NFL highlights on Dec. 24: Dolphins clinch a playoff berth after beating Cowboys

The Miami Dolphins defeated the Dallas Cowboys 22-20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday, securing their 11th win of the regular season and locking in a spot in the playoffs.

Both sides were 10-4 before the game, but the Cowboys had already qualified for the postseason. Neither performed well when they were playing against teams with a winning percentage of over .500. Their quarterbacks (QBs), Miami's Tua Tagovaila and Dallas' Dak Prescott, are very explosive passers but sometimes commit awkward turnovers.

For example, Prescott ran the Cowboys first drive right to the red zone after 15 plays in 7:43. However, he had a fumble on a first-and-goal, blowing a great opportunity for a big early lead. Of course, he soon pulled himself together and threw two touchdowns, one in the first half and the other in the second, with no interception. Having completed 20 of his 32 passes, Prescott posted 253 passing yards in total.

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was targeted 10 times by Prescott, the most among all Cowboys, and he caught six of those passes for a game-leading 118 yards. He and tight end Jake Ferguson scored a touchdown each. The two plus wide receiver Jalen Tolbert all completed deep connections beyond 20 yards with Prescott.

Compared with Prescott, who bounced back from a poor performance early in the game, Tagovailoa performed well in the first three quarters but almost cost the Dolphins Sunday's game in the final period. He ran two drives during this quarter, and the first one lasted less than 90 seconds. He threw an incomplete pass and then was sacked for a loss of nine yards.

The Cowboys scored their second touchdown on the next drive to lead 20-19, leaving only 3:27 for the Dolphins. This time, Tagvailoa managed to keep progressing slowly but steadily until they placed the ball within the shooting range of kicker Jason Sanders. He scored his fifth field goal on Sunday from 29 yards for his side to come back in the final second.

The game-winning shot aside, Sander's performance made it his career night at Hard Rock Stadium. Not only did he set a new record by making the first field goal from 57 yards, he also became the first one in franchise history to make three shots from 50+ yards in one game.

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

Indianapolis Colts 10-29 Atlanta Falcons

Green Bay Packers 33-30 Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns 36-22 Houston Texans

Detroit Lions 30-24 Minnesota Vikings

Washington Commanders 28-30 New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks 20-17 Tennessee Titans

Jacksonville Jaguars 12-30 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Arizona Cardinals 16-27 Chicago Bears

New England Patriots 26-23 Denver Broncos