Cowboys 28 – 20 Giants: Dallas defeats divisional rival after putting on a offensive display to over match New York
Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to tight end Dalton Schultz, Ezekiel Elliott ran for a score and the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 28-20 on Thanksgiving Day.
Rookie Peyton Hendershot ran for a 2-yard TD before directing all three of his fellow tight ends into a giant Salvation Army red kettle for a Whack-A-Mole celebration.
The victory ended a three-game losing streak on the holiday for the Cowboys (8-3), who moved a game ahead of the Giants in the NFC East while sweeping the season series.
Dalton Schultz #86 of the Dallas Cowboys catches a touchdown pass during the second half in the game against the New York Giants
Jake Ferguson (87) leaps over New York Giants cornerback Jason Pinnock (27)
Prescott’s TD tosses to Schultz came about five minutes apart in the third quarter, turning a 13-7 deficit into a 21-13 lead. The first was a 15-yarder on third-and-goal.
The Dallas quarterback has 10 consecutive victories over the Giants since losing to them twice when the Cowboys went 13-3 his rookie year in 2016.
Saquon Barkley was held to 39 yards rushing with a 1-yard TD behind a makeshift offensive line missing three starters because of injury in the third loss in the past four games for the Giants (7-4).
Dallas, the NFL leader in sacks coming in, dropped Daniel Jones three times while limiting him to 14 yards rushing after he ran for first downs seven times in the first meeting, a 23-16 Dallas win.
Jones’ TD pass to Richie James in the final seconds was too late for the Giants to take advantage of a 2-0 takeaway edge in the second Thanksgiving meeting out of 122 overall in the storied rivalry.
CeeDee Lamb (88) breaks away from New York Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes (30)
CeeDee Lamb had six catches for 106 yards and set up three Dallas touchdowns, starting with a 25-yard catch before Elliott’s 6-yard run.
Lamb’s one-handed grab for 15 yards came before Schultz’s second TD. A 23-yarder put Dallas at the 2, and Lamb thought he made another one-handed catch in the back of the end zone.
Mike McCarthy challenged the ruling that the toe-tapping catch was out of bounds. It was upheld on review, despite the Cowboys being so confident they sent the PAT unit out after seeing the replay.
The Dallas offense came back out with all four tight ends, and Hendershot took a handoff on a sweep left for the easy 2-yard score.
The rookie waved Schultz, fellow rookie Jake Ferguson and Sean McKeon into the red kettle, holding the ball with both hands while they popped up. Ferguson got tapped on the helmet.
Elliott had a season-high 92 yards rushing, and the Cowboys overcame two interceptions from Prescott, who threw for 261 yards.
Tight ends Peyton Hendershot (89), Schultz (86), Sean McKeon (84) and Jake Ferguson (87) do wack-a-mole celebration in Salvation Army pot