowboys' quarterback was at his best in third-down situations, completing 7 of 11 passes for 78 yards and seven first downs.

Dallas also had its way with the Eagles on the ground again, compiling 198 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown run by Felix Jones that put the Cowboys up by 34-7 in the third quarter.

McNabb, by contrast, completed 19 of 37 passes for 230 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked four times, and most of his completions and yards came after the outcome was decided. McNabb finished the first half 4 for 10 for 39 yards and spent most of his time trying to escape the Dallas pass rush.

Two second-quarter turnovers helped seal the Eagles' fate.

After a 25-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham gave Dallas a 17-7 lead, the Eagles tried to recreate the Vick magic on a second-and-10 play. Instead, Vick fumbled an exchange with fullback Leonard Weaver, and linebacker Bobby Carpenter recovered at the Eagles' 18-yard line.

Two plays later, Romo connected with Miles Austin for a 6-yard touchdown and the rout was on.

The Eagles managed to get into Dallas territory on their next possession, but their tragedy of errors continued when Weaver was stripped of the ball by linebacker Bradie James for yet another turnover.

Dallas capitalized with another Suisham field goal just before halftime to take a 20-point lead.

The second beating was even worse than the first, and now the Eagles have a lot longer than six days to think about it.