With 4 wins, Washington in 1st place
ARLINGTON, Texas — Alex Smith has Washington at least temporarily in first place in the NFC East after winning on Thanksgiving, two years after a planned holiday showing was wrecked by the quarterback’s careerthreatening leg injury.
Smith and his teammates aren’t going to concern themselves with how bad their division might be.
Antonio Gibson ran for three touchdowns, Smith threw a scoring pass and Washington pulled away in the fourth quarter of a 4116 Thanksgiving victory over the Cowboys on Thursday.
The former 49ers quarterback was days away from a second career Thanksgiving start in a visit to Dallas two years ago when he was injured. Now he has a second straight victory in his improbable comeback.
“It’s hard to put into words,” said Smith, who was 19for26 for 149 yards and was bailed out on his only interception when receiver Terry McLaurin ran down Dallas linebacker Jaylon Smith to prevent a tying touchdown before the Cowboys had to settle for a field goal.
“I never would have dreamt in a million years something like this would be happening,” Alex Smith said. “Just thankful for it and making the most of it every day.”
Gibson’s second score was a 23yard run on the first play after an illadvised fake punt by Dallas as Washington beat its division rival on Thanksgiving for just the second time in 10 tries. Washington has been the most frequent visitor for the Cowboys in their annual holiday home game.
Washington (47) slides ahead of Philadelphia (361) in the NFC East and will stay in first place if the Eagles lose to Seattle on Monday night. It was the third win in five games since a fivegame losing streak dropped Washington to 15.
The New York Giants can pull even with Washington by beating Cincinnati on Sunday.
“Our record’s not the best,” Gibson said. “We’re still in it. That gives us hope. That’s what we’re pushing for is we can still make the playoffs right now.
We’re going to keep going.”
Dallas (38) couldn’t build off a win at Minnesota, losing for the fifth time in six games since quarterback Dak Prescott’s seasonending ankle injury.
The Cowboys were playing a day after strength coach Markus Paul died at a hospital following a medical emergency at the team’s facility. Paul was honored with a moment of silence before the game.
Gibson, who already was the rookie leader in touchdowns rushing and now has 11, finished with 115 yards on 20 carries.
Twotime rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott of Dallas had just 32 yards and lost his fifth fumble of the season, by far the most of his fiveyear career.