Dak Prescott has career day as Dallas Cowboys stomp Eagles in regular-season finale
.JPG "Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for a career-high five touchdowns against the Eagles in Philadelphia Saturday night. He finishes the regular season with 37 touchdowns, passing Tony Romo, who had 36 in 2007. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)")
Meaningless, huh.
How about record-setting and momentum-building?
Choose how you want to view the Dallas Cowboys’ 51-26 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular-season finale at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sure, it came against an Eagles team that played without 16 starters due to injury or COVID-19, turning the matchup into a glorified preseason game.
The Eagles (9-7) had already clinched a playoff spot as a wildcard team and were content with their seeding.
But the Cowboys, who played without five starters, including three Pro Bowl players — linebacker Micah Parsons (COVID-19), left tackle Tyron Smith (COVID-19) and cornerback Trevon Diggs (illness) along with safety Jayron Kearse (COVID-19) and cornerback Anthony Brown (COVID-19) — are only accountable to themselves.
They entered the game with clear goals of developing some chemistry and continuity on offense, winning a 12th game of the season, sweeping the NFC East and building some momentum for the playoffs.
After a disappointing performance in a 25-22 loss to the Arizona Cardinals a week ago, the Cowboys (12-5) also hoped to put themselves in position to move up in the playoff seeding if things somehow fell their way with some favorable outcomes on Sunday. The NFC East champions are currently fourth, but could move up as high as second.
“We wanted to come here and win the game,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I thought it was good work for us. We knew what was at stake. We definitely accomplished what we came in here to accomplish. We wanted to balance running and passing and get some rhythm and timing going into the playoffs.”
The Cowboys finished the regular season with a perfect 6-0 record against the NFC East, which is just the third time in team history that Dallas went undefeated within the division, the other two times coming in 1969 and 1998.
The 25-point victory put a stamp on a regular season that saw a number of team and player records.
▪ The Cowboys set a new franchise record for points in a season with 530, and quarterback Dak Prescott eclipsed Tony Romo’s 2007 mark of 36 touchdown passes with his final score of the day.
▪ And when JaQuan Hardy scored on a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter, it marked the 22nd different Cowboys player to score this season, setting a new NFL record.
▪ Saturday’s 51-point performance marked the time in franchise history that the Cowboys ever reached the 50-point plateau on the road — although they did defeat the Buffalo Bills, 52-17, in Super Bowl XXVII in the Rose Bowl following the 1992 season.
▪ It will be noted that Prescott (21 of 27, 295 yards) accomplished his season-high 37 touchdown passes in a 17-game season, however, he only played 16 games, which is the same number that Romo played in 2007. It was also Prescott’s eighth game with at least three touchdowns this season, which is also a franchise record.
Prescott connected with two scores to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, two to tight end Dalton Schultz and the final one to running back Corey Clement in the fourth quarter to make the score 37-20.
McCarthy joked that it was “a hell of a year for a guy who was in a slump.”
Prescott didn’t even know he got the record until after the game. He thought everyone was congratulated him for throwing five touchdown passes.
“Pretty cool to get a record like that and knowing who has come before me playing the quarterback position,” Prescott said. “I am just the beneficiary of a lot of hard work, great play calling and a lot of different making plays. It’s just a stat to be honest.”
Prescott said he didn’t come into the game focused on setting records, and the joy he felt after the game had nothing to do with them either.
“It was about the momentum and giving us something to carry over into the new season,” Prescott said. “Excited about the way we finished the regular season, going 6-0 in the division and finishing the way we did on the road. Great team win. Different guys scoring touchdowns is impressive. But none of it matters as we move forward to what is to come.”
Wilson finished with six touchdowns on the season, joining teammates Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Schultz to all have at least six touchdown catches, which is another franchise record.
Another significant milestone was when running back Ezekiel Elliott, who came into the game with 915 yards, gained 87 yards on the ground to top the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth time in his career and first time since 2019.
Elliott, who had been battling a knee injury since October, did not have more than 52 yards in any of his previous 10 games, but he made every yard he gained on each of his 18 rushes count as he finished the season with 1,002 yards. Elliott sat after reaching his goal, which allowed Clement, Hardy and Ito Smith to finish up at running back in the fourth quarter.
Elliott said he wanted the 1,000 yards for himself and the team because of what the running game means to the offense. “That is what I was looking for going into this game, getting back on the horse and getting things ready for playoffs,” said Elliott, who also become the second player in NFL history, joining former TCU legend and Chargers great LaDainian Tomlinson, with 1,250 scrimmage yards and eight overall touchdowns in each of his first six NFL seasons.
The Cowboys rushed for 171 yards in the game, the fourth-highest rushing total of the season and the most they have had a in game since their Oct. 10 win over the New York Giants.
Anytime you see a player hit an annual milestone it’s positive,” McCarthy said. “But he needed that and we needed it.”
Now, the Cowboys have an extra day to rest before their playoff opponent is determined. Dallas needs losses by the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams, all of which would be upsets, in order to move up the second seed. Losses by Cardinals and Rams would give the Cowboys the third seed.
The time and date of their wildcard playoff game will be set Sunday night. It could be next Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
This story was originally published January 8, 2022 at 10:18 PM.
