Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Washington beats Dallas for East lead
ARLINGTON, TEXAS » Alex Smith has Washington at least temporarily in first place in the NFC East after winning on Thanksgiving for the first time, two years after a planned holiday showing was wrecked by the quarterback’s career-threatening leg injury.
Smith and his teammates aren’t going to concern themselves with how bad their division might be.
Antonio Gibson ran for three touchdowns, Smith had a scoring pass and Washington pulled away in the fourth quarter of a 41-16 Thanksgiving victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.
Smith was days away from a second career Thanksgiving start in a visit to Dallas two years ago when he was injured. Now he has a second straight victory in his improbable comeback.
“It’s hard to put into words,” said Smith, who was a modest 19 of 26 for 149 yards and got bailed out on his only interception when receiver Terry McLaurin ran down Dallas linebacker Jaylon Smith to prevent a tying touchdown.
“I never would have dreamt in a million years something like this would be happening. Just thankful for it and making the most of it every day.”
Gibson’s second score was a 23yard run on the first play after an ill-advised fake punt attempt by Dallas as Washington beat its division rival on Thanksgiving for just the second time in 10 tries, the most frequent visitor for the Cowboys in their annual holiday home game.
Washington (4-7) slides ahead of the Eagles (3-6-1) in the NFC East and will stay in first place if the Eagles lose to Seattle on Monday. It was the third win in five games since a five-game losing streak dropped Washington to 1-5.
“Our record’s not the best,” Gibson said. “We’re still in it. That gives us hope. That’s what we’re pushing for is we can still make the playoffs right now. We’re going to keep going.”
Dallas (3-8) lost for the fifth time in six games since star QB Dak Prescott’s season-ending ankle injury.
TEXANS 41, LIONS 25 » Deshaun Watson had a pair of go-ahead touchdown passes in the first half and threw for two more scores in the fourth quarter to help Houston pull away and beat Detroit.
And still, he wasn’t satisfied. “It was definitely good, but I missed two touchdowns,” Watson said.
The dynamic quarterback finished 17 of 25 for 318 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He has thrown 15 touchdown passes without getting picked off once in the past six games.
“You’ve got to give some credit to the guys up front,” interim coach Romeo Crennel said. “If they give him time, he’s able to make plays. Guys can get open and he can hit them. He has that kind of accuracy.”
Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt had an early pick-6 and Will Fuller had six receptions for 171 yards and two TDs, including a 40-yard TD catch in which it looked like he and Watson were all alone on a practice field.
The Texans (4-7) have won two straight for the first time this season and three of their past four games with Crennel.
Rams put Kiser on IR
LOSANGELES» The Los Angeles Rams placed leading tackler Micah Kiser on injured reserve Thursday, but coach Sean McVay says the injury is not season-ending.
The Rams’ starting middle linebacker will be sidelined for at least three weeks, but likely no more, McVay said. Los Angeles (7-3) hosts San Francisco (4-6) on Sunday.
Tight end Tyler Higbee (elbow) and rookie linebacker Terrell Lewis (knee) also missed practice on Thanksgiving. Higbee’s availability Sunday will be a game-time decision, while Lewis will be monitored after his knee was drained.
The NFC West-leading Rams had been largely healthy this season, but they’ve lost three starters in two games. They placed safety Taylor Rapp and left tackle Andrew Whitworth on injured reserve last week.
Kiser injured his knee late in the Rams’ 27-24 victory at Tampa Bay last Monday night, McVay said. Kiser leads the team with 77 tackles, along with three passes defensed and a forced fumble.
Kiser won’t need knee surgery, and the Rams are cautiously confident he’ll only need to miss three games. The Rams visit Arizona and host New England in a Thursday night game over the next two weeks.