Dak Prescott throws a career-high five touchdowns to finish with 37 on the season, breaking Tony Romo's franchise record for the Cowboys; Dallas improve to 12-5 on the season, while the Eagles (9-8) are still guaranteed a playoff place despite suffering a first defeat in five
Sunday 9 January 2022 08:45, UK
Dak Prescott threw for 295 yards and a career-high five touchdowns - breaking Tony Romo's single-season record for the Dallas Cowboys - in a 51-26 hammering of the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night.
Prescott found Cedrick Wilson and Dalton Schultz for two scores apiece and former Eagle Corey Clement for the last one, an eight-yarder 27 seconds into the fourth quarter that set the new franchise record of 37 passing TDs in a season.
The Cowboys have improved to 12-5 on the season following the series sweep of their NFC East rivals - they're currently placed as the No 2 seed in the conference, but could still slip as low as No 4 depending on the outcome of Sunday's games. The Eagles (9-8), despite the defeat ending a four-game winning run, have a playoff place confirmed regardless of what happens on Sunday.
Gardner Minshew started at quarterback for Philadelphia, in place of the rested Jalen Hurts, and completed 19 of 33 pass attempts for 186 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Hurts was among 10 players declared inactive by the Eagles, who already had their sights set on their Super Wild Card Weekend fixture next week.
Cowboys
Eagles
Minshew initiated the scoring when he threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Tyree Jackson just over five minutes into the game. But Dallas immediately responded with Prescott finding Wilson for the first of their two TDs to cap their opening possession.
Philadelphia matched the Cowboys score for score early on, Kenneth Gainwell rushing in for a seven-yard score to tie the game at 17-17 with three minutes and 40 seconds left in the first half, but it was at this point that Dallas began to break away.
Prescott and Schultz teamed up for scoring strikes of two and nine yards inside the two-minute warning to see the visitors open up a 13-point lead at the break.
The Cowboys then made it a rout by scoring three touchdowns in the first six and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, the first of which was Prescott's franchise-record-breaking TD toss, and the last seeing JaQuan Hardy run in from 22 yards for his first-ever NFL score.
Minshew ended the game as he started it, by throwing another touchdown for Philadelphia - a 36-yard strike to Quez Watkins - but the game was long gone by that point and the Cowboys ran out the final two minutes of a comfortable victory.
The Eagles will finish as the No 7 seed in the NFC - and travel to the No 2 seed on Super Wild Card weekend - should the San Francisco 49ers win at the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. If the 49ers lose, and the New Orleans Saints win, then the Eagles will bump up to No 6 and have a road game at the No 3 seed.
Philadelphia could yet find themselves facing the Cowboys on back-to-back weekends. Dallas are guaranteed a home tie to open the playoffs, but it is yet to be determined whether they'll finish as the No 2, 3 or 4 seed in the conference.
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