by BILL NICHOLS, brnichols@dallasnews.com , THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

The teams finished with a combined total of 19 penalties for 152 yards. The Cowboys were flagged 11 times for 70 yards, and the Eagles eight times for 82 yards.

"I've never seen refs want to be a part of the game that much," Cowboys receiver Patrick Crayton said. "That was amazing. When we did our weekly check, we noticed that this team here [Philadelphia] led the league in penalty flags. I don't know if they get flag bonus checks or something."

Talk about a buzz kill. All the penalties robbed both teams of rhythm, with so many plays accompanied by stoppages.

Despite the pregame playoff feel, it looked more like a preseason game with all the calls for false starts, holding, interference and personal fouls. The Eagles even got flagged for excessive celebration, which seems odd considering how much life was being sucked from the game.

Either both teams played that poorly, or the referees got caught up in the excitement. Take your pick.

Regardless, penalties played a major role.

The Cowboys seemed to get the brunt of calls early. In the first half, punter Mat McBriar pinned the Eagles at their 3-yard line. But a penalty for ineligible man downfield (Curtis Johnson) forced the Cowboys to kick again, which resulted in a 13-yard improvement in field position for Philadelphia.

Most costly for Dallas, however, was a non-call. The Cowboys , keyed by Patrick Crayton's 64-yard reception, were trying to put together a quick drive before halftime. On second down, Asante Samuel appeared to make solid contact, putting both hands on Roy Williams to break up a pass in the end zone. The Cowboys settled for a Nick Folk field goal.

Trailing 10-6 at halftime, the Eagles struck on the opening kickoff of the second half. Ellis Hobbs took the kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. But instead of celebrating, Hobbs sat in the end zone shaking his head, looking back at the flag. Holding on Moise Fokou forced the Eagles to start at their 23.

The Eagles overcame that mistake with a 77-yard drive culminating in Donovan McNabb's 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brent Celek. That set off the excessive celebration. At least the Eagles survived Dallas' challenge that McNabb crossed the line of scrimmage before making the pass.

Later in the third quarter, a low block penalty on Fokou brought back a long interception return by Sheldon Brown.

Somehow the Cowboys survived.

A holding penalty crumbled one Dallas drive in the third quarter, but on Philadelphia's next possession, Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins intercepted and Dallas got 15 more yards on a facemask penalty. That led to Folk's 33-yard field goal with 14:52 left.

The Cowboys got the clincher on Romo's 49-yard pass to Miles Austin, who raced into the end zone.

Most surprising, as he looked back at his teammates, there were no yellow flags on the ground.

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