Chargers beat fading Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — 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 straight huge game and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the fading Dallas Cowboys 28-6 on Thursday.
Desmond King returned an intercep- tion 90 yards for the punctuating touchdown. The Chargers (5-6) moved within one-and-a-half 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 straight 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 two-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys have been outscored 72-6 in the second half of the three losses.