"One of the smartest moves Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips ever made was hiring himself as defensive coordinator.With Phillips wearing both hats this season, the Cowboys' defense achieved back-to-back shutouts for the first time in franchise history. Yesterday's 24-0 smothering of the Eagles came on the heels of last week's 17-0 lockdown of the Washington Redskins."He knows what he's doing," linebacker Anthony Spencer said. "He's been around the block a few times."Defense has driven the Cowboys to a three-game winning streak heading into the playoffs, starting with a win in New Orleans. The common threads are a defensive front that has put the heat on quarterbacks and a secondary that has limited big plays.The Cowboys sacked Donovan McNabb four times yesterday. They allowed some big receptions: a 32-yarder by DeSean Jackson, a 31-yarder by Jeremy Maclin, and a 25-yarder by tight end Brent Celek.But those plays were not the norm. Jackson and Maclin caught just three passes apiece, and McNabb was never allowed to get comfortable in the pocket.Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins acknowledged that the Eagles were hurt by "a couple of overthrown balls. They threw them at the right time, in the right coverage. I guess we just have to get back and work on that. For the most part, we played lock-down defense today."The Cowboys' first priority was containing Brian Westbrook, who was held to 17 yards on five carries. Once the running game was abandoned, the Eagles played into the Cowboys' hands."They went to their pass offense early, obviously," Phillips said. "They had to because they were behind and we are pretty good on pass defense.""