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PHILADELPHIA -- Quarterback Dak Prescott threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brice Butler early in the fourth quarter and the Dallas Cowboys held on for a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at frigid Lincoln Financial Field. Despite having already been eliminated from playoff contention, the Cowboys still finished with a winning record at 9-7.
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After last week's ineffective performance in a 19-10 win over the Oakland Raiders, head coach Doug Pederson opted to bring back starter Nick Foles against the Cowboys.
Foles didn't perform well once again, going 4 of 11 for 39 yards, one interception and a miniscule 9.3 passer rating.
Third-stringer Nate Sudfeld started the second quarter and played the rest of the game. Sudfeld went 19 of 23 for 138 yards with most of the completions coming on short passes.
The Eagles struggled mightily on third down (2-for-11) after going 1-for-14 last week.
Though the Eagles already own home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, they had a chance at their first 14-win regular season in franchise history. Instead, they wound up 13-3 and were shut out for the first time since the regular-season finale on Jan. 3, 2010, a 24-0 loss at Dallas.
The teams remained scoreless through three quarters and the stadium began to empty out quickly.
Then, the Cowboys took over at their own 1-yard line and marched 99 yards in 12 plays with Butler hauling in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Prescott with 12:19 remaining. Butler broke free from cornerback Rasul Douglas and went into the end zone untouched. Kicker Dan Bailey sent the extra point wide left for a 6-0 advantage.
Neither team could mount any kind of offense in the first half and the game was scoreless at halftime for the first time in the history of the Cowboys-Eagles rivalry. This was also the first NFL game to be scoreless at the half since Week 14 of the 2011 season when the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos played.
The Cowboys and Eagles combined for 216 net yards, nine punts and eight penalties in the first half.
NOTES: Eagles CB Sidney Jones made his debut against the Cowboys. Jones was the team's second-round pick in the 2017 draft, but sat out the first 15 games with an injured Achilles. ... Multiple reports are linking Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz as the possible next head coach of the New York Giants. ... Cowboys WR Cole Beasley (illness) wasn't active for the regular-season finale. Beasley had 36 catches for 314 yards and four touchdowns this season. ... Other key players out for the Cowboys included LT Tyron Smith (back) and CB Orlando Scandrick (back). Both were placed on injured reserve. ... The Eagles rested a number of players such as S Rodney McLeod, RB Jay Ajayi, DE Brandon Graham, DT Tim Jernigan and DE Derek Barnett, among others.
