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The Cowboys have inserted 2021 third overall pick quarterback Trey Lance into the game with 2:24 left to play.
Eagles vs. Cowboys score, takeaways: Philadelphia clinches NFC East title after dominant win over rival Dallas
The Eagles wrapped up the NFC East crown
PHILADELPHIA -- In a battle of backup quarterbacks, the host Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) had the definitive edge over the Dallas Cowboys (7-9) as they dominated in a decisive 41-7 Week 17 victory.
They clinched the 2024 NFC East division title with the win. It's their first division title since 2022, a year that ended with them as the Super Bowl runner up. It's also their 11th NFC East division title since 2001, which is the most in the division in that span. Philadelphia also now has their fourth ever 13-win season, which is key because they have reached the Super Bowl in each of the last three occurrences (2004, 2017, 2022). After two three-and-outs to start the game, the Eagles scored on their next six drives -- four touchdowns and two field goals. Philadelphia also secured its first sweep of the Cowboys since 2011.
Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett, the 2022 first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers who is filling in for an injured Jalen Hurts (concussion), produced a strong performance. He threw for 143 yards and a touchdown on 10 of 15 passing while adding a 1-yard rushing score via the tush push to end the first half. He threw a 22-yard scoring strike to Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith with 6:38 left in the half after Smith cooked backup Cowboys corner Andrew Booth by multiple steps for the touchdown.
Pickett exited the game early in the third quarter after aggravating his ribs injury on a late hit by Dallas defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who was penalized for roughing the passer. He clearly hit Pickett late after the football was gone.
As a result, Eagles third-string quarterback Tanner McKee, a 2023 sixth-round pick out of Stanford, subbed into the game. McKee's first full drive ended with him throwing his first NFL regular-season touchdown pass to Eagles No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown on a 20-yard scoring strike. Brown got a stop on Cowboys All-Pro corner DaRon Bland, and McKee threw a perfectly placed pass over Brown's outside shoulder for the touchdown. That increased the Eagles' lead to 34-7 over the Cowboys with 2:44 left in the third quarter. He then hit Smith on an underneath throw, and he took the football all the way to the house with ease for a 25-yard receiving touchdown.
McKee finished with 54 yards passing and two touchdowns on 3 of 4 passing, and Smith totaled 120 yards receiving and two touchdowns on six catches.
Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush, their eight-year veteran backup who is filling in for an injured Dak Prescott (hamstring tear), played slightly better than his first start of the season back in Week 10, a 34-6 home defeat against the Eagles. He threw a 69-yard pick six to Philadelphia safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson on the opening drive of the game, but he bounced back to throw a 4-yard goal-line fade touchdown to Dallas wide receiver Jalen Tolbert on the game's second possession.
At the end of the first half, Rush sailed a deep throw intended for wide receiver Brandin Cooks on third-and-5, and Gardner-Johnson picked him off for the second time. He returned the football down to the Eagles' 35-yard line with 36 seconds left in the half. It's Gardner-Johnson's second career game with multiple interceptions, and both have come against the Cowboys. Rush finished the game with 147 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on 15 of 28 passing.
With a massive lead, 2024 NFL rushing yards leader Saquon Barkley was able to take over in the second half. He went off for 167 yards on 31 carries Sunday afternoon to become the ninth player in NFL history to register at least 2,000 rushing yards in a single season.
Here are the five main takeaways from the Eagles' Week 17 victory:
1. C.J. Gardner-Johnson's presence on field
The Eagles defense took a massive hit once Gardner-Johnson was ejected from last Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders as a result of two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Gardner-Johnson's ejection certainly affected how the Eagles defense played Jayden Daniels, who was 16 of 24 for 150 yards and three touchdowns to one interception (105.9 passer rating) after the defender's disqualification. The Commanders scored 22 fourth-quarter points in the comeback victory, all with Gardner-Johnson off the field.
Gardner-Johnson was back for this game and made an impact on the first series. On third-and-3 from the Eagles' 35-yard line, Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush threw a pass across the middle of the field and Gardner-Johnson read it for the interception. He took the takeaway 69 yards the other way for a touchdown to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead with 11:55 remaining in the first quarter.
Gardner-Johnson later had his second interception that set the Eagles up for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half. The Eagles had three takeaways in the first half, all of which led to points.
Even when Gardner-Johnson is struggling in coverage, he's making turnover-worthy plays for the Eagles to change the course of a game. In 28 games with the Eagles, Gardner-Johnson has 12 interceptions (6+ in each season played). He's a difference maker on this defense.
2. Slow start for offense in Kenny Pickett's first start
Whatever the scripted game plan was in the first quarter of Pickett's start (filling in for Jalen Hurts as he was ruled out with a concussion), it wasn't what the Eagles were hoping for. A Landon Dickerson false start on the first play based the Eagles up to a first-and-15. Two incomplete passes and a checkdown to Kenneth Gainwell resulted in the first Eagles three-and-out.
On the Eagles' second offensive possession, Pickett didn't even throw the football. With DeVonta Smith on the sidelines (wrist injury), the Eagles had Saquon Barkley carry the ball on three consecutive plays -- one via direct snap -- before choosing to punt on fourth-and-1 on their own 46-yard line. The decision to punt showed a lack of trust in Pickett to get the first down, with his arm or legs, or hand the ball off and get the first down.
Six plays for 14 yards on the Eagles' first two series, and a lack of trust in Pickett. Different quarterback, same slow start.
3. Eagles let Pickett sling the ball after slow start
The Eagles opened things up for Pickett on the third drive, as he went 6 of 6 for 72 yards and a touchdown -- a 22-yard pass to DeVonta Smith. In the second quarter, 8 of 11 for 128 yards with a touchdown for a 141.5 passer rating. This doesn't include the rushing touchdown he had to get the Eagles up 24-7 at halftime.
Pickett found an early connection with Smith once the Eagles opened up the passing game, hitting him three times for 74 yards and a score -- including a 49-yard pass to Smith that resulted in the 1-yard touchdown run just before the half.
While it took the Eagles three series to get Pickett comfortable, opening things up for the quarterback certainly sparked the offense.
4. Tanner McKee comes in, Eagles don't miss a beat
Pickett left the game with a rib injury in the third quarter, yet the Eagles offense didn't miss a beat once third-string quarterback Tanner McKee entered the game. McKee, elevated to the No. 2 quarterback with Hurts out, threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to A.J. brown to put the Eagles up 34-7 late in the third quarter.
The Eagles had a run-heavy offense once McKee entered the game with a big lead, yet he went 2 of 3 for 29 yards and a touchdown pass to Brown on his first series. He then followed with a 25-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith on his second series, going 3 of 4 for 54 yards and two touchdowns for a 154.2 rating on his first two series.
Whether it was Pickett or McKee, the Eagles offense was clicking from the second quarter on.
5. Saquon's pursuit of the rushing record
Barkley reached the 2,000-yard rushing plateau on Sunday, becoming the ninth running back to amass 2,000 rushing yards in a season. He's eighth all-time for rushing yards in a season with 2,005.
The chase is officially on in regards to Dickerson's record. Barkley finished with 31 carries for 167 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. putting himself in striking distance of the mark. Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984 and Barkley is 101 yards away from passing him. Barkley is averaging 125.3 rushing yards per game this season, which would put him on pace to pass Dickerson.
Will the Eagles play him in Week 18? The 2,000-yard plateau was a goal of Barkley's and he achieved it. Just 101 yards away from Dickerson is approachable, even if the Eagles do play a meaningless game in Week 18.
One of the hardest records in sports is Dickerson's rushing record. This mark can be broken if the Eagles decide to play barkley in Week 18, but it will likely be his call.
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Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Brooks and Cowboys cornerback Troy Pride, along with Eagles cornerback Sidney Brown, were ejected for fighting.
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Cowboys All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey drills a 61-yard field goal off the right upright for a missed field goal. The Eagles take over at the Cowboys' 49 up 41-7 with 4:40 left to play.
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Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith caught an underneath pass from Tanner McKee and left the Dallas defense in the dust for a 25-yard receiving touchdown, his second score of the day. The Eagles lead 41-7 with 10:03 left to play. Utter domination.
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Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is now up to 2,005 rushing yards, and he is the ninth player in NFL history to run for over 2,000 yards in a single season.
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Dallas commits their fourth turnover of the day with running back Rico Dowdle fumbling on third-and-5. Philadelphia linebacker Nolan Smith forced the fumble, and Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean recovered the loose ball. Philadelphia takes over at their own 25 up 34-7 with 14:20 left in the game.
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Tanner McKee threw his first NFL regular season touchdown pass to Eagles No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown for a 20-yard scoring strike. Brown got a step on Cowboys All-Pro corner DaRon Bland, and McKee threw a perfectly placed pass over Brown's outside shoulder for the touchdown. The Eagles lead 34-7 over the Cowboys with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
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Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett (ribs) is officially questionable to return. He initially suffered a ribs injury a week ago against the Washington Commanders. Third-string quarterback Tanner McKee is primed to lead this drive after the Cowboys went run-run-pass for a three-and-out on their latest drive. The Eagles lead 27-7 with 6:34 left in the third quarter.
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An A.J. Brown receiving touchdown gets nullified by a holding penalty on Landon Dickerson trying to contain Cowboys All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons. Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett suffered an injury on the play, and Philadelphia subbed in third-stringer Tanner McKee to take the snap on third-and-goal from the Cowboys' 17. He handed off to Barkley for a gain of nine, and the Eagles took three more points on a 26-yard field goal. Philadelphia leads 27-7 with 8:03 left in the third quarter.
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The Eagles are marching up the field with ease to start the second half. Following a near interception by Pickett, it's been all runs by Saquon Barkley.
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A disaster for Dallas on their last drive of the half. Quarterback Cooper Rush sailed a deep throw intended for wide receiver Brandin Cooks on third-and-5, and Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson picked off Rush for the second time. He returned the football down to the Eagles' 35 with 36 seconds left in the half. It's Gardner-Johnson's second career game with multiple interceptions, and both have come against the Cowboys.
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Philly extends their lead to 10, 17-7, following Jake Elliott's 31-yard field. They can double dip with points since they start the second half with the football. Dallas has 1:55 on the clock and one timeout left.
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The Cowboys commit their second turnover of the half with tight end Jake Ferguson getting stripped by Eagles linebacker Oren Burks. Philadelphia defensive tackle Jordan Davis recovered the loose ball for the takeaway. Philadelphia takes over at the Cowboys' 39 up 14-7 with 6:27 left to play. The Eagles crowd is now chanting "Dallas sucks."
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Dallas' lack of depth at cornerback because of injuries was just on full display. Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith cooked backup corner Andrew Booth with ease, getting open by multiple steps, which is how Philadelphia fill-in quarterback Kenny Pickett was able to hit him for a 22-yard touchdown. Philadelphia is back in front by seven, 14-7, with 6:38 left in the first half.
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The Cowboys take a deep shot down the left sideline to wide receiver Jonathan Mingo on third-and-1 instead of running with Dowdle, and it doesn't work. Mingo cooked Eagles first-round rookie corner Quinyon Mitchell, but he couldn't track Rush's throw. That led to the football harmlessly hitting the ground for an incompletion. Dallas punts it away, and Philadelphia fair-caught the football at their own 19. It's seven to seven with 12:49 left in the first half.
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After NFL rushing yards leader Saquon Barkley didn't touch the football on the Eagles' opening drive, the Eagles gave up three consecutives runs. However, he netted nine yards, and the Eagles punted the football away for a touchback. Philadelphia decided they would take their chances vs. Cooper Rush instead of potentially giving Dallas a short field if they bungled a fourth down attempt with Kenny Pickett at quarterback. It's a 7-7 game with 56 seconds left in the first quarter.
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Dallas goes three-and-out up against their own goal line, and they punt it away. The Cowboys got good hang time on the punt, so they were able to limit returner Cooper DeJean to just a yard on the return. The Eagles will have their second offensive possession starting at their own 37 in a 7-7 game with 2:48 left in the first quarter.
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Following a first down false start penalty, Eagle backup quarterback Kenny Pickett threw two consecutive incompletions, and then a short five-yarder to running back Kenneth Gainwell. Philadelphia goes three-and-out to start, and Dallas gets the football back on their own nine after a 52-yard punt by the Eagles.
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Eagles edge rusher Bryce Huff (shoulder) is questionable to return.
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Cooper Rush bounced back in a big way from his pick-six by capping the Cowboys' ensuing drive with a four-yard touchdown pass on a goal line fade to wide receiver Jalen Tolbert. Dallas continues to fight for head coach Mike McCarthy. This game is tied at seven with 5:38 left in the first quarter. Kenny Pickett and the Eagles offense will take the field for the first time today up next.
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With All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb out, Brandin Cooks is the Cowboys' clear cut No. 1 option in the passing game early on. Quarterback Cooper Rush has targeted him five times already, and Cooks has hauled in two of them for 38 yards, including 22 yards on the last play to move the chains on a third-and-9.
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Cooper Rush had been on a roll with wins in four of the last five games, which included a stretch of nine touchdowns to one interception, but he makes a critical error on the opening drive. He looked to force the football to Brandin Cooks on a third-and-3, but Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson jumped the route and took it all the way back for a 69-yard pick-six. It's Philadelphia's first defensive touchdown of the season, and the Eagles now lead 7-0 with 11:43 left in the first quarter.
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The Cowboys offense led by quarterback Cooper Rush and running back Rico Dowdle start with the football first.
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Cowboys three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons has helped power a defensive renaissance in Dallas sparked by his return from his high ankle sprain along with an increased comfort in defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's scheme in his first season working with the Cowboys defense after playing the last three under Dan Quinn, who is now the Washington Commanders head coach.
He leads the NFL in both sacks (8.5) and quarterback pressures (42) since Week 10, and as a result, the Cowboys defense is one of the NFL's most disruptive in that span, ranking top five in the entire NFL in third down conversion rate allowed (35%, fifth-best in the NFL), sacks (28, best in the NFL), sack rate (10.4%, best in the NFL), quarterback pressure rate (39.3%, fifth-best in the NFL) and takeaways (15, tied for the second-most in the NFL).
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Cowboys All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey has made 36 field goals thus far in 2024. With just one more made field goal on Sunday in Philadelphia, Aubrey will set the franchise single season record for makes in a season, which would break a tie with his own record of 36 that he set in his first year last season in 2023.
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Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle is 97 rushing yards away from his first 1,000-yard season. If he accomplishes the feat on Sunday in Philadelphia, it would make him the first undrafted player in Cowboys history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Since Week 9, Dowdle ranks second in the NFL with 494 rushing yards after contract, trailing only Saquon Barkley's 566 in that span, according to Pro Football Focus.
Cowboys' Rico Dowdle closing in on 1,000-yard season: 'Think about it all the time'
Garrett Podell
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Dallas Cowboys three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons knows he gave the Philadelphia Eagles (12-3), Dallas' Week 17 opponent, bulletin board material last week.
"Nah, at this point, it's f--- Philly, now," Parsons said on Dec. 19. "Even if we got eliminated, like, I got to crush Philly. F--- them. I hate them now. I be seeing them just talking so much on socials. I don't know, my Twitter page got consumed by Philly [fans]. Man, ugh. They say don't look forward to some things, but I'm excited about the matchup [next week in Week 17], too."
This Thursday, he acknowledged that beating the Eagles on Sunday would "probably" make their year.
"That probably makes the year you know what I'm saying? That sets everything off," Parsons said when asked how it would feel to beat the Eagles on Sunday. "Us getting that win, away game in Philly. Knowing how they're trying to get the No. 1 seed. Can set them back a little bit. They're fighting for everything. They're fighting for where they want to be in the playoffs. We're just fighting to whoop them. They got more to lose than we do, so that'll be a great feeling right there."
Check out his full remarks below.
Cowboys' Micah Parsons feels beating Eagles in Week 17 would 'probably' make Dallas' year
Garrett Podell
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After two consecutive losses in Rush's first two starts this season versus the Eagles (34-6) and versus the Houston Texans (34-10), Dallas has won four of their last five games with Rush under center. His play has definitely picked up in this stretch. Rush has thrown for nine touchdowns and just one interception while averaging 226.2 passing yards per game and 6.9 yards per pass attempt with a 64.4% completion percentage in that stretch. That's good for a 100.5 passer rating since Week 12, 12th in the league in that span.
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The Dallas Cowboys have won and covered in four of their last five games.
Cowboys Last 5 Games
Covered?
Week 12 +10.5 at Commanders Yes
Week 13 -4 vs Giants Yes
Week 14 +4.5 vs Bengals No
Week 15 +2.5 at Panthers Yes
Week 16 +4.5 vs Buccaneers Yes
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The Dallas Cowboys (7-8), who were eliminated from postseason contention last week, have gotten hot of late with victories in four of their last five games. Despite being eliminated, head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff, who are in the final season of their current coaching contracts, aren't looking to simply play the young guys. Their mindset is still to seek wins first and foremost, which is why McCarthy is still starting a 31-year-old career backup in Cooper Rush over 2021 third overall pick quarterback Trey Lance.
Why the Cowboys will continue to start Cooper Rush over Trey Lance despite being eliminated from the playoffs
Garrett Podell
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