Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Lamb’s receptions aid in Dallas feast

- AP PRO FOOTBALL WRITER SCHUYLER DIXON

ARLINGTON, Texas — CeeDee Lamb could only smile when officials upheld an out-of-bounds call on what the Dallas receiver hoped would be a touchdown on his second one-handed catch of the game.

He had to settle for setting up three TDs instead.

Lamb put the Cowboys in position for one of Dak Prescott’s two scoring passes to Dalton Schultz and Ezekiel Elliott’s TD run in a 28-20 victory over the New York Giants on Thanksgivi­ng.

The toe-tapping TD Lamb thought he set up for himself instead became rookie Peyton Hendershot running for the 2-yard score, then directing all three of his fellow tight ends into a giant Salvation Army red kettle for a Whac-A-Mole celebratio­n with Dallas an extra point away from a 28-13 lead.

“I definitely thought the CeeDee catch was a touchdown,” Prescott said after his 10th consecutiv­e victory over the Giants (7-4). “I went to the sideline, dropped my helmet and everything.

“The Whac-A-Mole was great,” Prescott said. “The guys told me about it early in the week. They were worried about getting fined or getting a penalty. We said, ‘Make sure you’re up two touchdowns. We got a couple of guys that can help with the fine. So, go for it.’ ”

The victory ended a threegame Thanksgivi­ng losing streak for the Cowboys (8-3), who moved a game ahead of the Giants in the NFC East while sweeping the season series. Philadelph­ia (9-1) leads the division.

Saquon Barkley was held to 39 yards rushing with a 1-yard TD behind a makeshift offensive line missing three starters because of injury in New York’s third loss in the past four games.

Dallas, the NFL leader in sacks coming in, dropped Daniel Jones three times while limiting him to 14 yards rushing after he ran for first downs seven times in the first meeting, a 23-16 Dallas win.

Jones’ TD pass to Richie James in the final seconds was too late for the Giants to take advantage of a 2-0 takeaway edge in the second Thanksgivi­ng meeting out of 122 overall in the storied rivalry.

The Giants thought they had the game’s first touchdown on Jones’ pass Isaiah Hodgins, but Tyre Phillips, playing out of position at right tackle, was flagged as an ineligible receiver downfield.

New York Coach Brian Daboll screamed in disagreeme­nt to one of the officials, and the Giants ended up settling for a field goal.

“You’ll have to ask the officials,” Daboll said when asked about the negated TD.

Prescott’s TD tosses to Schultz came about five minutes apart in the third quarter, turning a 13-7 deficit into a 21-13 lead. The first was a 15-yarder on third-and-goal.

The Dallas quarterbac­k’s winning streak against the Giants started after he lost to them twice when the Cowboys went 13-3 his rookie year in 2016.

Lamb, who had six catches for 106 yards, had a 25-yard grab over the middle before Elliott’s 6-yard scoring run on the first play of the second quarter.

The first one-handed grab by Lamb was a 15-yarder before Schultz’s second TD. A 23-yarder put Dallas at the 2, and Lamb thought he made another one-handed catch in the back of the end zone.

Mike McCarthy challenged the ruling that the toe-tapper was out of bounds. Referee Scott Novak was quite specific in upholding the call, saying a heel touched the back line before the second foot got down.

The Cowboys were so confident about it being overturned, they had their extra-point unit on the field after seeing the replay.

Elliott had a season-high 92 yards rushing, and the Cowboys overcame two intercepti­ons from Prescott, who threw for 261 yards.

 ?? (AP/Michael Ainsworth) ?? Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz (right) catches a pass for one of his two third-quarter touchdowns as New York Giants cornerback Nick McCloud defends Thursday in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys won 28-20, ending their three-game losing streak on Thanksgivi­ng.
(AP/Michael Ainsworth) Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz (right) catches a pass for one of his two third-quarter touchdowns as New York Giants cornerback Nick McCloud defends Thursday in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys won 28-20, ending their three-game losing streak on Thanksgivi­ng.
 ?? (AP/Tony Gutierrez) ?? Dallas Cowboys tight end Peyton Hendershot (right) celebrates with teammates Sean McKeon (left), Jake Ferguson (center) and Dalton Schultz after scoring a touchdown in the second half Thursday against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
(AP/Tony Gutierrez) Dallas Cowboys tight end Peyton Hendershot (right) celebrates with teammates Sean McKeon (left), Jake Ferguson (center) and Dalton Schultz after scoring a touchdown in the second half Thursday against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

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