MX23RW : Sunday, December 15 09:08:55| >> :600:39446565:39446565:
Sep 20, 2015 at 9.25pm UK at ​Lincoln Financial Field
Dallas Cowboys
20-10
Philadelphia Eagles
FT
3
Q1
0
3
Q2
0
Wilber (12:35)
7
Q3
0
Williams (4:13)
7
Q4
10
Matthews (1:26)

Live Commentary: Dallas Cowboys 20-10 Philadelphia Eagles - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's live coverage the Dallas Cowboys 20-10 win over NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL.
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The Dallas Cowboys improved to 2-0 in the 2015 NFL season with a 20-10 win over NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

The win came at a price though, with starting quarterback Tony Romo fracturing his left collarbone in the second half of the game.

The game was littered with errors from both sides, but touchdown from Kyle Wilber and Terrance Williams saw the visiting side over the line, before Jordan Matthews added a late consolation for the hosts.

Read how all the action unfolded below.


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Good evening! The Philadelphia Eagles will be looking for their first win of the season when they host the Dallas Cowboys in the second week of the season. Let's start with a look at the inactive lists.

EAGLES INACTIVES: Morris, Ajirotutu, Rice, Vandervelde, Kelly, Smith, Bair

COWBOYS INACTIVES: Leary, Michael, Hanna, Bishop, Bryant, Gregory, Russell

There are a couple of notable absentees for the visiting side as star wide receiver Dez Bryant misses out with a foot injury sustained in the win over the Giants. Defensive end Randy Gregory and guard Ronald Leary will also be big misses for Dallas.

The Eagles come into this game after suffering a narrow 26-24 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons last weekend. The Cowboys were the only side in the NFC East to win in the first week of the season, beating the New York Giants last Sunday.



Last season, both of the meetings between these two sides fell in the final five weeks of the season. The Cowboys were beaten in their home game in November, before getting revenge at Lincoln Financial Field two weeks later on their way to beating the Eagles to the division title.

Here are the Cowboys making their way out for warmups a little earlier:


One player who will be hoping to have a big game today at DeMarco Murray. The running back had the best season of his career with the Cowboys last year, rushing for 1,845 yards and scoring 13 touchdowns. With Dallas giving Dez Bryant a big contract over the summer, there wasn't space for the running back on the salary cap, so he moved to the Eagles over the offseason. He had just nine rushing yards on his debut for Philadelphia, but did get in the endzone.

The other two sides in the NFC East have already been in action today. The Washington Redskins got off the mark with a win over the St Louis Rams, but the New York Giants slipped to 0-2 in 2015 with a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. You can catch up on all of the action from the early games on our NFL page.

The teams are ready to make their way out ready for kickoff:


In the opening week of the season, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has 356 passing yards, three touchdown passes and two interceptions. Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, who was making his debut for the team following his trade from the St Louis Rams had 336 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against the Falcons.

The Cowboys have won the pre-game coin toss and have chosen to receive the opening kickoff.

KICKOFF! Cody Parkey takes the opening kickoff for the Eagles.

SACK! The opening kickoff goes straight out the back of the endzone, so Romo and the Cowboys offense begin from the Dallas 20. The first couple of plays come to nothing, so Romo holds on to the ball a little too long looking for an option to open up, and he's sacked for a loss of eight yards by Connor Barwin.

Facing a 3rd and 22, Romo hands the ball off to Lance Dunbar, and the running back manages to pick up eight yards, but he's well short of the first down, so it's a punt to end the opening drive.

It's a quick three and out for the Eagles too as Sam Bradford comes onto the field for the first time today. DeMarco Murray has an early carry, picking up just a yard, before Bradford picks out Agholor, leaving the home side just a yards short of the first down. The quarterback can't get the ball to Jordan Matthews looking for the yard needed to move the chains though, so Philadelphia have to send on their punter.



The Cowboys start with a couple of runs on their second drive of the game, with Randle picking up gains of five and three to leave Dallas just short of the first down. Beasley picks up a slant pass from Romo on third down, but can only gain one, so the punter comes back out for the visiting side. Both side seem to be struggling to get their offenses going so far.

A drive is finally extended beyond three play as the Eagles are awarded a first down for a defensive interference penalty. Darren Sproles tries to run it, but is tackled for a loss, before Murray makes a short gain, leaving the home side needing seven to extend the drive further, but Bradford's pass in the direction of Matthews goes straight out. Both punters are being kept busy in the opening quarter of this game!

It's a good start to the drive by Romo as he picks out Terrence Williams though the middle with a 15-yard pass. Randle gets a touch a couple of plays later before being pushed out of bounds at the Philadelphia 47 to move the chains again. Randley, who spent most of last season watching now-Eagles running back DeMarco Murray from the sidelines, keeps it moving with another couple of promising runs. This is a decent looking drive from Dallas.

After a string of running plays, Romo goes back to passing, completing one over the top to Williams to move the Cowboys inside the Philadelphia 20. Dallas should get at least a field goal attempt from this drive but they'll be wanting more having come this far down the field.

TOUCHDOWN? Tight end Gavin Escobar can see the endzone has he runs a diagonal run out to towards the corner of the endzone. The referee rules him down at the one-yard line, but the replays seem to suggest he's in, so the Cowboys head coach has thrown the challenge flag. The play is being reviewed.

NO TOUCHDOWN! It's not given, as the video isn't conclusive when the officials look to see if Esobar's knee was down, so they stick with the original decision. The Cowboys have the ball at the one-yard line though.

Romo hands the ball off to Randle to try to punch into into the endzone, but his path is blocked. The quarterback decides to look for Escobar again, who runs to the same area of the field that he came so close to opening the scoring in a few moment earlier, but he can't haul it in. On third down, Romo looks to the opposite side of the endzone, with Jason Witten wide open, but the pass isn't accurate.

FIELD GOAL! Dallas Cowboys 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles (Dan Bailey)

It's a simple first kick of the night for Dan Bailey, as he chips it over from just 20 yards out to get the Cowboys off the mark.

Philadelphia get the ball back at their own 20, but Murray can't get the ball moving again his old team, being brought down for a loss of two by Sean Lee. Bradford launches the ball deep to former Cowboys receiver Miles Austin, who jumps up to make what initially looks like a spectacular catch, but he can't keep hold of it.

END OF FIRST QUARTER: Dallas Cowboys 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles

After a change of direction, the teams are ready to go at the start of the second quarter, with the Dallas offense back on the field. Romo flicks the ball down the sideline for street for a quick first down before McFadden takes over the running back duties, but he runs straight into Cox and Hart, who tackle him for no gain.

SACK! McFadden does pick up some yards on the next play though, getting his head down to batter his way to a 14-yard gain. Romo holds onto the ball too long on second down though, allowing Cedric Thornton to push him to the ground for a second sack of the day.

What started as a promising looking drive quickly unravels after the sack as the Cowboys pick up a delay of game penalty on the next play, leaving the visiting side needing 21 yards on third down, but McFadden picks up just seven after collecting a short pass from the quarterback. Yet another drive end in a punt.

Another Philadelphia drive ends in a quick drive, and the crowd make their feelings known, booing as the punt unit comes back out. Ryan Mathews got a carry, but was tackled at the line of scrimmage, while Bradford failed to connect with tight end Zach Ertz on third down. With this being a divisional game, it was always going to be cagey to start with as both sides try to make sure they don't lose rather than pushing for the win, but both offenses have been pretty dismal so far.

Byron Maxwell is closely following Williams as he tries to get free down the middle, ensuring that the receiver couldn't haul it in. The receiver makes a brilliant catch on the next play, but the Cowboys were in an illegal formation, so the 14-yard gain is wiped off. Romo spots Witten in space on third down, but Kiko Alonso tackles the tight end short to stop the Cowboys getting the first down. Philadelphia will get the ball back.

The Eagles still aren't getting anywhere fast as Bradford stumbles while moving around in the pocket, eventually handing it off to Murray. The Eagles need 11 off first down, and appear to have it as Sproles bursts through the middle, but it's called back for a pass interference penalty on Ertz. Philadelphia just can't get going!

The penalties continue to come as the visiting side are penalised for a block above the waist on the punt, leaving them to start their drive on their own 11-yard line. Witten picks up five yards before Randle rushes for two, but there's yet another penalty as the Cowboys fail to get the snap off before the game clock expires. These are really basic errors, but they keep coming!

This is a big blow for the Eagles. The linebacker has made a couple of decent tackles today and was impressive on his Eagles debut last week. He missed all of last season with an ACL tear - the Eagles will hope that it's not the same injury again:


TWO MINUTE WARNING: The teams take a break for the two minutes warning with the Cowboys moving towards Philadelphia territory. Beasley is unable to hold onto to the ball, not for the first time in this game. He does connect with Witten on the right sideline though, with the tight end getting a game of 11 before the visiting side let the clock run down to two minutes. They still need four off the next play to move the chains though. There could be another injury blow though, as Witten is moving rather gingerly as he makes his way off the field.

Curry is a little too eager for the home side as he commits a neutral zone infraction, gifting Dallas the first down. Witten is back on the field after appearing to have picked up a knock on his last catch. He gets a couple of yards, but Thurmond pushes him back to the line of scrimmage before Curry comes in late, resulting in an unnecessary roughness penalty. It's a costly one, moving the Cowboys across the halfway line.

Romo spots Dunbar making a run for the end zone, launching a deep pass down the left sideline. It's on target, but Dunbar loses track of the ball, failing to catch it as he ran into the endzone.

It's the Eagles that are chalking up the penalties in this drive as Witten is held by Ryans, resulting in another automatic first down for the visitors. Both head coaches must be desperate to get their players in the locker room to have a word about the mistakes that have marred the opening two quarters of this game.

The Eagles think that they have forced a turnover as Romo is sacked for a loss of three and fumbles to ball, allowing Jenkins to make the referee for Philadelphia. The referees take a closer look at it, and the replays show that Romo got the ball away, so it's an incomplete pass rather than a fumble. Dallas keep the ball, but on second down there's a false start from Witten, moving the offense back five yards.

Witten makes amends for his false start, running a slant route to get the necessary yards for a first down, while Williams move the Cowboys to the Philadelphia 19 on the next play. The visitors could add to the scoreboard before the end of the second quarter.

With no-one open, Romo spots the chance to scramble, gaining 12 for another Dallas first down. Dallas do still have a timeout as well, which gives them enough time to find the endzone, although Beasley loses a couple of yards as he's pushed back by Jenkins, before yet another false start, this time on tackle Doug Free, costs the Cowboys another five yards.

FIELD GOAL! Dallas Cowboys 6-0 Philadelphia Eagles (Dan Bailey)

HALF TIME: Dallas Cowboys 6-0 Philadelphia Eagles

Romo fails to get the ball to Williams at the back of the end zone, so the Cowboys have to send on the field goal unit. Bailey maintains his 100% record for the day, kicking it through the posts from 28-yard out to double Dallas's lead.

Well, that wasn't the most enthralling 30 minutes of action in the NFL. Both teams have lacked discline, with eight penalties coming on the last drive alone. Looking on the positive side, the teams are still close, so it could be an entertaining shootout in the second half, if the coaches can sort their teams out over the half-time break.

The quarterback stats do not make for pleasant reading. Tony Romo has completed 17 of his 25 attempts for 156 yards, but he's been sacked twice. Sam Bradford really hasn't got going for the Eagles, completing five of nine attempts for 24 yards.

Dan has indeed been the man - Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey is responsible for all of the points in the first half, albeit that there are only six of them. He hasn't been tested too hard so far, with both kicks coming from less than 30 yards out, but he's probably the only player that hasn't made a mistake so far:


We told you earlier that Kiko Alonso had been ruled out with a knee injury. Well he wasn't the only Eagle to pick up an injury in the first half, as linebacker Mychal Kendricks is questionable to return with a hamstring injury.

The players are back on the field ready to get the third quarter underway.

RESTART! Dan Bailey takes the second-half kickoff.

The Eagles make a better start to the second half as Bradford quickly finds Agholor for a first down. The home side try to get the run game going, with Murray getting two carries, but he's tackled for a loss twice, leaving the hosts the punt again. It started well, but quickly stalled.

TOUCHDOWN! Dallas Cowboys 13-0 Philadelphia Eagles (Kyle Wilber)

Even the punts are going wrong now as Donnie Jones's kick back towards the Philadelphia half is blocked by McCray, allowing Kyle Wilber to pick it up and run it back 26 yards for a touchdown. Worse still for Philadelphia, Jones took a heavy hit to the shoulder, and has to be helped to the sideline. The punter has probably been the busiest player in this game, so they'll be hoping he can continue.

After finishing with nine rushing yards on his Eagles debut, the tackles for a loss on DeMarco Murray wipe out his entire gains for 2015:


Well the good news for the Eagles is that punter Donnie Jones is alright. The bad news is that he's needed again as Bradford fails to find any of his receivers in a speedy three and out.

Randle thinks he's done enough for a first down, but the penalties that hindered the Cowboys in the first half continue, as on offensive holding brings it back. Romo goes deep a couple of plays later though, finding Dunbar down the sideline for a gain of 39 before the receiver is shoved out of bounds.

FUMBLE! Romo tries to run with the ball, but he's quickly caught by Hicks, forcing the ball out of the quarterback's hands before Fletcher Cox recovers. There's potentially a worse loss for the Cowboys though, as Romo is clutching his shoulder and appears to be in quite some pain. He might not have nod his best game today, but Romo would be a huge loss for the Cowboys.

SACK! The quarterbacks are really coming under pressure at the moment as Sam Bradford is sacked for the first time today, going down for a loss of five after failing to escape the clutches of Hitchen while looking for an open receiver.

DeMarco Murray finally makes a run, cutting out to the sideline before securing a gain of 18 yards. It's the running back's longest run of the game, and it gets Philadelphia across midfield.

It looks like Tony Romo's day could be over as he's heading into the locker room. Backup Brandon Weeden is being briefed on the sideline and will presumably lead the next drive for the Cowboys:


Murray is tackled for a loss yet again as Barry Church pushes him out of bounds, but the safety appears to have injured himself in the process. Bradford manages to get the ball over the top to Zach Ertz to keep the drive going though, with the tight end picking up a useful gain of nine to move the home side to the Dallas 21. This is easily Philadelphia's best drive of the game.

The Eagles can sense a chance to finally get some points on the board, and are looking a lot sharper now that they can see the endzone. Sproles moves the a little closer with a gain of five before Murray powers to the Dallas 3, just being tackled short by Morris Claiborne.

INTERCEPTION! Just as it looks like the Eagles are starting to make things happen, Sam Bradford make a costly mistake trying to get the ball to Ertz at the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Sean Lee gets in front of the tight end though, and gets the interception for the visiting side.

Injured Cowboy Dez Bryant clearly enjoyed that play from teammate Sean Lee:


With Tony Romo undergoing X-Rays in the Cowboys locker room, Brandon Weeden is under center for the Cowboys as Dallas get the ball back. It's a good start for the backup as he finds Beasley for a first down, despite the receiver taking a heavy hit which removes his helmet.

Weeden can't keep the drive going though, with Randle picking up a couple of short runs before Dunbar gets pushed out of bounds for a gain of two yards, forcing the Cowboys to punt again.

Bradford gets the ball back at the Philadelphia 20, and scrambles for a gain of nine, before Jordan Matthews fails to bring in a long pass forward. Matthews had been tipped to lead the team in receiving this year, but he hadn't made a single catch so far today.

Murray is trying to put his former team under pressure as he hurdles a tackle from Brandon Carr. Murray ends up getting pushed into the sideline among his former teammates, and gets grabbed by kicker Dan Bailey, who clearly has something to say to the running back, drawing a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Just when you think you've seen it all in this game

END OF THIRD QUARTER: Dallas Cowboys 13-0 Philadelphia Eagles

Cowboys media director Derek Eagleton has confirmed the news that Cowboys fans have been dreading since seeing Tony Romo head into the locker room:


FIELD GOAL! Dallas Cowboys 13-3 Philadelphia Eagles (Cody Parkey)

It's taken until the fourth quarter, but the Eagles finally have some points on the board, with Bradford seeing Agholor let a pass to the corner of the endzone slip through his finger. It's a long attempt for the kicker, but Parkey makes the 46-yard attempt look easy.

McFadden us handed the ball for a couple of short runs, while Weeden keeps the ball himself as he comes back on for his second drive of the game. Tony Romo will have further tests on his collarbone tomorrow to determine the full extend of the injury, but it looks like Weeden will be the starter for the foreseeable future for the Cowboys. He hands the ball off to McFadden again though, and the running back gets the yards for a first down.

The Cowboys are steadily heading back towards the endzone as Beasley gets pushed out of bounds before McFadden rushes for nine more. Meanwhile, Romo has come back out onto the sideline with his left arm in a sling to cheer on his teammates for the rest of the game.

FUMBLE! Gavin Escobar gets the ball and looks to get some yards after the catch, but Maxwell is able to knock the ball out of the tight ends hands, before Jenkins recovers it and runs it back to the Dallas 34.

FUMBLE! You really couldn't make this up! No sooner have the Eagles forced a turnover and got the ball back in the hands of their quarter than it's gone straight back to Dallas. Bradford isn't ready for the snap and fumbles it at the line of scrimmage, allowing Nick Hayden to recover for the visiting side.

The Cowboys are facing an uphill battle from the start as the offense comes back onto the field, with Berndeau immediately moving the team back 10 yards for a holding penalty. Weeden gets the pass to Witten to move Dallas to their own 30-yard line, but another offensive hold quickly results in a punt for the visitors.

INTERCEPTION! Sam Bradford manages to find Jordan Matthews for the first time today, before going for Zach Ertz on the next play, but JJ Wilcox intercepts it for the Cowboys, bringing it back 24 yards to the Philadelphia 41. That's the second time that Bradford has looked for the tight end and been picked off.

Tony Romo is deep in conversation with head coach Jason Garrett on the sideline, seemingly trying to held in any way he can despite having a broken collarbone. McFadden smashes his way through the middle for a couple of yards before the hosts take a timeout.

Here's JJ Wilcox's interception, which has surely sealed the win for Dallas:


TOUCHDOWN! Dallas Cowboys 20-3 Philadelphia Eagles (Terrance Williams)

Any hopes the Eagles had of launching a late comeback are surely over now as the home side somehow leave Terrance Williams completely open, allowing Weeden to loop the ball over the top to the receiver, who runs 42 yards for the first offensive touchdown of the game. Dan Bailey adds the extra points.

Sam Bradford is probably looking for nothing more than a consolation now to try to make the scoreline a bit more respectable. He fails to get the ball to Riley Cooper, but Matthews gets the first down, before Ertz gets six yards on the board before being passed out of bounds. The Eagles have a mountain to climb regardless of what happened in the final couple of minutes today, but getting a touchdown would be a welcome boost for an offense that has been just woeful today.

Murray makes a really determined push towards the endzone as he tried to get on the scoreboard against his old side, but he's twice held up short while stretching to break the plane, while Sean Lee pushes him back to keep him out on the third attempt.

TWO MINUTE WARNING: The Eagles have the two-minutes warning timeout to think about their attempts to punch the ball into the endzone from just a yard out. As the action resumes, Murray finally thinks he's managed to slip through, but there's yet another flag for an offensive hold, quickly resulting in the score being ruled out.

TOUCHDOWN! Dallas Cowboys 20-10 Philadelphia Eagles (Jordan Matthews)

The home side finally get the touchdown as Bradford tosses the ball out wide for Jordan Matthews to stretch over in the right corner, before Cody Parkey adds the extra point.

The Eagles go for an onside kick to try to win the ball back, giving themselves a chance to make it close in the final moments, but Parkey barely manages to slice it 10 yards, leaving Sean Lee, who is one of the few players who can say that he's played well today, to recover it for the Cowboys.

FULL TIME: Dallas Cowboys 20-10 Philadelphia Eagles

Neither side look happy as the players meet in the middle for the customary full-time handshakes. Dallas have their second win of the season, but with starting quarterback Tony Romo joining star wide receiver Dez Bryant on the injury list, it could be a costly evening's work in the long term.

Philadelphia have few positives to take from their performance. DeMarco Murray couldn't get the running game going, Sam Bradford's passing was all over the place, while linebacker Kiko Alonso could be out for a while after being ruled out with a knee injury early in the game. Chip Kelly has his work cut out!

So, that's all from our live coverage of this game, but stick around to catch up on the action from all of today's fixtures in the NFL. Thanks for joining me this evening and this morning. Goodbye.

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