Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to tight end Dalton Schultz, Ezekiel Elliott scored on the run and the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 28-20 on Thanksgiving Day.
Rookie Peyton Hendershot scored on a two-yard run and then three of his fellow tight ends celebrated by stepping into the Salvation Army’s giant red cauldron.
With their victory, the Cowboys (8-3) ended a three-game losing streak and lead the Giants by one game in the NFC East after defeating them in the season series.
Prescott threw his TD shots to Schultz within five minutes of each other in the third period, turning a 13-7 scoreline into a 21-13 lead. The first was 15 yards on third and goal.
The Dallas quarterback has 10 straight wins over the Giants since losing to them twice as the Cowboys went 13-3 in his rookie season in 2016.
Saquon Barkley was held for 39 yards and a 1-yard touchdown as part of a makeshift offensive line that was short of three injured starters. The Giants (7-4) have three losses in four games.
Dallas, the NFL leader in sacks, sacked Daniel Jones three times and limited him to 14 rushing yards. This is in contrast to the first meeting between the two teams in which Jones managed to run seven top tens even though the Cowboys won 23-16.
Jones’ touchdown pass to Richie James in the closing seconds was too late to change the course of the game.
The Giants could not get more out of the two times they took the ball from the Cowboys in the game, the second in which they meet on Thanksgiving Day among the 122 that have played in their long-standing rivalry.
CeeDee Lamb caught the ball six times for 106 yards and contributed to all three of Dallas’ touchdowns. The first was a 25-yard catch before Elliott’s 6-yard run.
A one-handed catch by Lamb for a 15-yard gain came before Schultz’s second touchdown.
With another 23-yard throw, Dallas got to the two-yard line, but Lamb missed the touchdown because he caught another one-handed ball just outside the end zone.