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IRVING, Texas -- Thanks to a ball-hawking, big-play defense, the Arizona Cardinals didn't need another strong finish Saturday to win the franchise's first playoff game in 51 years.

	Emmitt Smith had a long day against Rashod Swinger and the Cardinals defense.

The Cardinals' perfect performance on three fourth-down plays preserved a shocking 20-7 victory in the NFC wild-card playoffs over the Dallas Cowboys, the same Cowboys who scored 73 points on Arizona in two earlier victories

"Watching the change in this team all season was like watching a flower grow from a seed to a beautiful bloom," said defensive end Andre Wadsworth, who played his first game as a rookie in a 38-10 loss to the Cowboys on Sept. 6. "After that loss in the opener, I think this time that flower had some poison in it."

The Cardinals, despite being the 12th and last team to qualify for the NFL playoffs, had the best single-season record in close games in league history. They won seven of eight games decided by three points or less and won their last three on the final play.

But this time, said linebacker Jamir Miller, who had two sacks among his 12 tackles, "we wanted to get on them early and stay on them. It's hard for anyone to beat a team three times, and we felt we got gypped on the last play in the last game. We didn't want it to come down to a last play or a last call."

The Cardinals intercepted three of Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman's passes, but perhaps their biggest play was Miller's sack of Aikman on a fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter, ending any hope of a miracle comeback by the Cowboys.

"I knew they would try a bootleg, and since Aikman's right-handed, I thought it would come to my side," Miller said. "They called timeout when we stacked up against the run, so I knew they would pass."

Arizona stopped Dallas on another fourth-and-1 in the first quarter, stuffing Emmitt Smith for a 1-yard loss at the Cardinals 8. Aikman also threw incomplete on a fourth-and-5 play deep in Arizona territory in the fourth quarter.

Defensive back Aeneas Williams, who will play in his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl, said the secret of turning 73 points in two games to seven points Saturday was that "we declared war on the state of Texas.

"We knew there would be some casualties, but we didn't care. We endured to the end. That's what we had to do -- never, ever give up."

Arizona had lost 16 of 17 overall and nine straight to the Cowboys in Texas Stadium, a fact that bothered Miller, playing his fifth year.

"They didn't respect us, and we had to make plays to turn that around," Miller said. "They thought we were a joke.

"It means a lot to win a playoff game, but to come here to Dallas and do it, it makes it all the sweeter to come in here and dominate them."