Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Cowboys win 3rd in row
Ezekiel Elliott made the $21 donation after his touchdown. Amari Cooper took the freebie following the first of his two scores.
The bonus for the Cowboys: They’re all the way back in the NFC East race.
Cooper had a 90-yard touchdown after celebrating with a free throw following his first scoring catch, Elliott ran for 121 yards with his TD and the Cowboys pulled even with the Redskins atop the division with a 31-23 Thanksgiving win over them Thursday in Arlington, Texas.
The Cowboys (6-5) won their third straight game since their first home loss.
It was the Cowboys’ eighth win in nine Thanksgiving games against the Redskins, and second in three seasons, earned a season split.
The Redskins (6-5) lost for the third time in four games in Colt McCoy’s first start in four years coming off Alex Smith’s seasonending leg injury.
The former Texas star threw three interceptions to offset two touchdown passes. McCoy won his two previous starts at the home of the Cowboys, one for the 2009 Big 12 championship and the other his most recent NFL victory with the Redskins in 2014.
Cooper, the former Raiders receiver had much more fun in his second home game, finishing with a Cowboys Thanksgivingbest 180 yards receiving — 105 of those coming after the catch on his two touchdowns.
First, Cooper ran away from Quinton Dunbar after the Redskins cornerback slipped on a short pass, turning it into a 40-yard TD for a 17-13 lead. Cooper celebrated by mimicking a free throw, shooting the football through the goal post.
On the 90-yarder, Cooper made the catch just outside the Cowboys 30, spun out of the arms of Fabian Moreau and won the race to the pylon against Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who tried to shove him out of bounds around the 5. It was his longest career catch and the longest completion in Dak Prescott’s three seasons.
The Cowboys were having lots of fun early, with Elliott scoring on a 16-yard run and dropping $21 into a giant Salvation Army red kettle behind the end zone. The cash was handed to him by a team photographer.
As a rookie in 2016, Elliott jumped into the kettle on the same part of the field after a touchdown in a 31-26 win over the Redskins. That season’s NFL rushing champion, who wears No. 21, was fined for the stunt and later donated $21,000 to the Salvation Army.
Daniel, ‘D’ power Bears:
Chase Daniel threw a career-high two touchdowns to keep the Bears rolling with a 23-16 win over the Lions in Detroit, filling in very well for injured quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.
“You don’t know when these opportunities will come,” the 32-year-old Daniel said after making the third start of his career and first in nearly four years. “You just have to make the most of them.”
He did.
Daniel finished 27 of 37 for 230 yards, setting career highs in each category. He threw a go-ahead, 10-yard touchdown pass to Taquan Mizzell in the second quarter and a 14-yard pass to Tarik Cohen in the fourth to give the Bears the lead again at 16-13.
It was quite a performance for Daniel, a player who has been used sparingly since the former Missouri star entered the league in 2010. He barely played for the Saints, Chiefs, Eagles and Bears, but gained respect from coaches and players for his preparation.
“Everyone in this locker room knew what he was going to do, and he didn’t let us down,” Mizzell said.
And unlike Matthew Stafford, Daniel didn’t make any costly mistakes.
Stafford was 28 of 38 for 236 yards with two interceptions late in the fourth, dooming the Lions’ chances to win.
The NFC North-leading Bears (8-3) sealed their fifth straight victory with Kyle Fuller’s interception in the end zone with 1:07 left.
The Bears broke a 16-16 tie on Eddie Jackson’s 41yard pick-6 with six minutes remaining.
Darnold sits again: Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold sat out team drills for a second straight day of practice, increasing the likelihood he’ll won’t play Sunday against the Patriots.
Darnold strained his right foot Nov. 4 against the Dolphins and didn’t play the following week against the Bills.
Veteran Josh McCown will start Sunday if Darnold can’t play.
Darnold showed some progress Wednesday when he was in uniform for the first time since the injury, but didn’t throw passes in individual or team drills. It was the same situation Thursday when the Jets practiced indoors because of temperatures in New Jersey dropping into the low-20s.