HOLIDAY BLUES
Offense continues to struggle as fading Cowboys drop third in a row
Dallas’ Tyron Smith, left foreground, and Dak Prescott, right, give chase as Los Angeles cornerback Desmond King returns an interception 90 yards for a touchdown during the second half Thursday in Arlington. The Chargers won 28-6, handing the Cowboys their third consecutive defeat with all three coming by margins of at least 20 points.
ARLINGTON — 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 careerhigh 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 interception 90 yards for the punctuating touchdown. The Chargers (5-6) moved within 1½ 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 400yard 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 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 two interceptions, giving him five in two games after just four a year ago.
Last year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has nine picks for the season and the Cowboys have twice as many losses as a year ago with Elliott only halfway through a sixgame 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 20of-27 for 179 yards in his third straight 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 two of his three biggest yardage games in the past two weeks. He had 11 catches and a score after 12 grabs for 159 yards and two TDs in a 54-24 win over Buffalo.
“When I first got here, he was a little heavy,” firstyear 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 500plus total yards (515) for the first time in two years, overcame the loss of kicker Nick Novak to a back injury, the second straight game that Dallas’ opposing kicker was injured.
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 38yard catch to set up San Diego’s first touchdown in the third and Tyrell Williams added a 27-yard TD catch.