The Dallas Cowboys used a late defensive stand to pull away for a 45-10 victory over Washington on Thanksgiving Day.
Washington found themselves down 23-10 with just under 12 minutes to play. Commanders' Head Coach Ron Rivera rolled the dice on fourth-and-one from Washington's own 34.
Sam Howell dropped back to pass and Johnathan Hankins buried him at the 24 to turn the ball over.
Three plays later, Dak Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for a 15-yard touchdown. They connected again for the two-point conversion.
DaRon Bland set an NFL single-season record with 4:39 left in the game with his fifth Pick Six of the season.
Making Bland's record special is that he needed just 11 games to break it.
The win moves Dallas to 8-3 on the season. It also keeps the pressure on the NFC East-leading Eagles (9-1) as they face Buffalo on Sunday.
Washington falls to 4-8 with the loss.
“Riverboat Ron” Rivera might not be their coach by the time they take the field again.
Despite some bad overthrows of open receivers and a couple of drops, Prescott finished 22-of-32 for 331 yards and four touchdowns.
Brandin Cooks had four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Lamb added 53 yards on four catches and a touchdown.
Tony Pollard had 79 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown.
First Half
A relatively quiet first quarter saw Dallas take a 7-0 lead on a 15-yard pass from Dak Prescott to Rico Dowdle.
A shootout between the two teams broke out in the second quarter as they combined for 23 points.
The Commanders cut the lead to 7-3 on a 43-yard field goal. The Cowboys quickly responded with a six-play scoring drive.
Prescott connected with Brandin Cooks on a 31-yard strike to extend the lead to 14-3 with 8:27 left in the first half.
The Commanders responded with a 13-play drive. Sam Howell punched it in from a yard out to cut the lead to 14-10 with 1:51 left in the half.
But Dallas put together a five-play, 75-yard drive in response. Back-to-back completions moved Dallas to the Commanders' seven.
The first pass bounced off of Tolbert and into the hands of rookie Jalen Brooks. The next pass was hauled in by Tolbert.
Pollard punched it in on the next play for a 20-10 Cowboys' lead with 26 seconds left. Brandon Aubrey missed his third extra point attempt of the year.
Washington held a nearly 19-11 advantage in time of possession during the first half.
Second Half
The third quarter turned into a defensive struggle as both offenses struggled to sustain drives into scoring territory.
Dallas' first drive of the half ended after four plays. The Commanders drove into Cowboys territory but failed to convert on a fourth-and-one at the 39.
But Dallas again went nowhere and punted the ball back after just 90 seconds of possession time.
The Commanders managed a first down but also had to punt.
The Cowboys finally got their offense on track again late in the third quarter, moving to the Commanders' 41 as the quarter ended.
But the drive stalled at the 33 three plays later. Aubrey came on a drilled a 52-yard field goal for a 23-10 lead with 13:36 left in the game.
Aubrey extended his NFL record for consecutive fields goals made to start a career at 22 with the kick.
The Commanders rolled the dice on their next possession going for a fourth and one from their own 34 with 11:56 left.
Johnathan Hankins sacked Howell for a 10-yard loss on the play. Prescott hit Lamb for the game-sealing touchdown three plays later.
After the Commanders failed to answer, Prescott drove the team downfield and hit KaVontae Turpin for a 34-yard touchdown and a 38-10 lead with 5:59 left.
Bland's record-setting interception came after a 63-yard return where he evaded several would-be tacklers to get into the endzone.
By The Numbers
The Cowboys are now 33-22-1 all-time on Thanksgiving Day. They have never played away from home on the holiday.
Dallas was 4-0-1 at the Cotton Bowl on Thanksgiving, They were 22-14 at Texas Stadium and are now 7-8 at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys are 9-2 against the Commanders on Thanksgiving Day.
Dallas is 41-23 all-time in Week 12 games. They are 32-9 at home in Week 12 games and just 9-14 away from home.
The Cowboys are 77-48-2 all-time against the Commanders, in addition to the 12-4 Week 12 record. Dallas is 43-17-2 at home against Washington.
Next Week's Game
The Cowboys will host the Seattle Seahawks next Thursday. Dallas is 11-10 all-time against Seattle and 7-4 in games played in Texas.
