Monday 23 December 2019 09:40, UK
The Philadelphia Eagles moved into first place in the NFC East with a 17-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Philadelphia moved to 8-7, meaning a win on the road against the New York Giants next weekend will see them secure the division win and a playoff berth.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, fell to 7-8 and will need an Eagles' loss to take over in Week 17.
Carson Wentz - who finished 31 of 40 for 319 yards and one touchdown - started fast as he found rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside for two big gains on the opening drive to set up a Jake Elliott 36-yard field goal.
After forcing a Dallas three and out, Philadelphia extended their lead when Wentz fired a high laser to tight end Dallas Goedert to the back of the end zone from six yards out. Goedert rose above two defenders to make a strong grab and put the Eagles 10-0 up.
Michael Gallup broke free down the left sideline for a 41-yard gain from Dak Prescott which led to a Kai Forbath 49-yard field goal to get the Cowboys on the board, and after Elliott missed a 53-yard attempt for Philadelphia, Prescott led his team down the field right before the half to allow Forbath to tack on three more and make it 10-6.
The third quarter was marred by mistakes for the Cowboys. First, rookie Tony Pollard fumbled the ball in Eagles territory after Fletcher Cox punched it out, and it was recovered by Malcolm Jenkins.
Even though Dallas held on that Eagles' possession, they again cost themselves when Prescott misfired toward Amari Cooper on third down, forcing them to punt it away.
Wentz and the Eagles took advantage at the end of the quarter. Greg Ward broke wide open for a 38-yard pickup, before Miles Sanders powered in from one yard out for a touchdown and a 17-6 lead.
The Cowboys were presented with a huge opportunity to get back in the game when Elliott missed another long kick - a 55-yarder - giving Dallas excellent field position. After Prescott hit Randall Cobb on fourth down to move the chains, the Cowboys settled for a field goal, meaning a touchdown and two-point conversion would tie the game.
The Dallas defense did their job, getting the ball back with four minutes remaining, but after driving his team all the way down to the red zone, Prescott's fourth down pass for Gallup was broken up by Eagles corner Sidney Jones.
Sanders sealed the game when he raced into the open field on a third down with less than a minute remaining and slid to run out the final seconds.
