ARLINGTON, Texas — John Brown became the first Buffalo receiver to throw a touchdown pass and the Bills went on to beat the Dallas Cowboys, 26-15, on Thursday.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen ran for a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to Cole Beasley, who had 110 yards receiving in his first game against his former team. The Bills (9-3) got their first Thanksgiving win since 1975 in their first appearance on the holiday in 25 years.
The Cowboys (6-6) stumbled after scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, giving Philadelphia a chance to rejoin them atop the N.F.C. East after their fourth double-digit loss in the past six Thanksgiving games.
A lackluster showing for Dallas’ sixth loss in nine games came four days after the team’s owner, Jerry Jones, blasted the coaching staff following a loss to New England from a team that entered the season with lofty expectations.
Allen was 19 of 24 for 231 yards and a career-best 120.7 passer rating as Bills won their third straight game and solidified their hold on an A.F.C. wild-card spot.
The second-year quarterback found the ball at the bottom of a pile after fumbling a snap on fourth-and-1, quickly reached the ball over the first down spot and then stumbled forward 3 yards to the Dallas 28.
On the next play, Brown took a pitch on a double reverse and lofted the ball to wide-open running back Devin Singletary for Buffalo’s first lead at 13-7 in the second quarter.
The Cowboys couldn’t blame a sputtering offense on the conditions after the windy and rainy loss to the Patriots. Dak Prescott threw an interception, lost one fumble and had another on fourth down as Dallas was outscored by 26-0 over a 50-minute stretch.
Ezekiel Elliott had 54 yards rushing and another 20 receiving in the first nine minutes, but wasn’t much of a factor the rest of the way. He finished with 71 yards rushing and 66 receiving.
Singletary became the latest back to have a splashier day than the two-time rushing champion, rushing for 63 yards with 38 more receiving. The 28-yard score was the easiest play he had all day, waiting for Brown’s throw to come down and waltzing into the end zone.
Most of the Buffalo joy was saved for Beasley, who had several momentum-changing plays along with his 25-yard touchdown in his first 100-yard game with the Bills and third of his career. The diminutive receiver who grew up in the Dallas area and played at Southern Methodist spent his first seven seasons with the Cowboys.
A week after getting criticized for taking a field goal down seven late against New England, embattled Cowboys coach Jason Garrett went for it on fourth down from Buffalo’s 6-yard line late in the third quarter. But Prescott’s pass to Elliott in the flat wasn’t close, skipping in front of the running back.
Settling for field goals didn’t help the Cowboys much either. Brett Maher had a 36-yard miss partially blocked by Star Lotulelei on the final of the first half and was wide right from 47 in the third quarter.
Bears Drive 90 Yards to Complete Comeback Over Lions
DETROIT — Mitchell Trubisky threw a go-ahead, 3-yard touchdown pass to David Montgomery with 2:17 left, lifting the Chicago Bears to a 24-20 win over the slumping Detroit Lions on Thursday.
The Bears took the lead on the nine-play, 90-yard drive in which Trubisky converted a pair of third downs with 35- and 32-yard passes Anthony Miller.
“He made special throws at special times,” Coach Matt Nagy said.
Chicago sealed the victory on the ensuing possession with Eddie Jackson’s interception.
Rookie quarterback David Blough led Detroit’s last drive to the Chicago 26-yard line in the final minute before losing 13 yards on a sack, leaving a desperation pass as his only option. Jackson picked off the errant throw.
Chicago (6-6) has won three of four games after losing four in a row to stay in the N.F.C. playoff picture.
“We put ourselves in a good position to have another big game next week,” Trubisky said.
The Lions (3-8-1) have lost five straight for the first time under Coach Matt Patricia.
Detroit led for much of the game despite starting Blough, a third-string quarterback who was acquired from Cleveland for a swap of seventh-round picks. Matthew Stafford was out for a fourth straight game with back and hip injuries and his backup, Jeff Driskel, was limited by a hamstring injury.
Blough, an undrafted player from Purdue, threw a 75-yard touchdown on his first completion to Kenny Golladay to pull the Lions into a 7-all tie. Blough also threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones late in the first quarter to put Detroit ahead by 14-7.
“Watch that team fight and rally behind somebody like that, I think you can tell how much all those men in that room care about each other,” Patricia said.
Trubisky had an 18-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Jesper Horsted to make it 17-all late in the third quarter.
Trubisky finished 29 of 38 with three touchdowns, matching his season high, which he had in a win over Detroit earlier this month. He threw for 338 yards and closed the game well enough for Chicago to score more than 20 points for the first time in more than a month.
Blough was 22 of 38 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The Show Goes On
Brothers Osborne, a country music duo, performed at halftime of the Bears’ win over the Lions and the show did not go as planned. Fans were asked to turn on the flashlights on their mobile phones when the lights were turned off at Ford Field. After the lights dimmed, the indoor stadium was illuminated again before going dark following an awkward delay.
The technical difficulties led to the musical artists being on the field longer than expected, forcing players to warm up behind and around an elaborate stage.
Ford Field officials said in a statement that “parts of the stadium lost power due to an outside utility failure. Though it was quickly restored, the sound system transmitter required two minutes to reset and reconnect.”
Source: Football - nytimes.com
