ARLINGTON, Texas — For an entire year, the Dallas Cowboys have had to deal with the fallout from a crushing, season-ending loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now it is the Eagles’ turn — for this week, at least.

Tony Romo threw a pair of early touchdown passes and the defense took over from there, carrying Dallas to a 24-0 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday that was filled with milestones for the Cowboys, the most important being that they won the NFC East and will host a rematch in the first round of the playoffs next weekend.

Some of the other good stuff for Dallas: Posting consecutive shutouts for the first time in team history, Romo and the entire offense setting all sorts of single-season records, having a winning record after Dec. 1 for the first time since 1996 and ending a nine-game losing streak in season finales.

With all that going their way, perhaps the Cowboys (11-5) can finally win a playoff game for the first time since 1996.

“This ballclub has done a good job of putting its best foot forward when it has to,” Romo said. “We haven’t arrived and we haven’t accomplished anything. This is a step in the process to continue to get to where we want to go. It’s a positive one, definitely, but we still need to keep improving. There’s hopefully a lot of season left.”

The Cowboys won the division two years ago, then opened the playoffs at home against a division rival they’d beaten twice that season — and lost.

But this Dallas team seems to be different. Since opening December with consecutive losses, they’ve won three straight, knocking off the Saints when they were 13-0, then shutting out Washington on the road and now blanking the powerful Eagles (11-5).

Philadelphia came in having already set the franchise scoring record and riding a six-game winning streak during which it averaged 31.2 points per game. The Eagles still had a lot to play for because a victory would’ve locked up the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.

The loss sinks them all the way to the sixth seed, the lower of two wild cards.

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” said tight end Brent Celek, who led Philadelphia with seven catches for 96 yards. “I didn’t expect to come down here and play like this. We’re lucky we have another opportunity to play again. That’s all we can ask for.”

In other games on Sunday:

Jets 37

Bengals 0

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Rex Ryan’s top-ranked defense shut down Cincinnati, and rookie Mark Sanchez efficiently led a clock-eating offense as New York clinched its first playoff berth in three seasons with a victory at a frigid Meadowlands.

Texans 34

Patriots 27

HOUSTON — Rookie Arian Foster scored two touchdowns, Bernard Pollard recovered a fumble for a touchdown and had a key interception as the Texans (9-7) briefly kept their slim playoff hopes alive before the Jets snatched it away.

Ravens 21

Raiders 13

OAKLAND, Calif. — Willis McGahee ran for a career-high 167 yards and three touchdowns and the Ravens clinched an AFC wild-card berth. The Ravens (9-7) went into the regular season finale knowing a win would put them in the playoffs and a loss would send them home for an early winter.

Chiefs 44

Broncos 24

DENVER — Josh McDaniels’ first season as Denver coach ended the same way Mike Shanahan’s last one did: with a late-season flop and an embarrassing blowout that wasted a strong start and kept the Broncos out of the playoffs.

Steelers 30

Dolphins 24

MIAMI — A swarming Steelers defense sent two Miami quarterbacks to the sideline, including Pat White with a scary head injury, but the reigning Super Bowl champions were eliminated from the playoff chase. The Dolphins (7-9), who won the AFC East in 2008, were also eliminated with 2 minutes left in the game when Houston beat New England.

Vikings 44

Giants 7

MINNEAPOLIS — Brett Favre passed for 316 yards and four touchdowns without a turnover in less than three quarters against the barely there Giants (8-8).

Bills 30

Colts 7

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Despite near whiteout conditions in the first half, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes for Buffalo (6-10), including a 41-yarder to Terrell Owens. Fred Jackson had 212 yards rushing to reach 1,000 for the first time in his career.

Packers 33

Cardinals 7

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Arizona and Green Bay knew well before kickoff that they would be playing each other again on the same field in a few days. The Cardinals can only hope this wasn’t a preview of that first-round playoff matchup.

Panthers 23

Saints 10

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Saints backups gave an ugly performance that sends the No. 1 seed in the NFC into the postseason on a three-game losing streak. Jonathan Stewart rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown, and the Panthers (8-8) won their third straight.

Chargers 23

Redskins 20

SAN DIEGO — The Washington Redskins couldn’t even hold off San Diego’s backups in Jim Zorn’s last game as coach. Billy Volek threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to fullback Mike Tolbert with 35 seconds left to rally the playoff-bound Chargers to their 11th straight victory.

Browns 23

Jaguars 17

CLEVELAND — Jerome Harrison rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown, and Josh Cribbs ran for a TD, giving Cleveland its first four-game winning streak since 1994. That pushed coach Eric Mangini into an uncertain offseason with momentum to fight for his job.

Falcons 20

Buccaneers 10

TAMPA, Fla. — Matt Ryan threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Falcons finish with consecutive winning records for the first time in franchise history. Standing in for injured leading rusher Michael Turner, Jason Snelling ran for 147 yards on 25 carries for Atlanta (9-7).

49ers 28

Rams 6

ST. LOUIS — Vernon Davis tied the NFL record for touchdown receptions for a tight end with his 13th of the season, helping the 49ers finish strong and the lowly Rams clinch the No. 1 overall draft pick. Frank Gore added 107 yards rushing on 23 carries and two late TDs for the 49ers (8-8).

Bears 37

Lions 23

DETROIT — Jay Cutler matched a career high for a second straight week with four touchdown passes. The Bears (7-9) won their final two games and three of the first four. The problem: Chicago lost eight of 10 games between its strong start and finish. Detroit (2-14) was bad again after becoming the NFL’s first team to finish 0-16 last season.