NFL

Eagles hand it over to Bengals

— One Pennsylvania team down, one to go for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Andy Dalton threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score, an opportunistic defense forced five turnovers, and Cincinnati beat the Philadelphia Eagles 34-13 on Thursday night.

The Bengals (8-6) took a half-game lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) for the last playoff spot in the AFC, but their game at Pittsburgh next week is far more important in the standings than this one.

The Bengals would clinch their second consecutive playoff berth with a victory over the Steelers if Pittsburgh loses to Dallas on Sunday. A loss to the Steelers would likely ruin Cincinnati’s chances.

The Eagles’ season was lost a long time ago. They fell to 4-10, losing 10 or more games for the first time since 2005, the year after losing the Super Bowl to New England.

There were plenty of empty seats at the Linc, where fans are hoping this is Andy Reid’s final season as coach. Reid led the Eagles to 9 playoff appearances, 6 division titles and 5 NFC Championship Games in his first 13 years, but the Eagles will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year and owner Jeffrey Lurie already said 8-8 would be “unacceptable.”

An interception by Leon Hall set up Dalton’s go-ahead 11-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Then Wallace Gilberry picked up Bryce Brown’s fumble and ran it back 25 yards for another score and an 11-point lead.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 106 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for Cincinnati. Dalton threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green in the fourth to cap a 24-point outburst in a span of 3:23.

The Eagles committed three turnovers on three consecutive possessions at one point and then fumbled a kickoff when defensive lineman Cedric Thornton (Southern Arkansas/Star City) let the ball fall through his hands on a short kick.

After beating Tampa Bay on a last-second touchdown last week to end an eight-game losing streak, the Eagles tried to make it two in a row. Turnovers got in their way again. They have committed an NFL high 34 and forced just 12 all season.

The Eagles snapped a drought of 22 quarters without a turnover by recovering two fumbles in the second. Both led to field goals by Alex Henery, helping Philadelphia to a 13-10 halftime lead.

Rookie Nick Foles made his fifth consecutive start for Michael Vick. Foles threw for 182 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

Sports, Pages 23 on 12/14/2012

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