Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, 2024 NFL Week 17 Keep track of everything related to Cowboys at Eagles in NFL Week 17 as Dallas visits Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. Contributors: LP Cruz and TCDeckard The Dallas Cowboys are undefeated this season in games played where they were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Whether or not that continues to hold true over the final two weeks of the regular season will be of extreme fascination. Up next for the Cowboys is their final road trip of the year, a venture to face a division rival in the Philadelphia Eagles. It was the Eagles’ loss last week to the Washington Commanders that served as the final straw that eliminated Dallas from the playoffs, and as a result, Philly all but took themselves out of contention for the top seed in the NFC. Still though, a win would give the Eagles the NFC East title, their first since 2023. Whenever the division is secured it will mark the 20th consecutive year that the NFC East has seen its reigning champion fail to repeat so Philly will in all likelihood be the team carrying that burden next year. Cooper Rush, CeeDee Lamb, Rico Dowdle and co. will have their hands full on offense while Micah Parsons, Marist Liufau and DaRon Bland look to help Dallas continue their form on defense. Even with the season being effectively lost before it was official we have seen the Cowboys playing hard and it stands to reason that this will continue in the City of Brotherly Love. Here’s our stream for everything you need to know about it all. We will update it throughout the week to include all relevant news regarding the game, injuries and everything else.

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images The Dallas Cowboys defense is playing at a historic level right now. The Dallas Cowboys took care of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with relative ease, despite the way things ended, on Sunday night. From top to bottom it was arguably their best overall performance of the season. You are likely aware of the fact that Dallas has won four of their last five games, but there are several other things happening and that just recently happened to the team that you may not have a full grasp on. This is where the amazing tools at Stathead and Pro Football Reference come in handy. Every week we comb through what the Cowboys have done and where they currently stand through the lens of both franchise and NFL history at large. The results are often quite revealing. Let’s begin. The defense has a turnover in 8 consecutive games, a pretty rare thing The Cowboys recorded a turnover (more than one to be clear) on Sunday night against Tampa Bay. While they had multiple (more on that in a bit) the one that DaRon Bland had at the very end was clearly the most memorable. Ultimately that Dallas had a single turnover in general is the point of this particular discussion. Dallas has now recorded a takeaway in eight consecutive games which is the longest streak in a single season for the team since they reached nine six years ago in 2018. This is only the ninth time this century that Dallas has a streak of such kind reaching at least eight games, and what is particularly amazing about that is that four of them have been had with Mike Zimmer as the defense coordinator. If not obvious, they are the ones highlighted. Micah Parsons is officially in the 50 sack club The NBC broadcast made note during the game of the fact that Micah Parsons reached 50 career sacks. It is absurd how productive he has been so early in his career. He needed only 61 games to reach 50 which is just an unbelievable thing. He is the 8=eighth player in NFL history to reach 50 sacks in 61 career games or fewer. Look at Reggie White in his first 61 games. He was one of one. It is almost impossible for the Cowboys to rush for so few yards and win You may have noticed that the Cowboys were not getting much done on the ground against Tampa Bay. All told they finished the night with 31 rushing yards. It turns out that the 31 rushing yards Dallas had was the second-fewest that they have ever had in a winning effort. The only other time which Dallas had fewer rushing yards and walked away with the win was in 1987 when they ran for 26 against the New York Giants. Sometimes it is just your night. Ezekiel Elliott’s odd stat line hasn’t happened all too often In looking at the game log you may have noticed that Ezekiel Elliott had one carry for one yard. That particular carry wound up in a touchdown. Having a 1/1/1 stat line is a sort of rare thing, not supremely rare given specialty fullbacks and stuff like that, particularly as it relates to the Dallas Cowboys. Zeke’s instance was the first 1/1/1 had by a Cowboys running back (sometimes quarterbacks do it) since Lance Dunbar back in the early days of the 2016 season. CeeDee Lamb has had back-to-back games over 100 receiving yards with a quarterback over than Dak Prescott Tim Heitman-Imagn Images There is no cool stat box to exemplify this, but in looking at the game I realized that CeeDee Lamb had a 100-yard receiving game for the second week in a row. What is notable about this is that it marks the first time in Lamb’s career where he posted back-to-back games with over 100 receiving yards with a quarterback other than Dak Prescott throwing to him in both games in question. He had previously done it in 2021 where Dak was the quarterback on the road against the New England Patriots and then Cooper Rush was against the Minnesota Vikings, but as noted that doesn’t fit this criteria. Baker Mayfield had an oddly specific career day against the Cowboys The game ended as an impressive one for Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield as he ultimately had over 300 yards passing and 40 yards rushing. Interestingly, this was only the fourth instance ever in which a quarterback met both of these thresholds in a game against the Cowboys. Mayfield became the second to lose. The defense has dominated more often this season than you think Obviously the Cowboys defense has been playing really well as of late. They are generating turnovers and sacking the quarterback at impressive rates. Sunday night specifically marked the sixth instance this season in which Dallas had at least four sacks and multiple turnovers in the same game. Obviously that is a lot. The Cowboys are now the only defense in the NFL to do this at least six times this season and one of only eight teams in the last 15 years to do it at least six times in a season in general. Interestingly, Mike McCarthy’s Super Bowl win with the Green Bay Packers came over the Pittsburgh Steelers who are at the bottom of this list. It is becoming common for rookie Cowboys defenders to shine early One of the more impressive players as of late for the Cowboys has been rookie linebacker Marist Liufau. He has come along quite well since getting a bigger role after the DeMarvion Overshown injury. Liufau has forced a fumble in back-to-back games, although the one against Tampa was not recovered by Dallas. Still, a forced fumble is a forced fumble. Of the last six players across the NFL who forced a fumble in consecutive games in their first season, three of them are Cowboys! Marist, Damone Clark and Micah Parsons each did it

Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images Who wins today… Kansas City or Pittsburgh? Baltimore or Houston? The Kansas City Chiefs play the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens face the Houston Texans on Christmas Day. This is an open thread for game chat.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images The Cowboys have done a great job of managing injuries this season. Not long ago the Dallas Cowboys were a team many people were laughing at. Losing seven of their first ten games, the team was heading into a dark place that would likely result in a high draft pick and a coaching staff overhaul in the offseason. Well, times have changed. The Cowboys are winning now, pulling out victories in four of their last five games. Although they were officially eliminated from the playoff contention on Sunday, the mood has shifted thanks to some good football and the incredible resolve the team has shown recently. What is impressive about this recent stretch is how the team has persevered despite being struck hard with injuries. This year has been brutal as it hit them early and often and many of their top stars have suffered season-ending injuries. But even with all the setbacks, the Cowboys have been able to play well thanks to the depth of talent on this roster. Today, we’ll examine how each position group has been affected and draw attention to the players who have stepped up and given us something to cheer about down the stretch. QUARTERBACK The team’s most significant blow occurred midway through the season when they lost Dak Prescott for the year. Cooper Rush has taken over and has done as well as one might expect. They still have Trey Lance in their back pocket, but he’s more like a novelty item. RUNNING BACK Running back has been healthy all year minus one game missed from Rico Dowdle when he had the flu. The lack of weaponry at running back has more to do with the front office’s decision to settle with low-cost veteran free agents to package with Dowdle. Sadly, it took until Week 12 to make Rico the workhorse back. WIDE RECEIVER Brandin Cooks missed seven games this year which hindered the team’s passing attack. CeeDee Lamb has done all the heavy lifting with a little Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin sprinkled in. The team traded for former Panthers’ receiver Jonathan Mingo at the trade deadline, but he’s done nothing. TIGHT END Their depth took a hit when they lost John Stephens Jr. for the year (again), but Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker have handled things fine. Ferguson has missed three games this year and it’s given rookie Brevyn Spann-Ford some extra reps. OFFENSIVE LINE This has been a hot mess. Last week, we reviewed all 11 of the different offensive line arrangements the team has seen. The season-ending injury to Zack Martin and periodic injuries to rookie Tyler Guyton have created holes, but reserves like Brock Hoffman, T.J. Bass, and Asim Richards have stepped up nicely. Even veteran reserve Chuma Edoga has helped recently at left tackle as they work Guyton in and out of games. DEFENSIVE LINE The team has been mostly healthy along the interior defensive line, but the edge rushing group has been in dire straits. They lost Sam Williams before the season began. DeMarcus Lawrence has missed 11 games and counting. Rookie Marshawn Kneeland missed six games and Micah Parsons has missed four games. Guys like Chauncey Golton and Carl Lawson have seen a lot of action this season as they have tried to hold things down, but those guys can only do so much. The pass rush immediately improved once Parsons returned from injury. LINEBACKER This group started out great with a few young players alongside a seasoned former All-Pro who knew Mike Zimmer’s system. Eric Kendricks has been a solid free agent pickup for the team and paired with rising star DeMarvion Overshown, they were quite impressive. Sadly, a devastating knee injury to Overshown once again ended his year prematurely. Kendricks has missed a couple of games forcing another veteran/young’n duo in action. Rookie Marist Liufau is coming off his best game and with the help of Nick Vigil, the Cowboys’ linebackers are playing surprisingly well. CORNERBACK If the dizziness from the constant spinning of the offensive and defensive line brought you to the ground, don’t try to get up now. The Cowboys’ cornerback group has been run through the wringer. They started the year without one All-Pro, DaRon Bland, and will finish without another All-Pro, Trevon Diggs. In between, it’s been a mishmash of different corners. Caelen Carson and Andrew Booth were given chances early, but that didn’t go all that well. They turned to Josh Butler and Amani Oruwariye who were surprisingly serviceable before they too got hurt. Thankfully, veteran slot corner Jourdan Lewis has been incredibly reliable and the Cowboys cornerback group keeps finding a way to find a way. SAFETY The team’s starting safeties have played in every game so far this year as Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson have provided some inkling of stability in the secondary. The backups, Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas, have suffered injuries so they don’t have much depth, but luckily they haven’t needed it. Those injuries have created more reps for Israel Mukuamu. When you go down the list, it’s pretty bad. The Cowboys’ ability to show up each week and be competitive is a testament to their depth. Take a moment to appreciate the contributions of several bottom-roster players. Several players have taken on larger roles this season and helped their respective position groups as the Cowboys fight through injuries.

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images The latest news around the Dallas Cowboys Jalen Tolbert details gruesome finger injury, willing to play through it vs. Eagles – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver wants to play for the rest of the season despite his injury. Tolbert left the eventual victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at one point to be evaluated for a finger injury after coming down with a huge reception in tight coverage ahead of halftime. To hear him explain the injury is to understand just how severe it was. “When I was coming up with the catch, my pinky finger got stuck in [the cornerback’s jersey],” Tolbert said. “It hyperextended it — dislocated it. I had the ball and I was like, ‘Why can’t I squeeze this?’ It sounds crazy, but it was all in slow motion. It was slower for me because I was trying to squeeze my hand. “And then I got up and it and [the athletic training staff] popped it back in and stitched it up because it came through the skin.” You read that correctly. Tolbert’s finger was so hyperextended and dislocated that it broke the skin, requiring stitches. But after scoring his two touchdowns in as many games, and after witnessing just how much pain Lamb is enduring to “willingly sacrifice his body for his guys”, Tolbert isn’t waving off a chance to help play Grinch against the Philadelphia Eagles — in much the same way he did against the Buccaneers. “I came back out and it was more of an emergency at the time,” said Tolbert. “… But it’s feeling better each and every day. The [staff] is gonna help me out and take care of me. I’m ready to play whenever.” Mike McCarthy more concerned with the future of the Cowboys’ staff than himself – Charean Williams Mike McCarthy comes to the defense of his staff over his own job security. Do the Cowboys want him back? Does he want to come back? Owner Jerry Jones has offered effusive praise for the job McCarthy has done in winning four of the past five games. The Cowboys knew they were out of playoff contention Sunday when they beat the Bucs 26-24. On Tuesday, Jones intimated that he wants McCarthy back. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of the way the coaching staff, led by Mike McCarthy, the way that the leadership on this team, and really proud of these young players,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “They just are growing mentally and physically by leaps and bounds. [It] makes me think we’ve got and outstanding future ahead of us.” McCarthy was asked later in the day if he was eager to have a resolution on his status. “I do believe in time and place, and this is not the time or the place for me to speak on it,” McCarthy said, via Ed Werder of ESPN. “Really, my focus is more about the staff. Their concern is higher for me, because change is something that happens in our league all the time. It’s part of this industry. And I understand it. I am at a different point in my life. I’m more focused on them, and I know that the best way to help everybody is to take care of what’s in front of us. And that’s why the commitment, the pride. . . . I think it benefits everybody for me just to stay on course.” Brandon Aubrey named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week – DallasCowboys.com Brandon Aubrey continues to be the team’s MVP this season. With three field goals over 50 yards, giving him an NFL record, Brandon Aubrey has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Aubrey made four field goals in all – hitting from 58, 49, 58 and 53 – helping the Cowboys to a 26-24 win over the Bucs Sunday night at AT&T Stadium. Aubrey tied, and then broke the NFL record for most 50-yard field goals in a season with 14. It’s the second award this year for Aubrey, who was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September. Aubrey is the second Cowboys player to win this award this year as KaVontae Turpin won the weekly honor for his game-winning kickoff return against Washington back in November. Aubrey ranks third in the NFL in points scored with 136 and second in field goals made with 36. Grades for Cowboys in hard fought win over Buccaneers – David Howman, Blogging the Boys Some Cowboys players graded out well against a playoff-caliber team. Quarterback This may have been Cooper Rush’s best game ever. The Cowboys knew they’d need to throw the ball more against an elite run defense, and Rush delivered in spades. He hit on 74.3% of his passes and finished with 292 passing yards and a touchdown. Crucially, Rush tested the Buccaneers deep. Coming into this game, Rush had one of the lowest rates in the league of pass attempts that traveled beyond 10 yards downfield. In this game, he connected on five of his seven attempts, with one of them being a touchdown. Rush did exactly what he needed to do in this game to beat a really talented Buccaneers defense. Grade: A+ Running backs Recognizing that the Buccaneers have one of the top run defenses in the league, Dallas did not come into this game trying to run the ball like they have in recent weeks. Unsurprisingly, Rico Dowdle had his 100+ yards rushing streak snapped. In fact, Dowdle averaged just 1.8 yards on the night. Of course, the Cowboys were also using the run game primarily to keep the defense honest, preventing them from simply pinning their ears back and rushing the passer. To that end, it worked, so it’s hard to ding these running backs all that much in this one. Grade: B- Pass catchers CeeDee Lamb. Need I say more? The

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The Eagles are in a unique spot in terms of getting ready for the Cowboys this week. Eagles’ defense picking up the pieces after shocking collapse – Reuben Frank, NBC Sports Philadelphia Despite forcing five turnovers, the Eagles’ still came up short against Washington. It had been almost three months since they allowed 20 points in a game. On Sunday, they allowed 22 points in 13 ½ minutes. The Eagles’ defense has been playing at such a high level it was hard to imagine this happening. This being a 4th-quarter collapse the likes of which we’ve rarely seen in Eagles history. Jayden Daniels and the Commanders came back from 13 points down early in the fourth quarter to beat the Eagles 36-33 and they did it by thrashing the No. 1 defense and No. 1 pass defense in the NFL. “We know we’ve got to play better,” Nakobe Dean said. “We have to do better. We were doing a lot of uncharacteristic things as far as penalties and certain things that were going on out there. We know we have to play better, but we’re going to use this to build on. “It’s time to practice what we preach now as far as continuing to get better and the way we handle adversity. This is adversity and how we handle it and how we grow for it and get better from it, it’s going to be a testament to this team, the players and the coaches.” Daniels threw five touchdown passes against a defense that had allowed eight during the 10-game winning streak. He became the sixth quarterback ever to throw three TD passes against the Eagles in a fourth quarter. He became only the third QB in NFL history with five TD passes and 80 rushing yards in a game. And only the seventh rookie in history to throw five TDs in a game. The vaunted Eagles defense had no answers. “They drafted a 5-star quarterback,” Jalen Carter said. “ That boy Jayden, really talented, and he showed it today. He did what he needed to do to get his team a dub. “We got an L today. They played their ass off and did what they needed to do to win. What we’ve got to do is just move on to next week and focus on the Cowboys.” If Eagles’ Jalen Hurts can’t play against the Cowboys, what could a Kenny Pickett offense look like – Chris Franklin, NJ.com It’s unclear which QB the Cowboys will face. With [Jalen] Hurts in the concussion protocol, there is a chance [Kenny] Pickett could start against the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys if Hurts does not get cleared. If that were to happen, the Eagles will have to make a few adjustments to give him a chance to be successful and help the Eagles clinch the NFC East title. Pickett, who threw for 143 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, was very frank in his assessment of how he played against the Commanders after the game. “There are definitely plays that I want back, and I know that we want back as a team,” Pickett said. “You have to give credit to them. They played really hard as well. It came down to the wire but there’s things that changes games long before you get to the end of the game. We have to go back and look at those things and see what we all can improve on and move on.” Pickett’s athleticism allows the Eagles to keep elements of their offense that has worked this season such as the zone-read and the occasional designed draw. However, with the Cowboys likely to follow the Commanders lead and start to bring players closer to the line of scrimmage to focus on stopping running back Saquon Barkley, Pickett could keep a read or two to keep the defense “honest” and not crash hard when they sell out to limit the run game. This could be complicated because he is dealing with a rib injury that has led to him having X-rays taken after the game and further evaluation Monday. DeVonta Smith owns up to rare drop that cost Eagles in loss to Commanders: ‘I gotta make the damn play’ – Jeff Kerr, CBS Sports The star wide receiver had an opportunity to seal the game. LANDOVER, Md. — DeVonta Smith didn’t need much time to explain what happened. The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver immediately owned up to a play he makes 99 times out of 100. “When they put it in my hands,” Smith said. “I gotta make the goddamn play.” Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett threw a slant to a wide-open Smith, one of the most reliable pass catchers in the NFL, on third-and-5 from the Commanders 22-yard line. With the Eagles leading, 30-28, and the Commanders having just one timeout and the two-minute warning left to stop the clock, Smith dropped the pass from Pickett that would have given the Eagles a first down. Philadelphia could have run the clock down to the final seconds, with Washington having just one opportunity to stop it. The Eagles didn’t need to kick a field goal and give the ball back to the Commanders, setting Jayden Daniels up for the game-winning touchdown pass with six seconds left in a 36-33 Washington victory. Smith took accountability for what transpired. He knows the magnitude of his drop. “I dropped the ball. I mean, I ain’t going to beat myself up over it,” Smith said. “It’s life, part of the game. Shit, I made all the tough catches today, and the easy one I had, I dropped. “It is what it is. It (cost) us the game. Ain’t nobody else’s fault but mine.” Spadaro: 6 takeaways as Eagles’ win streak comes to an end in 36-33 loss to Commanders – Dave Spadaro, PhiladelphiaEagles.com Neither side of the ball could close the game out for Philadelphia. LANDOVER, MD – This game

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Brandon Aubrey picked up top NFC Special Teams honors after a huge game against Tampa Bay. The Dallas Cowboys had perhaps their best performance of the season last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That it came just a few hours after finding out that they were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention made it all the more impressive. It was the kind of game in which Dallas had to play complementary football all the way until the final whistle. Early on the offense took advantage of just about every opportunity and scored on almost every possession they had in the first half. As the game wore on the defense took over and ultimately came away with the turnover that won the game. Throughout all of that though one thing remained constant and that was special teams. With all due respect to the entire special teams group, it was Brandon Aubrey who was the steady beat of the metronome. Aubrey nailed four field goals throughout the game, three of which were beyond 50 yards out. The fourth was 49, so just out of that particular range. On Tuesday, it was announced that Aubrey was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week as a result of his efforts. have a week, brandon @Brandon_Aubrey has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week! : https://t.co/4L71UiJDqL pic.twitter.com/PvAzKe0LRT — Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 24, 2024 All told Aubrey nailed (in order) field goals from 58, 49, 58 and 53 yards out. He has become absurdly reliable from beyond the arc and on Sunday night he showcased who he was to the entire world and was a big reason that his team went home a winner. What the Cowboys have discovered in Aubrey is truly remarkable. It will surely be a priority (one would think) to make sure he is around long-term.