How the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles 40-34

The Star-Telegram’s running blog of the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys game on Christmas Eve at AT&T Stadium.

All notes, videos, photos, etc., are displayed in reverse chronological order with the latest events at the top of the blog.

Scoring the last 13 points of the game, the Dallas Cowboys turned a 34-27 fourth-quarter deficit into a 40-34 win over the visiting Eagles.

The victory drops Philadelphia to 13-2, while the Cowboys improved to 11-4. Both teams have clinched playoff berths. The Cowboys can still win the NFC East with wins in their final two games (at Tennessee, at Washington) and hope Philadelphia loses its final two games (vs. New Orleans, vs. New York Giants).

Scoring plays

FIRST QUARTER

PHL: Jake Elliott, 25-yard field goal. 11:16. Eagles lead 3-0

PHL: Josh Sweat, 42-yard interception return (Elliott kick). 9:18. Eagles lead 10-0

DAL: Ezekiel Elliott, 1-yard run (Maher kick). 1:52. Eagles lead 10-7

SECOND QUARTER

DAL: CeeDee Lamb, 36-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Maher kick). 11:34. Cowboys lead 14-10

PHL: Gardner Minshew, 1-yard run (Elliott kick). 7:08. Eages lead 17-14

DAL: Brett Maher, 21-yard field goal. 1:49. Tied 17-17

PHL: Jake Elliott, 47-yard field goal. 0:06. Eagles lead 20-17

THIRD QUARTER

PHL: DeVonta Smith, 14-yard pass from Gardner Minshew (Elliott kick). 9:00. Eagles lead 27-17

DAL: Brett Maher, 44-yard field goal. 5:01. Eagles lead 27-20

DAL: Michael Gallup, 12-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Maher kick). 2:12. Tied 27-27

FOURTH QUARTER

PHL: DaVona Smith, 9-yard pass from Gardner Minshew (Elliott kick). 9:59. Eagles lead 34-27

DAL: CeeDee Lamb, 9-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Maher kick). 5:49. Tied 34-34

DAL: Brett Maher, 48-yard field goal. 2:19. Cowboys lead 37-34

DAL: Brett Maher, 26-yard field goal. 1:41. Cowboys lead 40-34

Fourth quarter notes

Cowboys 11th possession: Cowboys kneel. Cowboys win.

Eagles 10th possession: Needing a touchdown to win, Eagles begin at PHL 25 with 1:41 left. Eagles drive to the Cowboys 19 where they are stopped on fourth down.

Cowboys 10th possession: With 2:07 left, Cowboys take over and take advantage of the fumble. Brett Maher adds another field goal, this one from 26 yards as Cowboys lead 40-34 with 1:41 left.

Eagles ninth possession: Starts at PHL 25. Miles Sanders fumbles on first play; Cowboys’ Anthony Barr recovers at the PHL 21. 2:07 left.

Cowboys ninth possession: Begins at DAL 40 with 4:19 remaining. Completions to Schultz and Lamb move Cowboys into field goal territory. Brett Maher boots 48-yard field goal with 2:19 left. Cowboys lead 37-34.

Eagles eighth possession: Eagles are driving down the field, then Gardner Minshew’s pass is intercepted by the Cowboys’ DaRon Bland at the DAL 40.

Cowboys eighth possession: After nice 24-yard pass play to Ferguson on first down, Prescott is sacked on back-to-back plays to set up 3rd-and-30. Prescott then connects with TY Hilton on a 52-yard pass play. Four plays later, Prescott connects with CeeDee Lamb on a 7-yard touchdown pass. Maher’s extra point ties the game again, 34-34, with 5:49 left.

Eagles seventh possession continues. First-and-10 at DAL 49. Eagles regain the lead, capping a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew to DaVonta Smith. Elliott’s extra point gives Eagles a 34-27 lead with 9:59 left.

Third quarter notes

Eagles seventh possession: Philly is driving again as the the third quarter ends.

Cowboys seventh possession: Dallas turned another Philly turnover into points as Dak Prescott found Michael Gallup in the end zone to tie the game at 27 with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Eagles sixth possession: Philadelphia looked poised to have another productive penalty, but Gardner Minshew fumbled a handoff to the running back and Dallas recovered at the Eagles 31.

Cowboys seventh possession: Dallas converted a key fourth down with a nice gain by Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys ultimately settled for a field goal to make it 27-20 with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter.

Eagles fifth possession: Gardner Minshew tossed a touchdown pass to a wide open DeVonta Smith on fourth down to put the Eagles ahead by double digits, 27-17, with 9:00 left in the third quarter.

Cowboys sixth possession: Dallas opened the second half by going three-and-out and punted for the first time.

Second quarter notes

Cowboys fifth possession: Dallas knelt and went into halftime trailing Philadelphia 20-17.

Eagles fourth possession: Jake Elliot put Philadelphia back in front 20-17 with a 47-yard field goal with seconds left in the second quarter.

Cowboys fourth possession: CeeDee Lamb continued his monster first half by crossing the century mark. Lamb had four catches on the drive that resulted in a Brett Maher field goal. The Cowboys tied at 17 with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter.

Eagles third possession: Philadelphia marched to the one-yard line, but was stuffed on third-and-goal. On fourth-and-goal, Gardner Minshew got into the endzone on a quarterback sneak to put the Eagles back in front 17-14 with 7:08 remaining in the second quarter.

Cowboys third possession: Dallas made the most of the interception as Dak Prescott found a wide open CeeDee Lamb for a 36-yard touchdown. The Cowboys took their first lead of the game, 14-10, with 11:34 remaining in the second quarter.

Eagles second possession: On the first play of the second quarter Gardner Minshew was picked off by Jayron Kearse. The Cowboys took over near midfield.

First quarter notes

Eagles second possession: Miles Sanders picked up a first down thanks to a 13-yard run. The Eagles had possession and a 10-7 lead as the first quarter came to a conclusion. Philadelphia will start the second quarter with the ball at their 43-yard line facing a 2nd-and-12.

Cowboys second possession: The Cowboys responded with a methodical drive that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliot. Dallas cut Philadelphia’s lead to 10-7 with just 1:52 remaining in the first quarter.

Cowboys first possession: After picking up two first downs, Dak Prescott threw an interception to Josh Sweat. Sweat stiff armed Prescott and returned the pick 42 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead with 9:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Eagles first possession: Philadelphia received the opening kickoff and started at their 25-yard line. A.J. Brown got the Eagles into scoring range with a 48-yard reception, but Dallas forced the Eagles to kick a field goal. Jake Elliot hit a 25-yard field goal to give Philadelphia a 3-0 lead with 11:16 remaining in the first quarter.