ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to tight end Dalton Schultz, Ezekiel Elliott scored and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Giants 28-20 on Thanksgiving Day.
Rookie Peyton Hendershott ran for a 2-yard TD before sending all three of his fellow tight ends into the Salvation Army’s giant red kettle for a Whack-A-Mole celebration.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak into the holiday season for the Cowboys (8-3), who moved ahead of the Giants in the NFC East for the season series.
Prescott threw a TD to Schultz 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 a 10-game winning streak against the Giants after losing to them twice when the Cowboys went 13-3 in his rookie year in 2016.
Saquon Barkley ran 39 yards with a 1-yard TD behind a makeshift offensive line without three starters due to injury in the third loss in the last four games for the Giants (7-4).
Dallas, the NFL’s leader in receiving sacks, dropped Daniel Jones three times, limiting him to 14 yards after rushing for first downs seven times in the first meeting, a 23-16 Dallas win.
Jones’ TD pass to Richie James in the closing seconds was too little too late for the Giants to take a 2-0 lead in the second Thanksgiving meeting at 122 in the storied rivalry.
C.D. Lamb caught six times 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 15-yard catch preceded Schultz’s second TD. The 23-yarder put Dallas up 2, and Lamb thought he made another one-handed grab in the back of the end zone.
Mike McCarthy contested the ruling that toe fishing was out of bounds. The review was upheld despite the fact that the Cowboys were so confident they called the PAT team after watching the replay.
Dallas’ offense returned with all four tight ends, and Hendershott took a pass on a sweep to the left for an easy 2-yard score.
The rookie waved to Schultz, fellow linebackers Jake Ferguson and Sean McKeon in a red kettle, holding the ball with both hands as they popped up. Ferguson was tapped on the helmet.
Elliott had a season-high 92 yards and the Cowboys overcame two interceptions by Prescutt, who threw for 261 yards.
A RECORD BLOW
Graham Gano tied New York’s record for longest field goal in a game with 57 yards in the first quarter. The hit came on fourth-and-32 after a Giants touchdown wiped out by an ineligible receiver downfield penalty, and Jones was flagged for an intentional grounding.
INJURIES
Illness ruled out three Cowboys who were active in DT Johnathan Hankins, DE Tarell Basham and CB Kelvin Joseph. … Giants CB Cor’Dale Flott left in the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion.
FURTHER
Giants: Washington visits Dec. 4 in the first of three consecutive NFC East games for the Giants. The third of them is another meeting with commanders.
Cowboys: Continues three-game homestand against Indianapolis on Dec. 4. Another opponent of AFC “Southern” (Houston) completes the home match on December 11.
