''I was telling the guys we have not accomplished anything yet,'' Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said. ''It was a big win, but we only have one day to enjoy it, and then it is on to preparing to host Atlanta.'' ''We took one more step and we made it to the playoffs,'' coach Andy Reid said.
''It is important that we keep winning.'' Meanwhile, Owens complained about not seeing enough of the football, something unlikely to be received well among teammates and coaches who saw him drop the ball twice Monday, including a long pass that could have swung momentum to the Cowboys. ''I just feel like I'm not involved early in the game,'' said Owens, who had the Cowboys' touchdown on a 14-yard reception, but did not get the first of his three catches until the game was nearly 19 minutes old.
''Every team that I've played on, I've been involved early and often,'' Owens said. ''It's hard to get in the flow when you're getting a ball here, and a ball there.'' Ironically, one of the quarterbacks who used to work with Owens and became a frequent target of his criticisms, Jeff Garcia, completed 15 of 23 passes for 238 yards and one touchdown (with one interception) while improving his record to 4-1 as the Eagles' fill-in starter.
''It's has been real exciting for this team to come together like they are coming together, just playing all-out from top to bottom,'' Garcia said. ''There is not a single guy out there who is not putting everything out there.'' Brian Westbrook, who had his sixth 100-plus yards rushing performance of the season with 26 carries for 122 yards, noted the Eagles still ''have to come together for next weekend'' against Atlanta.
The Cowboys, by contrast, were a team looking for answers after their second loss in three weeks left them 9-6 and needing a victory over Detroit and help from Atlanta to claim the division title that appeared to belong to them until the Eagles crashed the party. ''It didn't look like we were too well prepared, and I think our inexperience in these kinds of games hurt us,'' Dallas coach Bill Parcells said. ''I think we had some young guys that really had some problems in the game at critical times, and it really showed up.
''I told the team they could either be judged by this game, or they could come back ready to go next week and have a chance to try to compete for the championship. I think we will all know next week at this time which way we are going to go.'' Injury update: Backup linebacker/special teams player Dedrick Roper (sprained MCL) was the only player who emerged from Sunday's game with a new injury significant enough for Reid to mention in his day-after report.
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Cornerback William James (strained calf) and strong safety Michael Lewis (strained knee) also made the report after missing Sunday's game. They fell into the ''we'll-see'' category.
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