CHARGERS 28, COWBOYS 6
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Philip Rivers was more than comfortable on the Thanksgiving stage for the first time in his 14 NFL seasons.
Same with Keenan Allen, who didn't have to wait nearly that long.
Rivers threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns, Allen had a career-high 172 yards in his second consecutive huge game and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the fading Dallas Cowboys 28-6 on Thursday.
Desmond King returned an interception 90 yards for the punctuating touchdown. The Chargers (5-6) moved within 1 1/2 games of AFC West-leading Kansas City after starting 0-4 while the Chiefs won their first five.
"Playing on Thanksgiving was everything it was cranked up to be," said Rivers, who was 27 of 33 in his ninth career 400-yard game. "As a quarterback, you want to play well and throw it to your guys, and we did a lot today. But I'm more excited about our team."
The defending NFC East champion Cowboys (5-6) have lost three consecutive games by at least 20 points for the first time since 2004, all without suspended star running back Ezekiel Elliott in a damaging slide for their fading playoff hopes.
Dallas, playing its 50th Thanksgiving game, finally ended a touchdown drought at a team-record 10 quarters on Rod Smith's 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys have been outscored 72-6 in the second half of the three losses.
Quarterback Dak Prescott has looked lost without Elliott, his backfield mate for a pair of remarkable rookie seasons that led the Cowboys to the best record in the NFC last season. Prescott had 2 interceptions, giving him 5 in 2 games after throwing just 4 a year ago.
Last year's NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has nine picks for the season and the Cowboys already have twice as many losses as a year ago with Elliott only halfway through a six-game suspension for alleged domestic violence.
"The last thing I'm doing is pointing a finger and saying, 'We need this guy, we need that to happen,' " said Prescott, who was 20 of 27 for 179 yards in his third consecutive game without a TD pass. "I'm going to say we've just got to figure out what's going on and get out of this slump."
Rivers had seven completions of at least 22 yards, including Allen's 42-yard catch-and-run when he weaved through five defenders for a 22-6 lead.
Allen, in his fifth season, has 2 of his 3 biggest yardage games in the past 2 weeks. He had 11 catches and a score after 12 grabs for 159 yards and 2 TDs in a 54-24 victory over Buffalo.
"When I first got here, he was a little heavy," first-year Coach Anthony Lynn said. "I think once he got his weight down, you could see the run after catch, the quickness, all those things you see in a No. 1 receiver."
The Chargers, with 500-plus total yards (515) for the first time in two years, overcame the loss of kicker Nick Novak to a back injury, the second consecutive game that Dallas' opposing kicker was injured and in the same game that Dallas' Dan Bailey returned after missing four games with a groin injury.
Just like last week in the Cowboys' blowout loss to division-leading Philadelphia, neither of the kickers mattered much with the Dallas offense sputtering and the defense not getting key stops.
Novak returned to make a 22-yard field goal after the injury, but left for good after missing an extra point. Punter Drew Kaser was 1 of 3 on extra points. The Chargers went for a fourth-and-13 in field goal range in a scoreless game early in the second quarter with Novak's status in doubt, coming up a yard short.
Four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith returned for Dallas after missing two games with back and groin injuries, but the Cowboys lost 2014 All-Pro right guard Zack Martin to a concussion in the first half.
Austin Ekeler had a 38-yard catch to set up San Diego's first touchdown in the third quarter, and Tyrell Williams added a 31-yard grab before making a 27-yard scoring catch.
Los Angeles has a Thanksgiving winning streak in Texas, because the Chargers' previous holiday showing was a 21-17 AFL victory at Houston in 1969, the year before the merger. It was the longest gap (48 years) for a team between Thanksgiving games in NFL history.
Dallas tight end Jason Witten, already the Thanksgiving record-holder in catches, passed Detroit's Herman Moore for the most yards on the holiday. Witten now has 80 catches for 853 yards.
VIKINGS 30, LIONS 23
DETROIT — Case Keenum threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, all in the first half, to give the Minnesota Vikings a double-digit lead as they went on to beat the Detroit Lions on Thursday.
The Vikings (9-2) took a huge step toward winning the NFC North, taking a three-game lead over the second-place Lions (6-5).
Keenum was 21 of 30 for 282 yards and both TD passes to Kyle Rudolph that gave the Vikings a 20-3 lead late in teh second quarter.
Keenum, undrafted out of Houston in 2012, is suddenly 7-2 this season after going 9-15 with the Houston Texans and the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams. The Vikings signed him to be a backup and he has made the most of his opportunities with Sam Bradford injured and Teddy Bridgewater recovering from a knee injury.
The Lions rallied to pull within four points early in the fourth quarter on Matthew Stafford’s second TD pass to Marvin Jones.
Stafford struggled even before he was hurt late in the game, missing open receivers, and finished 20 of 35 for 250 yards and an interception on fourth down with just under 3 minutes to go. Jones had 6 catches for 109 yards and 2 TDs. The Lions were held to a total of 53 yards rushing.
Xavier Rhodes ended the Lions’ comeback hopes with an interceeption at the Detroit 37 late in the game.
Detroit’s Darius Slay blocked a field goal with 1:15 left and temmate Nevin Lawson returned it 77 yards for a touchdown, but it was negated by Slay being offside.
Latavius Murray had 84 yards rushing and a 2-yard touchdown, giving the Vikins a 27-10 lead early in the third quarter.
REDSKINS 20, GIANTS 10
LANDOVER, Md. — Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes to compensate for a pick-6, and the Washington Redskins beat the New York Giants on a drab field in a drab game between two injury-depleted teams that did not look ready for prime time.
The first half, in particular, was devoid of highlights: The NFC East rivals combined for nine punts and only six points. But Cousins led Washington (5-6) on two TD drives in the second half, connecting with Jamison Crowder on a 15-yarder in the third quarter that broke a 3-3 tie, and with Josh Doctson on a 14-yarder with 3½ minutes remaining in the game.
In between, cornerback Janoris Jenkins intercepted Cousins’ pass and returned it 53 yards to make it 10-10. That one play involved more yardage than Eli Manning and the Giants (2-9) generated in the entire second half. They gained 47 yards and one solitary first down. One possession ended with an interception by Manning, four ended with punts, and another dissolved when they turned the ball over on downs.
This was the first time the Redskins had hosted a game on Thanksgiving, and both teams didn’t exactly treat the national TV audience to a thriller.
Perhaps it was fitting that the game was contested on a terrible-looking field. A large swath of brown ran down the middle, all the way from one end zone to the other.
Sports on 11/24/2017