ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns, Brett Maher threw a late field goal and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Eagles 40-34 on Saturday.
Gardner Minshew had two assists and a TD in place of the injured Jalen Hurts, but his second interception set up Maher’s gutsy tackle.
Four days after speaking at a memorial service for his college coach, Mike Leach, Minshew led Philadelphia 19 yards from a potential game-winning touchdown in the closing seconds, but his desperation pass into the end zone on fourth-and-10 was not a close receiver.
The NFL-leading Eagles (13-2) trailed twice in the final five minutes and squandered a chance to claim first place in the NFC in a matchup of division rivals heading into the playoffs.
Dallas, the defending NFC East champion, held out faint hopes of catching them.
A win or loss for Philadelphia against Dallas (11-4) in their last two games would give the Eagles home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The Eagles had plenty of chances to wrap things up in this game, but instead saw their five-game winning streak come to a halt. And they got off to a strong start when quarterback Josh Sweet caught a fumbled Prescott throw and ran 42 yards for a touchdown and an early 10-0 lead.
Ty Hilton’s first catch in his Dallas debut was a 52-yarder on third-and-30, setting up C.D. Lamb’s second touchdown on a 7-yard pass to tie the game at 34-34 with 5:49 left.
Rookie cornerback DaRon Bland stripped Philadelphia wide receiver Quez Watkins for Minshew’s second interception, which led to Maher’s 48-yard field goal for a 37-34 lead.
The Cowboys had to settle for Maher’s fourth field goal after Miles Sanders fumbled on the first play of the Eagles’ next possession.
Needing a touchdown to win, Minshe drove the Eagles to the Dallas 19-yard line with a 22-yarder to DeVonte Smith, who had two touchdown catches.
After snapping the ball to stop the clock, Minsheu threw two incompletes. He was never sacked against the No. 2 defense in the league in sacks, but faced heavy pressure in the decisive game and had to run the ball deep.
Dallas won by the same score it had in overtime in Jacksonville a week earlier. Despite this loss, the Cowboys clinched a playoff spot a few hours later when the New York Giants beat Washington.
Prescott had his first 300-yard game of the season, coming off an interception by Sweet on his third pass to go 27-of-35.
Minshew threw for 355 yards on 24 of 40 passes in his first start of the season since Hurts dislocated his right shoulder in last week’s win over Chicago.
Although the Eagles had to play without their MVP candidate, they gave Minshew the day off Tuesday to serve in front of Leach. The 61-year-old Mississippi State coach, who died of complications from heart disease, was Minshew’s coach at Washington State.
For the first time in his three-year career, Lamb had 100 receiving yards in a half-year, finishing with 103 yards before the break en route to 10 catches for 120 yards.
Smith had eight catches for 113 yards and AJ Brown added 103 yards on six catches for Philly.
INJURIES
Eagles: CB Avonte Maddox (toe) and DT Jordan Davis (head) were ruled out with injuries in the first half.
Cowboys: Rookie DE Sam Williams is inactive after being involved in a car accident Thursday. Owner Jerry Jones said Friday on his radio show that Williams is dealing with concussion symptoms.
FURTHER
Eagles: Two home games before the regular season ends, starting on New Year’s Day against New Orleans.
Cowboys: Two road games before the playoffs, the first in a sweep of Tennessee on Thursday night.
