Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz on Sunday threw for 319 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles won a gritty 17-9 home victory over the Dallas Cowboys, seizing command of their playoff-berth battle.
The injury-hit Eagles improved to 8-7, but still need a victory over the New York Giants (4-11) to secure the National Football Conference East division title and a playoff berth.
The Cowboys fell to 7-8 and need to beat archrivals Washington (3-12) plus have the Eagles lose to reach the playoffs.
Photo: Bill Streicher-USA Today
Wentz completed 31 of 40 passes without an interception and ran six times for 22 yards to spark the Eagles to their biggest win of the year, despite an early rib injury that sidelined tight end Zach Ertz.
“It was a huge one for us,” Wentz said. “Guys made plays. Defense down the stretch made great plays. Man this one feels good. Resilient bunch. Man goes down. Next man up. Guys keep believing. We never look down. We just keep going.”
Philadelphia seized the lead on Jake Elliott’s 36-yard field goal, before Wentz flipped a six-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert for a 10-0 lead.
Kai Forbath answered for Dallas with second-quarter field goals of 32 and 49 yards to lift the Cowboys within 10-6 at halftime.
Wentz drove the Eagles 80 yards in 10 plays late in the third quarter, before Miles Sanders capped the march with a one-yard touchdown run as Philadelphia took a 17-6 edge.
Forbath kicked another 49-yard field goal and Dallas drove 65 yards in 11 plays, only for Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones to break up Dak Prescott’s fourth-down pass to Michael Gallup in the end zone to foil the final Dallas threat.
“The sky is the limit for this team,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “I’m so happy.”
The Baltimore Ravens clinched the top seed and a first-round bye in the American Conference playoffs with a 31-15 victory at the Cleveland Browns.
Lamar Jackson threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns, and ran 17 times for 103 yards as the Ravens improved to an NFL-best 13-2 and stretched their win streak to a club-record 11 games.
San Francisco (12-3), who beat the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, would claim the top seed in the National Conference with a triumph over the Seattle Seahawks (11-4), who lost 27-13 to the Arizona Cardinals.
The final American Conference playoff berth remains unclaimed after Pittsburgh and Tennessee both fell to 8-7 with losses.
Sam Ficken kicked second-half field goals of 37 and 42 yards to give the New York Jets a 16-10 win over Pittsburgh, dimming the Steelers’ playoff bid.
The Tennessee Titans own a tiebreaker edge on Pittsburgh for the last playoff berth, despite a 38-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The Steelers need to win at Baltimore next week and for the Titans to stumble at Houston.
The Oakland Raiders sustained their slim playoff hopes as Derek Carr threw for one touchdown and ran for another in a 24-17 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Raiders must beat Denver at the weekend, have Pittsburgh and Tennessee both lose and have Indianapolis defeat Jacksonville to produce a playoff tiebreaker involving four clubs at 8-8.
Patrick Mahomes threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Kansas City over the Chicago Bears 26-3, keeping the Chiefs on New England’s heels for a possible first-round bye.
The Cincinnati Bengals clinched the first pick in next year’s draft by losing 38-35 in overtime at the Miami Dolphins and falling to a league-worst 1-14.
Adrian Peterson of the Washington Redskins rose to fourth on the all-time rushing touchdown list with his 111th coming on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter of a 41-35 overtime home loss to the New York Giants.
Elsewhere, the Falcons downed the Jaguars 24-12, the Colts crushed the Panthers 38-6 and the Broncos battered the Lions 27-17.
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