NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- The Dallas Cowboys are headed to the playoffs, but Quincy Carter gave Bill Parcells plenty to be concerned about. Carter's performance probably pleased Mike Holmgren.
Carter was intercepted three times, including a pair by safety Jay Bellamy, as the New Orleans Saints posted a 13-7 victory over the Cowboys.
Dallas' loss clinched a playoff spot for the Seattle Seahawks, who beat the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday and earned the first NFC wild-card spot on the basis of the strength-of-victory tiebreaker. It marks Seattle's first playoff appearance since 1999 under Holmgren.
The Cowboys (10-6) officially clinched a playoff spot last week in Parcells' first year as coach, but winning on the road in the playoffs will be a major challenge. Dallas was blanked at New England, 12-0 on November 16 and walloped at Philadelphia, 36-10 on December 7 in its last two road contests against playoff teams.
"We definitely wanted to get some momentum going into the playoffs, but hey, what we are going to have to do is regroup as a football team," said Carter, who completed 27-of-47 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown. "We've got to learn from the film and learn from the mistakes we made today in a tough environment."
Bellamy's second interception snuffed out Dallas' final scoring threat. With 1:27 left, Carter attempted to hit Terry Glenn over the middle, but the veteran receiver slipped and Bellamy picked off the pass.
"We were probably going to score there on that last interception," Parcells said. "Terry was wide open. It was a perfect play, perfect protection. He just fell down. That probably wins the game for us if we catch that ball. But to tell you the truth, we probably didn't deserve to win even if we would have won."
The Saints (8-8) had not beaten a team with a record over .500 until this win, but missed the playoffs for the third straight year under coach Jim Haslett. His status is uncertain for next season.
"That's something you'll have to ask (Saints owner) Mr. Benson," Haslett said. "I'm not going anywhere unless he decides something different. It's his ballclub."
Carter hit fullback Richie Anderson with a three-yard touchdown with 8:50 left in the second quarter, giving the Cowboys a 7-3 advantage.
But the lead lasted just 27 seconds. After the ensuing kickoff, Cowboys cornerback Mario Edwards was called for illegal contact. On the next play, Aaron Brooks connected with Donte' Stallworth on a 76-yard touchdown. Stallworth caught the pass at midfield, broke a tackle by safety Roy Williams and outran rookie Terence Newman into the end zone.
Stallworth did not emulate teammate Joe Horn and pull out a cell phone, but he did draw a taunting penalty for flipping the ball at Newman as he crossed the goal line. Newman tossed the ball back at Stallworth.
The play happened in the same end zone where Horn pulled off his cell phone stunt in a December 14 win over the New York Giants.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys were scoreless on their final 10 possessions and moved inside the New Orleans 45 only once.
"We just could never kind of get into a rhythm to where we could ever feel like we were in control for even a series much less sustaining a drive," Parcells said. "We had three or four possessions there in the fourth quarter where we went three and out or six and out on a couple of them."
