Mitchell Leff

PHILADELPHIA — The NFC East race has been less than majestic this season. But the Philadelphia Eagles and their exuberant fans were making no apologies late Sunday afternoon. The Eagles took control of the division by holding on to beat the Dallas Cowboys, 17-9, at rowdy Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles improved to 8-7 and moved a game in front of the Cowboys. The Eagles can ensure themselves of winning the division — and securing the accompanying home game in the opening round of the NFC playoffs — with a victory next Sunday over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

“This is the team where, when their backs are against the wall, they come out swinging and fighting and whatever it takes,” Eagles Coach Doug Pederson said. “Sometimes it’s not pretty. It doesn’t have to be.”

Quarterback Carson Wentz completed 31 of 40 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles. Wentz missed the Eagles’ run to a Super Bowl title in the 2017 season because of a knee injury. He missed last season’s push to the divisional round of the playoffs because of a back injury. But the Eagles said their goodbyes to Nick Foles and reaffirmed their commitment to Wentz as their franchise quarterback in the offseason, and now he has them on the doorstep of the playoffs.

He was very good Sunday while leading an injury-depleted offense. The Eagles were without right tackle Lane Johnson, wide receiver Nelson Agholor and running back Jordan Howard, who were on the inactive list. Tight end Zach Ertz returned to the game after suffering a rib injury during the first half. Several other key contributors are on injured reserve.

The Eagles raced to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, with Wentz throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Goedert, and led 10-6 at halftime. Rookie tailback Miles Sanders ran for a third-quarter touchdown.

Jake Elliott missed a 55-yard field goal attempt — his second miss of the game — that would have stretched the Eagles’ lead to 14 points with less than 11 minutes to play. Dallas drew within 17-9 on Kai Forbath’s third field goal of the day, a 49-yarder, with 7:59 left.

The Cowboys reached the Philadelphia 19-yard line in the final two minutes, needing a touchdown and the two-point conversion to tie. But on a fourth-and-eight play from the 23-yard line, quarterback Dak Prescott’s pass into the end zone fell incomplete with 1:15 remaining. The Eagles took possession and ran out the clock, with Sanders sliding to the turf after breaking free for a 38-yard run on the second-to-last play.

“Everybody was like, ‘Why’d you slide?’ ” Sanders said. “I said: ‘Man, we’re about to get the W. It’s cool.’ … We talked about these last four games. We’re not done yet. But we got these first three, and this game was the one that really mattered. But next week matters more now, since we got this W.”

It was a bitterly disappointing loss for the Cowboys, who began the season with Super Bowl aspirations, and it probably will lead owner Jerry Jones to fire Jason Garrett, his 10th-year coach, after the season.

“Philadelphia obviously has a leg up now. … When you get in this spot, you give yourself a chance to be real disappointed,” Jones said as he stood outside the Cowboys’ locker room. “We are.”

Prescott, playing with an injured right shoulder, completed 25 of 44 passes for 265 yards. Prescott’s receivers let him down with a series of dropped passes, and tailback Ezekiel Elliott ran for only 47 yards on 13 carries. Wide receiver Amari Cooper was off the field for some key plays late. The Cowboys’ bad day ended with them being delayed in Philadelphia, reportedly because of mechanical issues with their plane.

“It’s very disappointing,” Jones said. “We all expected to be here as NFC East champs. We’re not. … We thought we could come in here and play a better game than we played. I thought right up until the very end of the thing that we could come in and make some plays and get it done.”

Tony Pollard, not Elliott, had the carry on a key third-quarter play. Pollard was stopped on a third-and-one run from the Philadelphia 25-yard line. He lost a fumble on the play and the Eagles, after a challenge by Pederson, were awarded possession via a replay review.

“I just took a chance and went the way I kind of thought he was going,” said Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who knocked the football from Pollard’s grasp on the play.

Cox was among a handful of Eagles players to return to the field Sunday after leaving the game temporarily with injuries.

“These guys keep fighting,” Cox said. “Everybody in this locker room knows we need each other. … We stick together as a team. Today was a big team win.”

The Eagles have reassembled their season with three straight victories. They entered this game having beaten the Giants and Washington Redskins with late-game comebacks.

“Tonight was a playoff game,” Pederson said. “It means everything. I think that’s something that our team understands, that each week now — starting a couple weeks ago, every week was a playoff game, otherwise we’re going to go home here in a couple weeks. Our season’s not done. We’ve got another week left. I think our team understands that. We’ve got another division opponent on the road, a chance to continue our season, and it’s going to take another 60-minute game.”

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Live updates and highlights below.

PHILADELPHIA — The NFC East race has been less than majestic this season. But the Philadelphia Eagles and their exuberant fans were making no apologies late Sunday. The Eagles took control of the division by beating the Dallas Cowboys, 17-9, at rowdy Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles improved their record to 8-7 and moved a game in front of the Cowboys, who are 7-8. The Eagles can win the division — and secure the accompanying home game in the opening round of the NFC playoffs — with a victory next Sunday over the New York Giants.

Quarterback Carson Wentz completed 31 of 40 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles. Wentz missed the Eagles’ run to a Super Bowl title in the 2017 season because of a knee injury. He missed last season’s push to an NFC semifinal because of a back injury. But the Eagles said their goodbyes to Nick Foles and reaffirmed their commitment to Wentz as their franchise quarterback in the offseason, and now he has them on the doorstep of the playoffs.

He was very good Sunday in leading an injury-depleted offense. The Eagles were without right tackle Lane Johnson, wide receiver Nelson Agholor and running back Jordan Howard, who were on the inactive list. Tight end Zach Ertz returned to the game after suffering a rib injury during the first half.

But the Eagles raced to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, with Wentz throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Goedert, and led by 10-6 at halftime. Rookie tailback Miles Sanders ran for a third-quarter touchdown.

Kicker Jake Elliott missed a 55-yard field goal attempt that would have stretched the Eagles’ lead to 14 points with less than 11 minutes to play. Dallas drew to within 17-9 on a 49-yard field goal by kicker Kai Forbath with 7:59 left.

The Cowboys reached the Philadelphia 19-yard line in the final two minutes. But quarterback Dak Prescott’s fourth-and-eight pass from the 23-yard line into the end zone fell incomplete with 1:15 remaining. The Eagles took possession and ran out the clock.

It was a bitterly disappointing loss for the Cowboys, who began the season with Super Bowl aspirations, and likely will lead owner Jerry Jones to fire Jason Garrett, his 10th-year coach, after the season. Prescott, playing Sunday with an injured right shoulder, completed 25 of 43 passes for 265 yards. Prescott’s receivers let him down with several dropped passes, and tailback Ezekiel Elliott ran for only 47 yards.

Tony Pollard, not Elliott, had the carry on a key third-quarter play. Pollard was stopped on a third-and-one run from the Philadelphia 25-yard line. He lost a fumble on the play and the Eagles, after a challenge by Coach Doug Pederson, were awarded possession via an instant replay review. (FINAL: Eagles 17, Cowboys 9)

The Eagles increased their lead over the Cowboys to 17-6 on a one-yard touchdown run by rookie tailback Miles Sanders with six seconds remaining in the third quarter. Carson Wentz set up the touchdown with a 38-yard completion to wide receiver Greg Ward.

The Eagles are one quarter from taking control of the NFC East race. They can ensure themselves of winning the division with a victory in this game and a triumph over the New York Giants in Week 17.

The Cowboys continue to struggle and were held scoreless in the third quarter. Running back Tony Pollard, not Ezekiel Elliott, got the carry on a key third-quarter play. Pollard lost a fumble while being stopped on a third-and-one carry from the Philadelphia 25-yard line. Pollard originally was ruled down by contact. But Eagles Coach Doug Pederson challenged and Philadelphia was awarded possession of the football on an instant replay review that showed that Pollard fumbled and the Eagles recovered. (Eagles 17, Cowboys 6 at the end of the 3rd quarter)

The Eagles lead the Cowboys, 10-6, at halftime at Lincoln Financial Field in their showdown for first place in the NFC East, albeit between a pair of 7-7 teams.

The Eagles got off to a quick start, racing to a 10-0 advantage during a first quarter in which they outgained the Cowboys 131 total yards to 14. Kicker Jake Elliott connected on a 36-yard field goal and quarterback Carson Wentz threw a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Goedert.

Wentz played a solid first half, completing 18 of 25 passes for 177 yards. Goedert had seven catches for 60 yards. The Eagles had to play some of the first half without tight end Zach Ertz, who suffered a rib injury. They already were without right tackle Lane Johnson, wide receiver Nelson Agholor and running back Jordan Howard, who are on the inactive list.

The Eagles failed to score in the second quarter. They didn’t convert on a fourth-and-one try from the Dallas 33-yard line and Elliott later missed a 53-yard field goal attempt.

The Cowboys got a pair of second-quarter field goals by kicker Kai Forbath, from 49 and 32 yards. The 32-yarder came three seconds before halftime.

Quarterback Dak Prescott, playing with an ailing right shoulder, connected on 11 of 18 passes for 125 yards. Prescott’s receivers did him no favors. There were a number of dropped passes, with tight end Jason Witten and wideout Amari Cooper among the culprits. Cooper had only two catches for 12 yards and tailback Ezekiel Elliott ran for only nine yards. But wide receiver Michael Gallup was a major contributor, with four catches for 88 yards.

The Cowboys have not won a game this season in which they trailed at halftime. (Eagles 10, Cowboys 6 at halftime)

The Eagles dominated the Cowboys in the early going in their showdown for first place in the NFC East. They got a field goal and a touchdown on their first two possessions and lead the Cowboys, 10-0, after one quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.

Carson Wentz threw a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Goedert on Philadelphia’s second drive to up the advantage to 10 points. At that point, the Eagles had outgained the Cowboys, 125 total yards to 7. The advantage at quarter’s end was 131 yards to 14. The Eagles had seven first-quarter first downs to zero for the Cowboys.

Wentz connected on nine of 11 passes for 107 yards in the opening quarter. The Eagles again are shorthanded on offense with right tackle Lane Johnson, running back Jordan Howard and wide receiver Nelson Agholor on the game-day inactive list. They continue to get big contributions from less prominent players such as wideouts J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward and running back Miles Sanders.

Kicker Jake Elliott connected on a 36-yard field goal on Philadelphia’s opening drive.

The Cowboys went three plays and out on each of their first two possessions, punting twice. About the only thing that went right for the Cowboys was that Dak Prescott managed to defer until the second half without incident this time, after winning the pregame coin toss. Prescott, playing with an injured right shoulder, had 11 first-quarter passing yards on three-for-five accuracy.

The Dallas defense finally got a stop on the Eagles’ third possession, forcing a punt, and the Cowboys have the ball for the third time as the second quarter begins. (Eagles 10, Cowboys 0 after the 1st quarter)

Associated Press Sports Editors, 2004, fifth place in breaking news story over 250,000 circulation with Leonard Shapiro

Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association, 2003 editorial contest, first place sports story dailies over 75,000

Associated Press Sports Editors, 1997, honorable mention in best news story over 175,000 circulation

War Without Death: A Year of Extreme Competition in Pro Football's NFC East

University of Virginia, BA in rhetoric and communications

Mark Maske covers the NFL for The Washington Post. He has covered the NFL and the Washington Football Team since 1998. He previously covered baseball, the Baltimore Orioles, the effort to bring a major league team to Washington, and colleges.

Mark Maske

Cowboys-Eagles: Carson Wentz leads Philadelphia to pivotal NFC East win

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Carson Wentz earns signature win as Eagles beat Cowboys to take charge in NFC East