Keenum-led Vikings beat Lions, widen division lead
Case Keenum stood in the pocket to take a hit, dipped his right shoulder to slip out of a sack and shuffled his feet in the pocket to give his receivers more time to get open.
Looking like a savvy winner, instead of a journeyman, he picked apart Detroit’s defense with his arm and made plays with his legs to help the Vikings beat the Lions 30-23 in Detroit on Thursday.
Keenum threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in the first half to give the Vikings a double-digit lead and they won their seventh consecutive game.
They took a huge step toward winning the NFC North by taking a threegame lead over the second-place Lions.
Keenum, undrafted out of Houston in 2012, is suddenly 7-2 this season after going 9-15 with the Houston Texas and the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams.“I want to be great, and I have confidence in myself that I can be great,” he said.
The Vikings signed him to be a backup and he has made the most of his opportunities with Sam Bradford injured and Teddy Bridgewater recovering from a knee injury.
Keenum was 21-for-30 for 282 yards with both TD passes going to Kyle Rudolph, giving the Vikings a 20-3 lead late in the second quarter.
Detroit (6-5) made mistakes in every phase of the game and Minnesota took advantage. Keenum’s 1-yard pass to Rudolph was made a little easier because the Lions had just 10 defenders on the field.
And, Keenum’s 9-yard run came after Matthew Stafford was charged with a fumble while trying to hand off to Ameer Abdullah.
Chargers 28, Cowboys
Philip Rivers threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns for visiting Los Angeles (5-6) in his first Thanksgiving game in his 14th season.
Desmond King returned an interception 90 yards for the punctuating touchdown as the Chargers (5-6) moved 1½ games back of AFC Westleading Kansas City after starting 0-4. The Chiefs won their first five.
The defending NFC East champion Cowboys (5-6) lost their third straight by at least 20 points, all without running back Ezekiel Elliott, in a damaging defeat for their fading playoff hopes.
Dallas finally ended a touchdown drought at a team-record 10 quarters on Rod Smith’s 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Cal alum Keenan Allen had a career-high 172 yards on 11 catches with a touchdown, giving him 23 receptions for 331 yards and three scores in the past two games.
Washington 20, Giants 10:
Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes to compensate for a pick-six, and host Washington beat New York on a drab field in a drab game between two injury-depleted teams that did not look ready for prime time.
Cousins led Washington (5-6) on two TD drives in the second half, connecting with Jamison Crowder on a 15-yarder in the third quarter that broke a 3-3 tie, and with Josh Doctson on a 14yarder with 3½ minutes remaining in the game.
Bears’ Floyd on IR:
Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was placed on injured reserve by Chicago, ending his season because of a right knee injury sustained in Sunday’s loss to the Lions.