ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to tight end Dalton Schultz, Ezekiel Elliott ran for a score and the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 28-20 on Thanksgiving Day.
Rookie Peyton Hendershot had a 2-yard run for a TD before directing all three of his fellow tight ends into a giant Salvation Army red kettle for a Whac-A-Mole celebration.
The victory ended a three-game losing streak on the holiday for the Cowboys (8-3), who moved a game ahead of the Giants in the NFC East while sweeping the season series.
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 has 10 consecutive victories over the Giants since losing to them twice when the Cowboys went 13-3 his rookie year in 2016.
CeeDee Lamb had six catches for 106 yards and set up three Dallas touchdowns. Elliott had a season-high 92 yards rushing, and the Cowboys overcame two interceptions from Prescott, who threw for 261 yards.
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 the third loss in the past four games for the Giants (7-4).
BILLS 28, LIONS 25
DETROIT (AP) — Tyler Bass made a 45-yard field goal with two seconds left to lift Buffalo past Detroit for its second victory in five days at Ford Field.
Josh Allen set up the winning kick by starting the drive with a 36-yard pass to Stefon Diggs and running twice for 12 yards. Buffalo (8-3) has won two straight to move a half-game ahead of Miami in the AFC East.
The Bills were back in Detroit after the NFL shifted their previous home game against Cleveland to Ford Field because of a winter storm dumping several feet of snow in western New York. They had to work harder for the win on Thursday than they did against the Browns. Bass was 6 for 6 on field goals in the 31-23 win over Cleveland.
Allen threw a go-ahead, 5-yard touchdown pass to Diggs with 2:40 left, but Bass missed the extra point to make it 25-22.
The Lions (4-7) converted a fourth-and-1 from midfield with Amon-Ra St. Brown’s 7-yard end-around to set up Michael Badgley’s 51-yarder with 23 seconds to go.
VIKINGS 33, PATRIOTS 26
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, the last a go-ahead score to Adam Thielen in the fourth quarter to push Minnesota past New England.
Justin Jefferson had 139 yards and one of the touchdown passes from Cousins, who delivered precisely the clutch performance against a formidable defense the Vikings (9-2) needed to bounce back from a blowout loss to Dallas. That gave rookie coach Kevin O’Connell a win over Bill Belichick, who drafted him with the Patriots in 2008.
Mac Jones passed for a career-high 382 yards and two scores to snap a lagging offense to life for the Patriots (6-5), but they ran out of steam down the stretch. Their fourth quarter included two three-and-out punts, a turnover on downs at the Minnesota 39 and a desperation last drive that went nowhere.
Jones found Hunter Henry for a wide-open 37-yard touchdown pass to start the second half for a 23-16 lead. Kene Nwangwu scored on a 97-yard kickoff return to strike right back for the Vikings.
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