Dallas back in the race
Cowboys pull even with Washington atop the NFC East
Ezekiel Elliott ARLINGTON, dropped $21 into a giant Salvation Army red kettle behind the end zone after his touchdown. Amari Cooper took the freebie following the first of his two scores.
The bonus for the Dallas Cowboys: They’re back in the NFC East race.
Cooper celebrated his first touchdown with a mock free throw before a 90-yard score that sent him to a Dallas Thanksgiving-record 180 yards receiving, and the Cowboys pulled even with Washington atop the division with a 31-23 win over the Redskins on Thursday.
Elliott ran for 121 yards with his TD and cash celebration as the Cowboys (6-5) won their third straight game since their first home loss, to Tennessee in the Dallas debut of Cooper. Dallas’ eighth win in nine Thanksgiving games against Washington, and second in three years, earned a season split.
“Everyone jumped off the bandwagon, of course, at 3-5,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “You expect that. I can tell you who didn’t doubt ourselves. As long as we locked arms, we stayed tight, we knew we could do this and we can do more. That’s the only thing that matters to us.”
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 Longhorns 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.
“I think I’m encouraged, on a short week like that,” said McCoy, who was 24 of 38 for 268 yards. “Losing overshadows everything. But I’ll go back and watch it and try to clean up some of my mistakes that are going to help our team win.”
Cooper had 105 yards after the catch on his two touchdowns.
First, Cooper ran away from Quinton Dunbar after the Washington cornerback slipped on a short pass, turning it into a 40yard 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 Dallas 30, spun out of the arms of Fabian Moreau and won the race to the pylon against former Alabama teammate Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who tried to shove him out of bounds around the 5.
The longest catch of Cooper’s career and longest completion in Prescott’s three seasons came exactly a month after the Cowboys gave Oakland their first-round pick in the upcoming draft for a new No. 1 receiver.
“I’ve been putting in extra time with my coaches, with Dak,” Cooper said. “For some reason, since I’ve been here, the chemistry with Dak has phenomenal.”
Game ball.
Cowboys rookie receiver Michael Gallup had two catches for 19 yards less than a week after his brother died by suicide. The team gave him the game ball.
The former CSU-star stayed with his family after last weekend’s game in Atlanta, and will attend the funeral Friday.
Gallup didn’t talk to reporters after the game.
“Just so proud of the way he’s handled this,” Prescott said. “You know he’s playing for his brother, he’s living for his brother and that’s what’s most important.”