Cowboys prove to be two good
Elliott, Cooper help get even in NFC East
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 Dallas 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 Washington atop the division with a 31-23 Thanksgiving win over the Redskins yesterday in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys won their third straight game since the first home loss, to Tennessee in the Dallas debut of Cooper following a trade. Dallas’ eighth win in nine Thanksgiving games against Washington, and second in three seasons, earned a season split. The Redskins lost for the third time in four games in Colt McCoy’s first start in four years coming off Alex Smith’s season-ending 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. Cooper, the former Oakland receiver, had much more fun in his second home game, finishing with a Dallas Thanksgiving-best 180 yards receiving — 105 of those coming 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 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 Dallas 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 all the fun before the Redskins pulled even at 7-7, 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. Bears 23, Lions 16 — Chase Daniel made the most of his chance to fill in for Mitchell Trubisky, having the best day of his journeyman career. Daniel set career highs with 230 yards passing and two touchdowns to keep visiting Chicago rolling with a win over Detroit. The NFC North-leading Bears sealed their fifth straight victory with Kyle Fuller’s interception in the end zone with a little more than a minute left. Detroit has lost 4-of-5, plummeting to last place in the division. Chicago broke a 16-16 tie on Eddie Jackson’s 41-yard pick-6 with six minutes remaining. It was Jackson’s second consecutive game with an interception returned for a touchdown. “That’s the type of defense we play here,” Jackson said. “We are always thinking about putting points on the board. It is about attacking.” Elsewhere in the NFL — Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold sat out team drills for a second straight day of practice, increasing the likelihood he’ll sit out against the Patriots on Sunday. Darnold strained his right foot against Miami on Nov. 4 and didn’t play the following week against Buffalo. Josh McCown will start in Darnold’s place again if the youngster is unable to play.