In a Christmas Eve thriller, the Miami Dolphins (11-4) rallied to beat the Dallas Cowboys (10-5), 22-20, on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium as Dak Prescott and company continue their road woes. The win clinches the Dolphins' playoff spot in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2000 and 2001.
Tua Tagovailoa and Jeff Wilson Jr. led the game-winning drive and marched the Dolphins downfield for Jason Sanders to nail a 29-yard field goal. The kicker made all five of his field goals on the night as Miami’s offense struggled to get its receivers involved early. Tyreek Hill didn’t get his first catch until halfway through the second quarter. He finished with nine catches for 99 yards. Jaylen Waddle left the game with an eye injury in the second quarter after a 50-yard catch that gave him 1,000 receiving yards on the season.
The Cowboys have now lost five road games this year. Prescott threw two touchdowns, but fumbled the ball near Miami’s end zone on the first possession of the game. Micah Parsons was called for roughing the passer in the second quarter that led to a Dolphins touchdown, a 4-yard catch by Raheem Mostert. It was the running back’s 21st touchdown of the season, tying Christian McCaffrey for the most in the league.
CeeDee Lamb was a bright spot for the Cowboys on the night. He made history by notching 5,000 yards of scrimmage in his first four years and scoring a touchdown in his seventh straight game, the longest streak in the NFL. The Pro Bowl receiver finished with six catches for 118 yards. — Victoria Hernandez
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Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill: Whenever Tagovailoa needed a play, it seemed like he found Hill, the Dolphins' speedy wide receiver. Tagovailoa threw a short pass to Hill on third-and-3 during Miami’s game-winning drive for a first down.
Hill was once again the most dangerous player on the field. He finished with a game-high nine catches for 99 yards.
Tagovailoa was poised and had a solid outing. The Dolphins quarterback passed for 293 yards and one touchdown.
Jason Sanders hits clean sheet: The Dolphins kicker made all five of his field goal attempts in the win, including a game-winning 29-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter.
Sanders made three field goals beyond 50 yards in the game. Sanders is the first Miami player ever to make three 50-plus yard field goals in a single game, per the FOX broadcast.
The Dolphins kicker deserves a game ball.
Dolphins LB Andrew Van Ginkel: The Dolphins linebacker had a team-high 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and four QB hits.
Early Christmas present: The Dolphins are playoff bound. Miami clinched a playoff spot as a result of the win. The Dolphins now have earned a playoff berth in back-to-back seasons.
Cowboys' road record: The Cowboys continue to struggle on the road. Dallas now has a 3-5 record away from AT&T Stadium.
Cowboys' rushing attack: The Cowboys needed seven players to gain 97 rushing yards. Running back Tony Pollard led the Cowboys with just 38 rushing yards. They averaged 3.9 yards a carry. The Cowboys missed standout left tackle Tyron Smith (back).
Cowboys third down efficiency, red zone offense: The Cowboys finished 4-12 on third downs in the loss.
Their red zone offense was also an issue. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys lost a fumble on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the first quarter. Dallas’ fumble was part of the team’s 1-for-3 day in the red zone.
The Cowboys’ poor pass protection impacted their ability to convert on third down and in the red zone. Prescott was sacked four times and hit 12 times. — Tyler Dragon
Jason Sanders kicked his fifth field goal of the game, a 29-yarder as time expired, and the Dolphins secured a playoff berth with a 22-20 victory over the Cowboys.
Dak Prescott led the Cowboys on a 17-play, 69-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by an 8-yard touchdown reception by Brandin Cooks in the back of the end zone to give Dallas a 20-19 lead with 3:27 left in the fourth quarter.
The 17-play series was Dallas’ longest drive of the regular season.
The Cowboys were able to convert two fourth downs during the drive, including one by penalty.
CeeDee Lamb had two catches for 25 yards during the possession. — Tyler Dragon
Rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey now has made all 33 of his field goal attempts this season … and put the Cowboys within a touchdown of the Dolphins' lead in the process.
Aubrey made a 33-yard field goal attempt with 12:31 remaining to keep Dallas within easy striking distance of Miami's lead. — Jim Reineking
The Dolphins have a 19-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The third period featured three field goals. Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders connected on two field goals and Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey hit a field goal from 43 yards out. Aubrey’s now made all 32 of his field goal attempts this season.
However, it was Miami that extended its lead after halftime. The Dolphins gained 97 yards in the quarter to 77 by Dallas. Tua Tagovailoa passed for 96 yards. A total of 55 yards went to Tyreek Hill who produced five catches. — Tyler Dragon
You don't even have to be an attentive Dallas Cowboys fan to have heard it.
"YEAH! HERE WE GOOOO."
This is the start of the cadence quarterback Dak Prescott uses before he initiates offensive plays for the Cowboys. And, with the precision and clarity of sideline microphones and with the booming nature of the way Prescott yells the cadence, you also don't need to have the volume on your TV cranked up to hear it. — Lorenzo Reyes
Jason Sanders is a perfect four-for-four after he made a 35-yard field goal toward the end of the third quarter.
The kick came on a drive that started with Tua Tagovailoa finding Tyreek Hill and Durham Smythe for 18- and 21-yard catches. Miami’s offense stalled when another pass to Hill was stopped behind the line of scrimmage and a pass to Cedrick Wilson Jr. fell incomplete. — Victoria Hernandez
The Cowboys got penalized for an illegal shift as the most inopportune time.
Dak Prescott broke free from the Dolphins defensive pressure and scrambled toward the red zone, but the play never happened.
Dallas had to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey to trim their deficit 16-10 with 5:28 left in the third quarter.
Aubrey's made all 32 of his field goals this season. — Safid Deen
The Dolphins extended their lead in the third quarter.
The Dolphins needed just five plays to get into field goal range. Tua Tagovailoa completed two passes to Tyreek Hill to get Miami in scoring position. After Dallas stopped the Dolphins on third down, Jason Sanders came in and converted a 54-yard field goal to push Miami’s lead to 16-7.
Sanders has made three field goals beyond 50 yards in the game. Sanders is the first Miami player ever to make three 50-plus yard field goals in a single game, per the FOX broadcast. — Tyler Dragon
The Dolphins scored a late TD to pull ahead of the Cowboys, but as is the case with NFL football in 2023, the drive wasn't without some controversy.
Micah Parsons was flagged for a questionable roughing the passer penalty that kept the Dolphins' drive alive and led to a Raheem Mostert touchdown. Parsons was visibly distraught with the flag, and Fox rules expert Dean Blandino challenged the call, as well, saying Parsons was within the rule.
Through it all, the first half had a bit of everything: Some questionable calls, big plays and solid football. It all points to a Dolphins 13-7 lead at half. - Joe Rivera
Raheem Mostert scored his 21st touchdown of the season and gave the Dolphins their first lead of the game. The play came from a four-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa. The running back motioned to the right before the snap and then cut left where he grabbed the one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone.
The score, which ties Mostert with Christian McCaffrey for most touchdowns in the NFL, came after Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons was called for roughing the passer. A play earlier, Tagovailoa had to burn a timeout because of confusion among the wide receivers.
An eye for an eye may leave a Dolphins wide receiver out of Sunday's matchup.
Miami wideout Jaylen Waddle suffered an eye injury in the second quarter of Sunday's Week 16 matchup. The Dolphins list Waddle as questionable to return with the injury.
Waddle was seemingly poked in the eye on a Dolphins red zone possession. - Joe Rivera
The Dolphins scored their second field goal of the day, a 52-yard boot from Jason Sanders, toward the end of the second quarter.
The score caps off a drive during which Tua Tagovailoa threw a 20-yard pass to Tyreek Hill for the star receiver’s first grab of the day. With Jaylen Waddle questionable to return with an eye injury, Miami’s offense couldn’t get much else going.
Dallas is up 7-6. - Victoria Hernandez
With his first quarter touchdown, CeeDee Lamb has now scored in seven straight games. This is the longest active streak in the NFL, per the Dallas Cowboys.
The Pro Bowl receiver joins Dez Bryant and Hall of Famer Terrell Owens as the only Cowboys to have scored in seven straight games.
Earlier in the matchup against the Dolphins, Lamb became the sixth wide receiver in NFL history, and first in Dallas history, to reach 5,000 yards from scrimmage in his first four seasons. He joins Rams legend Torry Holt, Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Randy Moss and current stars Michael Thomas and Justin Jefferson in crossing the mark. - Victoria Hernandez
Raheem Mostert got injured. Jaylen Waddle got poked in the eye. And Mike McDaniel decided to go for it on four-and five in the red zone.
It failed.
Tua Tagovailoa connected with Cedric Wilson on a fade route, but Wilson drifted out of bounds on the play.
It’s a Dolphins turnover on downs, when they could have settled for three points. - Safid Deed
The stars showed up for Dallas and Miami in the first quarter. CeeDee Lamb snagged a TD pass while Jaylen Waddle caught a 50-yard bomb from Tua Tagovailoa that set up a field goal for Miami.
It's been an entertaining back-and-forth battle in the first quarter, but Dallas leads 7-0. - Joe Rivera
The Cowboys offense made amends for their opening drive turnover.
Dallas quickly reached the end zone in three plays. Dak Prescott tossed a short pass across the middle to CeeDee Lamb, and the wide receiver scampered 49 yards for a touchdown.
Lamb’s touchdown put the Cowboys up 7-3 with 1:30 left in the first quarter.
Lamb already has four catches, 93 yards and a touchdown. Lamb’s scored a touchdown in seven straight games. - Tyler Dragon
MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. — The Dolphins crossed midfield with a 50-yard completion from Tua Tagovailoa to receiver Jaylen Waddle, but stalled at midfield.
Miami trotted kicker Jason Sanders out for a 57-yard kick, but was missing a player on the field and needed to call a time out.
Still, Sanders was able to nail the career-long kick to give Miami a 3-0 lead with 2:50 left in the first quarter. It nearly was a Miami blunder, but it paid off for Mike McDaniel. - Safid Deen
It looked like a Cowboys TD was on the docket. The football gods had other plans.
Just one player after running back Tony Pollard was stopped on the 1-yard line on an option play, the Cowboys coughed it up, with a botched exchange between quarterback Dak Prescott and fullback Hunter Luepke. - Joe Rivera
After sitting out the Week 15 matchup vs. the Jets with an ankle injury, Tyreek Hill is officially active on Sunday the Dolphins showdown with the Cowboys.
Hill will have some work to do to reach the single-season receiving yards record. Lions receiver Calvin Johnson holds the record with 1,964 receiving yards. Entering Sunday's matchup, Hill has 1,542 yards on the season. - Joe Rivera
The Dolphins and Cowboys are set for kickoff on Christmas Eve at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Cowboys head to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The Dolphins and Cowboys are slated for "America's Game of the Week" on Fox. Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olson will be on the call, with Tom Rinaldi and Erin Andrews providing sideline coverage.
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USA TODAY Sports staff picks for this game:
For cord-cutters, the Dolphins vs. Cowboys Week 16 matchup can be live streamed on Fubo. Fubo carries Fox, as well as CBS, NBC, ESPN, ABC and NFL Network, so you'll be able to catch most NFL action through the end of the 2023 season.
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