Testaverde Taking His Lumps In Dallas By Reuben Frank PhillyBurbs.com 11/15/04 IRVING, Texas - There's nothing sadder than a 41-year-old quarterback in a slump. Vinny Testaverde, who turned 41 last week, has thrown six interceptions in his last two games, a win over the Lions and a loss at Cincinnati. He had just four interceptions in Dallas's first six games, and this is the first time he's thrown three or more in consecutive games since 1989, when he had three at Cincinnati and four a week later against the Browns while with Tampa Bay. The Cowboys are 3-5 and with a loss to the Eagles tonight would fall five games plus a tiebreaker back in the NFC East. The Cowboys have rookie Drew Henson waiting in the wings, but coach Bill Parcells swears he's not even thinking about a change. "Why would you at this point in time take an unproven guy who has not played football in three years and throw him into this with the adversity that he has to face," Parcells said. "I'm not ready to do that right now. "Until I'm convinced we're mathematically eliminated, I will not be thinking about next year at all." Overall, Testaverde's numbers aren't too bad. He's completed 62 percent of his passes, has an 82.1 passer rating, and is on pace for 4,102 passing yards, which would be the second-highest of his career, his most since 1996 with Baltimore. Testaverde ranks seventh in NFL history with 42,994 career passing yards and will pass Dan Fouts and move into fifth if he throws 47 yards tonight, when the Eagles face the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. Testaverde is ninth in NFL history with 260 touchdown passes, one behind Dave Krieg. Testaverde 16 years ago made his sixth NFL start against the Eagles, a game that was notable because it was also Randall Cunningham's first season-opening start. The Eagles intercepted him five times. In his 18-year career, Testaverde has faced the Eagles four times for three teams, going 0-3-1. In those games, he has completed just 52 of 106 passes (49 percent) for 628 yards with four touchdowns and eight interceptions - a 48.7 passer rating. Henson hasn't played football since 2000, his junior year at Michigan. He spent the last three years playing baseball in the New York Yankees' minor-league system. Asked why he plans to keep Testaverde in the lineup and Henson on the bench, Parcells said, "Why should I have to explain? A guy throws for 2,000 yards in the first half of the season. We've obviously controlled the ball better than we could last year." The Cowboys had the NFL's top-ranked defense last year, but with essentially the same group of players the Cowboys this year are ranked 20th in defense, including 24th in rush defense. Dallas allowed 16.3 points and 253 yards per game last year and held six opponents to seven or fewer points. This year, they're allowing 25.4 points and 341 yards per game, increases of 36 and 26 percent. "It's a variety of things," Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress said. "No. 1, they're not turning it to their offense quite as much, so they're not making those takeaways. They're not getting off the field like they did last year. Sometimes that can be cyclical. The defensive line is the same. The linebackers are approximately the same. The secondary is in a little bit of a flux without (Darren) Woodson being in there. They've kind of gone through a bunch of right corners. "Every year stands on its own merits. Nothing is promised to you because you were the No. 1 defense last year. You've got to come out and prove it every week."