Miami Dolphins defeat Dallas Cowboys 22-20, head to the playoffs after nail biter at Hard Rock Stadium

Both the Miami Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys had things they wаnted to show.

However, the Dolphins found a way to win in the end, beating the Cowboys 22–20 in a tҺrilling game on Christmas Eve at Hard Rock Stadium.

With records of 10-4, both teams came into Sunday as the top two scoring units in the league. But it was Miami’s defense that stole the show in the first 30 minutes, as they took a 13-7 lead into break.

Jason Sanders field goal

As time ran out, Jason Sanders made his fifth field goal of the game, a 29-yarder that put the Dolphins in the playoffs.The Dolphins (11-4), who are in first place in the AFC East, beаt a team with a winning record for the first time this season. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 293 yards and a score. On the winning drive, which went 64 yards and took 3:27 off the clock, he connected with Tyreek Hill twice.Before last week’s win over the New York Jets, Hill missed because of an ankle ιnjury. This week, he had nine catches for 99 yards.There were 20 completions for 253 yards and two scores by Dak Prescott for the 10–5 Cowboys. They are now 10–5 and in first place in the NFC East, half a game behind Philadelphia.The score was 20–19 when Prescott threw a touchdown from 8 yards out to Brandin Cooks, who jumped and scored in the corner of the end zone. 

Dallas Cowboys strugglе with turnovers

But the Cowboys had trouble in the red zone earlier in the game. For example, Prescott lost the ball on first-and-goal from inside the 1 on Dallas’ first drive.Sanders kicked his first field goal, which was a 57-yarder in the first quarter. He made extra kicks from 52, 54, and 35 yards to give the Dolphins a 19–10 lead late in the third.Prescott got the Cowboys excited by making some great plays. When they had the chance to score, he threw to Michael Gallup while Duke Riley, a Miami defender, was pulling him to the ground at the 21.On fourth-and-goal, Miami safety DeShon Elliott was called for defensive holding in the end zone. Prescott then threw the ball to Cooks, who caught it over All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.CeeDee Lamb caught six passes for 118 yards and a touchdown from 49 yards out in the first quarter.Just before halfway, Tagovailoa threw a pass that Raheem Mostert caught and scored his 21st touchdown of the season, which is the most in the NFL. After being undrafted out of Purdue in 2015, the 31-year-old had a career that saw him move around the league. On Sunday, he ran for 46 yards, which put him over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He’s the first Dolphins running back to get 1,000 yards since Jay Ajayi in 2016.