With playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Dallas Cowboys welcomed the L.A. Chargers to town for a Thanksgiving Day game. In the end, the only thing Dallas fans had to be thankful for was the clock hitting zero.
Philip Rivers threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns as he made the Cowboys defenders look like just a few more of his many children. On the other side, Dak Prescott managed just 179 yards and threw two more interceptions as desperation for the game, and the season, set in.
Rivers threw touchdowns to three different receivers. The biggest day went to Keenan Allen, who had 172 yards on 11 catches. More than once, Allen's running ability after the catch left Cowboys falling over themselves.
The absences of RB Ezekiel Elliott and LB Sean Lee on each side of the ball were once again painfully obvious. The last three weeks have made it clear that Dallas cannot execute without these two key players. The Chargers, with only four wins before today, had no trouble handling business.
Other Notes
- For the second week in a row, Dallas failed to get a sack. Rivers has always done a good job of getting the ball out quickly, but he was barely pressured the whole day. The short week may have taken too much gas out of the pass rushers.
- The wait for Dez Bryant to become the franchise leader in touchdowns catches continues. He only had three catches for 37 yards today. One good opportunity came to him on a deep pass into the endzone, but Dez was tangled up with the corner and couldn't pull it in.
- This was the worst game we've seen from the Cowboys secondary all year. Chargers were wide open half the day and our guys never seemed to be close enough to the action. The missed tackles were too many to count.
- Alfred Morris and Rod Smith each had nine carries with nearly even yardage; 36 for Morris and 41 for Smith. It was Rod who scored the team's only touchdown, but a failed two-point conversion is what landed Dallas with just six points for the day.
- Zack Martin left the game with a concussion in the first half and did not return.
- Dallas only gets a week off, not the usual 10 days, as they host Washington next Thursday night.
