PHILADELPHIA (AP) Tony Romo threw his first touchdown pass in nearly 14 months and the playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys played it safe in a 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
The Cowboys (13-3) locked up the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs when the Eagles (7-9) beat the Giants on Dec. 22. So Dak Prescott played only two series and Ezekiel Elliott watched from the sideline.
Carson Wentz tossed two TD passes to Zach Ertz to help Philadelphia finish with a two-game winning streak.
Prescott was 4 for 8 for 37 yards before giving way to Romo, who hadn’t played in a regular-season game since Thanksgiving 2015 when he broke his left collarbone for the second time in less than three months. Romo broke a bone in his back in the third preseason game against Seattle this season, paving the way for Prescott to have one of the best years by a rookie quarterback in NFL history.
Romo overthrew Terrance Williams on a deep pass on his first play. His first completion was a 16-yarder to Williams on third-and-12. After Dez Bryant drew a pass interference penalty on a deep pass at the Eagles 3, Romo connected with Williams for his first TD pass since Nov. 22, 2015 against Miami.
Romo finished 3 for 4 for 29 yards.
Mark Sanchez replaced Romo and threw two interceptions to Jordan Hicks in the second quarter. The Eagles took advantage of the second one at the Cowboys 49. Wentz tossed a 6-yard TD pass to Ertz to tie it at 10 going into halftime.
Wentz fired a 20-yard TD pass to Ertz in the third quarter to give Philadelphia a 17-13 lead. Wentz ran over to Ertz, grabbed the ball, jogged over to two-time AL MVP Mike Trout and handed it to him. Trout grew up in nearby Millville, New Jersey and has season tickets for the Eagles on the field behind one of the goal posts.
Terrell Watson ran in from the 1 for his first career TD to extend Philadelphia’s lead after a blocked punt late in the fourth quarter.
RESTED
Three Cowboys starters were inactive: LT Tyron Smith, CB Morris Claiborne, DE Tyrone Crawford.
SETTING RECORDS
Wentz broke Sam Bradford’s record for most completions by a rookie. Bradford had 354 completions in 2010 after St. Louis selected him with the No. 1 overall pick. Wentz finished with 379 complete passes. … Caleb Sturgis set a franchise record with 34 field goals in a season.
ZEKE FALLS SHORT
Elliott finished with 1,631 yards rushing, 178 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rookie record. Elliott is the NFL’s rushing champion.
UP NEXT
Cowboys: First-round bye and a home playoff game on Jan. 14 or 15.
Eagles: A long offseason.
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