EAGLES DEFEAT COWBOYS, 17-9, TO KEEP PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE
Philadelphia improved to 8-7 (.533) and recorded its 3rd consecutive win, all against NFC East opponents, with a 17-9 home victory over Dallas.
Under Doug Pederson (since 2016), the Eagles are 9-3 (.750) vs. division rivals at Lincoln Financial Field.Including playoffs, Philadelphia owns the 3rd-best home winning percentage (.735, 25-9) in the NFL since 2016, trailing only New England (.861, 31-5) and Minnesota (.774, 24-7).Since 2017, the Eagles rank 3rd in the NFL with a .714 (10-4) winning percentage in the month of December, behind Baltimore (.786, 11-3) and Kansas City (.769, 10-3).
Philadelphia’s 431 total net yards were its most since Week 1 vs. Washington (436).
WENTZ LEADS EAGLES WITH 300+ YARD PERFORMANCE
Carson Wentz completed 31-of-40 (77.5%) attempts for a season-high-tying 313 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs and a 108.2 passer rating (back-to-back weeks with 100+ passer rating).
On Philadelphia’s 3 scoring drives, Wentz combined to go 13-of-15 (86.7%) for 163 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs and a 134.2 passer rating.Wentz totaled 68 yards and a 107.1 rating on 6-of-7 (85.7%) passing in the fourth quarter.
Over the last three games in the fourth quarter/overtime, he has completed 34-of-42 (81.0%) attempts for 352 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs and a 133.3 passer rating, in addition to two comeback drives in Weeks 14-15.Additionally, Wentz moved up the Eagles’ single-season record book in several categories.
With 31 completions, he now ranks 2nd in single-season franchise history with 365 completions in 2019, trailing only his record of 379 set as a rookie in 2016.With 319 passing yards, he now ranks 5th in Eagles single-season history with 3,750 passing yards this season, behind Donovan McNabb in 2008 (3,916) and 2004 (3,875), Randall Cunningham in 1988 (3,808) and himself in 2016 (3,782).
With his 26th passing TD of the season tonight (6 yards to Dallas Goedert in the first quarter), Wentz has now thrown a TD in 18 consecutive regular-season games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL and tied with Randall Cunningham (9/13/87-10/10/88) for the 2nd-longest streak in franchise history, trailing only himself (22, 12/22/16-11/11/18).
GOEDERT CATCHES TOUCHDOWN AND RECORDS CAREER HIGHS IN RECEIVING
Dallas Goedert led the Eagles offense with career highs in receptions (9) and receiving yards (91), while adding a 6-yard TD catch in the first quarter. Goedert now has a career-high 5 receiving TDs this season (10 overall as an Eagle, including playoffs).
ERTZ SETS ANOTHER NFL RECORD FOR TIGHT ENDS
With 4 receptions for 28 yards (7.0 avg.), Zach Ertz (525) eclipsed Jason Witten (523, 2003-09) for the most receptions by an NFL TE in their first seven seasons.
SANDERS SETS EAGLES ROOKIE RECORD FOR ALL-PURPOSE YARDS
Miles Sanders collected 156 yards in tonight’s victory, including 20 carries for 79 yards (4.0 avg.) and 1 TD as well as 5 receptions for 77 yards (15.4 avg.). In doing so, he surpassed Herman Hunter in 1985 (1,579) and DeSean Jackson in 2008 (1,460) for the most all-purpose yards (1,590) in Eagles rookie history.
OFFENSIVE SCORING DRIVES
Philadelphia jumped out to a 3-0 lead following their opening possession, when Carson Wentz led the team on an 11-play, 57-yard drive that took 5:28 off the clock and resulted in a 36-yard FG by Jake Elliott.
On the drive, Wentz completed 6-of-8 (75.0%) attempts for 66 yards, including 2 completions for 39 yards to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (27-yarder on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage) and 2 completions to 20 yards to Greg Ward.Arcega-Whiteside has recorded catches of 20+ yards in 4 of the last 6 games.Philadelphia took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter when Wentz hooked up with Dallas Goedert on a 6-yard TD pass that capped a 7-play, 63-yard drive (3:50).
On the drive, Wentz completed 3-of-3 attempts for 41 yards and 1 TD, while Miles Sanders combined for 47 scrimmage yards (18 rushing, 29 receiving).Sanders plunged forward for a 1-yard TD to give the Eagles a 17-6 advantage in the third quarter, capping a 10-play, 80-yard drive (4:39),
On that drive, Wentz completed 4-of-4 attempts for 56 yards, including a 38-yard completion to Ward. The reception was the longest of Ward’s NFL career and it was Wentz’s longest since a 38-yarder on 10/27/19 at Buffalo.
KEY DEFENSIVE NOTES
Philadelphia’s defense limited the Cowboys to just 6 points.
This season, the Eagles rank 3rd in the NFL with 16.8 points allowed per game at home, which trails only New England (13.3) and Minnesota (14.2) in that category.Philadelphia’s defense forced three-and-outs on each of Dallas’ first two possessions, as well as on three of the Cowboy’s first four offensive drives of the game.
The Eagles halted the Cowboys’ opening drive of the second half when Fletcher Cox forced a fumble of Cowboys RB Tony Pollard at the PHI 26, which was recovered by Malcolm Jenkins. Cox now has a team-leading and career-high-tying 3 FFs this season (tied with Jenkins). Jenkins also has produced at least 1 FR in each of the last six seasons.Vinny Curry and Josh Sweat each recorded sacks of Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.
Notebook courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles Media Relations Department.
Formatted by Al Thompson. Follow on Twitter thompsoniii