AIKMAN'S POCKETS PICKED : EAGLES CASH IN ON INTERCEPTIONS TO BEAT COWBOYS.

Byline: Associated Press 

Troy Aikman is usually without peer when it comes to steady, heady play as an NFL quarterback.

But two uncharacteristic mistakes proved devastating for Aikman and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, as the Philadelphia Eagles struck for a 31-21 victory at Texas Stadium.

Aikman threw an interception to set up the Eagles' go-ahead field goal, then served up a second interception while trying to throw the ball away from the Philadelphia 3-yard line. The second mistake was returned for the clinching touchdown in the Eagles' first victory at Dallas in five years.

``I wasn't trying to complete the pass,'' said Aikman, who has earned three Super Bowl rings with the Cowboys since leaving UCLA. ``I was trying to get rid of it. I should have taken the sack or thrown it out of the end zone. It was a bad play.''

Linebacker James Willis intercepted Aikman's pass 4 yards deep in the end zone, ran to the 10 and lateraled to Troy Vincent, who went 90 yards for a touchdown with 12 seconds left.

The play occurred when the defending Super Bowl champions appeared to be going in for the game-winning touchdown at best, the game-tying field goal at worst.

The Eagles improved to 7-2, while the eight-point favorite Cowboys dropped to 5-4 and in danger of missing the playoffs. Philadelphia had lost nine of its past 10 games against Dallas and hadn't won in Texas Stadium since a 24-0 shutout in 1991.

``I told Troy I wouldn't trade him for any other quarterback in America,'' Dallas coach Barry Switzer said. ``He's a champion, but this will hurt him for a long time.''

Safety James Fuller picked off Aikman's pass at the Dallas 35 to set up Gary Anderson's go-ahead 30-yard field goal with 3:19 to play, giving the Eagles a 24-21 edge.

But Aikman rebounded to drive Dallas to the Eagles 3, where on third down Willis made his big play. Willis decided to run the ball out, then looked around and saw Vincent, who went all the way untouched.

``When I saw him (Willis) intercept the ball I was calling his name, hoping he heard me,'' Vincent said. ``And he did. We were just looking to make a big play out of it. I didn't see anybody on that side of the field and I just kept going. I was going to try to score. We had nothing to lose.

``We felt this could be the game for the division championship. And it was a war. A 60-minute dogfight.''

Willis said, ``I went over to cover the tight end (Tyji Armstrong) and the ball came to me. Then I heard Troy calling my name.''

Eagles coach Ray Rhodes said, ``It's probably the biggest road win in my tenure. Our defense made the plays they had to make. I'm sure we'll see Dallas again somewhere down the line in the playoffs.''

Emmitt Smith's 7-yard touchdown run and Aikman's conversion pass to tight end Eric Bjornson tied the game at 21-21 with 10:14 to go.

Ty Detmer's 14-yard touchdown pass to Irving Fryar in the third quarter gave the Eagles a 21-13 lead after a perfectly orchestrated 75-yard drive.

Detmer, who came into the game with a 3-0 record as a starter for the Eagles, kept the No. 2-rated Dallas defense off-balance as Philadelphia built a 14-10 halftime lead.

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Photo

Photo: (color) Troy Aikman walks off the field after throwing a critical interception in the final minute.

Associated Press