Philadelphia Eagles 17, Dallas Cowboys 9: Eagles take first place in NFC East — as it happened

The Eagles took first place in the NFC East on Sunday with a 17-9 win against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field.

The defense held up against Ezekiel Elliott, holding the running back to 47 yards on 13 attempts. Carson Wentz completed 31 of 40 passes for 319 and one touchdown. The Eagles can clinch a playoff berth with a win next week against the New York Giants.

Sidney Jones made one of the biggest plays of the game, breaking up a pass to Michael Gallup in the end zone on fourth down.

Cowboys kicker Kai Forbath made a 49-yard field goal to make the score 17-9 with 7:59 left in the game.

The Eagles offense got back on track, driving 80 yards and scoring on a one-yard run from Miles Sanders to go up, 17-6, with six seconds left in the third quarter.

The Eagles lost both of their starting outside cornerbacks, with Ronald Darby leaving with a hip flexor injury in the first quarter and Jalen Mills going down with an ankle injury in the third quarter. The team is down to Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones on the outside, with Avonte Maddox in the slot.

The Eagles went into the locker room with the lead after Dallas Cowboys’ kicker Kai Forbath hit a 32-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the first half. The Eagles offense got out to a fast start, but missed a couple opportunities to build the lead. Carson Wentz completed 18 passes on 25 attempts for 177 yards and a touchdown.

Eagles tight end Zach Ertz left the game with a rib injury during the second quarter. The Eagles listed him as questionable to return, but Ertz returned just after the two-minute warning.

The Eagles had fourth-and-1 in Cowboys’ territory, but called a shotgun pass to backup tight end Josh Perkins, which fell incomplete, giving the Cowboys the ball. The Eagles defense forced a punt, but it cost the Birds a chance at three points.

The Dallas Cowboys managed to get on the board with a 49-yard field goal from kicker Kai Forbath with 12:56 left in the second quarter.

Carson Wentz found Dallas Goedert in the back of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown pass to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead with 4:03 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles struck first and gained a 3-0 lead with 9:33 to go. On the first play of the series, Carson Wentz found J.J. Arcega-Whiteside 27 yards downfield, and the Eagles capitalized, driving into Cowboys territory.

Good afternoon, Eagles fans. It’s a big day here at Lincoln Financial Field, but you already knew that. The Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys with first place in the NFC East hanging in the balance. With a win, the Eagles will head into their Week 17 matchup against the New York Giants with a chance to clinch a playoff berth with either a win or a Cowboys loss. With a loss, they’ll be eliminated from playoff contention.

Both teams are likely thankful for the improved weather. After a frigid week, the temperature is hovering around 35 degrees with mild winds. The Cowboys have a lot riding on the health of quarterback Dak Prescott, who was limited in practice this week with a AC joint sprain suffered during last week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, which forced him to scale down his throwing during the week.

Be sure to study up on the keys to the game with Paul Domowitch’s scouting report.

Domo also gave you the numbers that matter in this NFC East showdown.

Domo also caught up with former Eagles executive Joe Banner, who said the Eagles need to come out of the gate hot against the Cowboys this afternoon.

Carson Wentz enters the biggest game of his career today, Jeff McLane writes about the strides he’s made as a leader, and how he’s handled adversity this season.

Got a prediction for the game? See how far off yours is to mine and the rest of the Eagles’ beat reporters’ picks.

This game will define Doug Pederson’s tenure, making the Super Bowl more of an outlier as the team continues to be just average, Mike Sielski argues.