Cowboys and Lions score big wins on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day traditions include making the perfect turkey, eating as much food as you want and enjoying football with the company of relatives.
The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions continued the annual tradition of playing NFL football on Thanksgiving.
The Cowboys took on the Oakland Raiders, who have only won four games so far this season. The 7-5 Cowboys quickly fell behind after a fumble was returned 23 yards for a touchdown on opening kickoff of the game. Running back Rashad Jennings had a pair of one yard touchdown runs, leading to what looked to be a 21-7 lead heading into the half, but the Cowboys fought back.
Tony Romo drove the Cowboys 73 yards in less than two minutes to score a touchdown. The Cowboys kept the Raiders from scoring in the third quarter and held them to just a field goal in the fourth quarter. Romo found receiver Dez Bryant to tie the game up in the third, and in the fourth quarter running back DeMarco Murray gave Dallas the lead for good with his third touchdown of the day.
Romo completed 23 of 32 passes for a total of 225 yards. The Cowboys hope to continue their success with their next game in Chicago against the Bears on Dec. 9.
This year, the Lions hoped to end their 10 year streak of losing on Thanksgiving as they faced the Green Bay Packers.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was initially hopeful that he would be able to return from a collarbone injury but was sat for the game. Matt Flynn, who is the fourth starting quarterback for Green Bay this season, was almost a non-factor in the game. He completed just half of his passes for a total of 139 yards.
The Lions defense was on its game, sacking Flynn seven times. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 63 percent of his passes and threw 330 yards. He threw three touchdown passes en route to a dominating 40-10 win. It is the first time in Stafford’s career that he has beaten the Packers, and the first time the Lions have won on Thanksgiving Day since 2003.
Detroit now leads the NFC north by a game and hopes to keep the lead next week against the Philadelphia Eagles.
