PHILADELPHIA — So long, Eagles.

Up ahead for the Cincinnati Bengals, the only Pennsylvania team that truly matters.

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 Steelers 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 straight playoff berth with a win over the Steelers if Pittsburgh loses at Dallas this Sunday. A loss to the Steelers, though, likely would ruin Cincinnati’s chances because it would lose the tiebreaker.

“We control what we can control,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “We want to win in December, so we have a chance to win in January.”

Can they beat the Steelers? Probably not if they play like they did for most of their 60 minutes at Lincoln Financial Field. They committed 10 of their 11 penalties through the first three quarters. Dalton was sacked six times by one of the worst lines in the league.

Dalton was an unimpressive 13 of 27 for 127 yards and a touchdown. No receiver had more than 63 yards.

Funny how a playoff push can make those stats meaningless as long as the Bengals win.

“We’re playing for something now,” Dalton said. “That’s great and that’s what makes it fun this time of year.”

The Eagles’ season was lost a long time ago. They fell to 4-10, losing double-digit 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 nine playoff appearances, six division titles and five NFC championship games in his first 13 years. But the Eagles will miss the playoffs for the second straight year and owner Jeffrey Lurie already said 8-8 would be “unacceptable.”