The third-down tale

PHILADELPHIA - The Cowboys were terrific on third down Sunday night, converting 47 percent of their opportunities (7 of 15) and limiting the Eagles to 33 percent (4 of 12). The biggest third down conversion for Dallas, of course, was Tony Romo's 49-yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin on third and 14 from the Philadelphia 49. The score gave Dallas a 20-13 cushion with 8:04 left. But another big one came on the Cowboys' final possession. Facing third and 3 at the Dallas 46, Romo threw a pass to Jason Witten for 5 yards. With the Eagles out of timeouts, the Cowboys were able to run out the clock after the play with Romo kneeling down three straight times. The Eagles blitzed on the play and blew a coverage assignment, allowing Witten to get open. "We messed that one up again," Eagles SS Quintin Mikell said. "I mean, we had some mess ups out there on coverages. They had a good play call on and, obviously, they were reading our blitzes."