Crowing Pains

Their 13 regular-season wins are the most in team history.

They are the second NFC East team to go unbeaten and untied against their division opponents.

All those accomplishments were completed yesterday at Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles overcame a long afternoon of offensive frustration and failure to pull out a 12-7 win with Dorsey Levens' late touchdown run against the Dallas Cowboys.

And, still, many in the sellout crowd at the Linc left with faces longer than John Kerry's.

Blame T.O. Hysteria, which somberly replaced T.O. Mania and the Tights Watch early in the third quarter, when Cowboys safety Roy Williams violently pulled down Terrell Owens after the star receiver pulled in a 20-yard pass from Donovan McNabb just beyond midfield near the Dallas sideline.

Owens got up, but instead of heading back to the huddle, he made the 53-yard trek across the field to the Eagles' sideline, painfully hobbled by an ankle injury.

Moments later, he was assisted under the entrance tunnel and into the stadium X-ray room. The X-rays were negative, but the city's most anticipated MRI examination in history will provide a more definitive picture of Owens' injury today.

"You don't want guys hurt," coach Andy Reid said. "That's the bottom line. But things happen, and you move on. You've got to play the game, and when you play this game, people will get hurt at times. "

Time is something that seems to be on Owens' side. The Eagles don't absolutely need him again until at least Jan. 15, the earliest date they would host their first playoff game. If he has to continue to wear shorts over his black tights in practice because he failed to score 15 touchdowns and win his bet with Reid, so be it.

Reid said there is "a pretty good chance" Owens won't play next Monday night in a meaningless game against the St. Louis Rams.

"We'll see how the MRI goes, but the positive is it wasn't broken," Reid said. "The negative is that it did swell up. "

The other positive, at least on this day, was that the Eagles found a way to win without their star receiver. They also found a way to win their sixth straight game despite three turnovers by McNabb, who struggled most of the day before using his legs to destroy Dallas' upset bid.

Down by 7-6 because of a blocked extra point, the Eagles got into Dallas territory on their first four drives of the second half, only to stall each time. McNabb was intercepted by cornerback Terence Newman at the Cowboys' 7-yard line three plays after Owens left the field.

On the Eagles' next offensive series, a holding penalty on Jermane Mayberry negated a first-down connection between McNabb and L.J. Smith and led to a Dirk Johnson punt. Williams ended the next Eagles series with an interception deep in Dallas territory.

Frustration, frustration, frustration.

That was the story in the first half, too, for the Eagles.

Even McNabb's second-quarter touchdown pass to Chad Lewis was followed by a negative, as Greg Ellis blocked the extra-point kick.

Ellis struck again for the Cowboys later in the quarter, when he got around right tackle Jon Runyan to sack McNabb and force a fumble that Eric Ogbogu covered at the Eagles' 23.

Four runs by Julius Jones got the ball to the Eagles' 7, and Vinny Testaverde finished the drive with a touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson. The Cowboys' Billy Cundiff converted the extra point, and that one-point lead remained intact until the Eagles' penultimate possession.

Credit the Birds' defense for keeping it close.

"That's what we're here for," safety Brian Dawkins said. "I don't see this bend-but-don't-break stuff anymore. I think we're a rock-solid defense now. We can defend the run, and we can defend the pass. That's what you need when you get into those tough games in the playoffs. We have a lot of confidence. "

The Eagles held the Cowboys to 237 total yards. Jones rushed for 80 yards, but he needed 25 carries to do it. The Eagles' defense has allowed a league-low 202 points, and has allowed 17 or fewer points in five straight games and seven or fewer in three of those five.

McNabb and the offense finally put together a good drive after Cundiff hooked a 46-yard field-goal attempt wide left with 6 minutes, 3 seconds remaining in the game.