Cowboys Controversy: Dallas Trails Dolphins At Half After Late Miami TD

A late touchdown - with some controversy part of it - has given the Miami Dolphins a 13-7 halftime lead over the Dallas Cowboys.

In a game featuring two dynamic offenses, the first half of Sunday's matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins has been surprisingly tame, with the latter leading 13-7 heading into the locker room.

After getting the ball to start, the Cowboys experienced one of the most gut-wrenching feelings in football. Dallas drove all the way down to the Miami 1-yard line, and seemed destined to take an early lead. However, an ill-timed fumble by Dak Prescott ended the drive before the Cowboys could punch it in, and instead they came up empty.

As devastating as that was, the Cowboys rebounded quickly. After a Miami field goal, Dallas found the end zone quickly with a 49-yard catch and run by CeeDee Lamb, marking the first and only touchdown of the half.

CeeDee Lamb

Dallas held a 7-3 advantage for a while, but Miami came roaring back late in the half. It started with a second field goal by Jason Sanders, but the main event happened just before the break, when Tua Tagovailoa hit Raheem Mostert for a four-yard score to take the lead.

Prescott, coming off a miserable game in last week's loss to the Buffalo Bills, completed six of nine passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Lamb had the vast majority of that passing production with four receptions for 93 yards and a score, while Tony Pollard added 20 yards on six carries.

For Miami, Tua Tagovailoa completed 13 of 21 passes for 182 yards. Raheem Mostert had nine carries for 31 yards and Jaylen Waddle had a 50-yard reception, but both players were shaken up in the half.

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Near the end of the half, a Micah Parsons hit on Tua was ruled to be late, setting up Miami's before-intermission TD.

Sorry, Micah Parsons. Controversial call. Better to not hit the QB like this. Flag leads to #Cowboys needlessly giving up a TD. pic.twitter.com/HLl9VJoq3m

— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) December 24, 2023

The Cowboys are looking to prove they can win on the road, and while the first half was far from perfect, it is a stark improvement over their showing last week.

Dallas will be on defense to start the second half.