Thanksgiving Day was headlined by three teams that are on fire to lead their divisions after the holiday, including one team that's been doing it since a season-opening loss. That team is the New Orleans Saints, who won their 10th straight game, 31-17, over the Atlanta Falcons. Drew Brees threw for just 171 yards, but had four touchdowns, as the Saints improved to 10-1 overall and 5-1 at home, increasing their NFC South lead to 3.5 games over the Carolina Panthers. Brees' four touchdown passes went to Tommylee Lewis, Austin Carr, Dan Arnold, and Keith Kirkwood, making it the first time in the Super Bowl era that four undrafted free agents had touchdowns in the same game.
The loss for the Falcons eliminate them from the NFC South conversation at 4-7, as they committed four turnovers, which gave extra opportunities to an explosive offense. Three of those turnovers were fumbles from inside the New Orleans 20, as they have dropped four of five games on the road. Matt Ryan threw for 377 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, but the Falcons ran for just 26 yards as a team. The Saints also rolled behind their defense, which had a season-high six sacks, as the NFC's hottest team will visit the Dallas Cowboys next Thursday night.
Speaking of those Cowboys, when that matchup takes place at AT&T Stadium, it will be a battle of first place teams. Dallas took down the short-handed Washington Redskins, 31-23, to pull in to a tie for first place in the NFC East at 6-5. Dak Prescott totaled three touchdowns, while Ezekiel Elliott ran for 121 yards and a score, helping the Cowboys improve to 4-1 on their home field. Prescott threw for 289 yards and two scores, both of which went to Amari Cooper, who had eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns in his best game since coming over from Oakland.
Cooper had touchdown catches of 90 and 40 yards in the third quarter, as the Cowboys totaled 404 yards in the win. The Redskins were playing without Alex Smith, who broke two bones in his leg during last Sunday's loss, as Colt McCoy got his first NFL start since 2014. McCoy did throw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, but his three interceptions hurt his team's chances on the road. The Cowboys have now won three in a row overall to get back atop the division, while also winning eight of their past nine Thanksgiving Day games against Washington. The two teams have split the season series for the second time in three years, but remain in a two-horse battle for the division, with Philadelphia falling off quickly.
One other first-place team took care of business on this holiday, and it was another short-handed team in the Chicago Bears. They were playing without Mitchell Trubisky on Thursday afternoon, so they turned to their defense to beat the Detroit Lions, 23-16. Eddie Jackson had the game-winning pick-six in the fourth quarter, sending the Bears to 8-3 and a two-game lead on the Minnesota Vikings in the division. The Bears' defense would seal the game a little later, intercepting a pass in the end zone on a play that they seemingly got away with on a push-off.
Chase Daniel got the start in place of Trubisky, and it was a clean one, as he threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns, without turning the ball over. The Bears moved over .500 on the road this season, while the Lions dropped to .500 at Ford Field, and 4-7 overall, hurting their playoff chances even more under first-year head coach Matt Patricia. Legarrette Blount ran in for two scores for Detroit, but their schedule does not get any easier, as they will host the Los Angeles Rams on December 2nd. Meanwhile, the Bears move on to visit the New York Giants that same day.
The loss for the Falcons eliminate them from the NFC South conversation at 4-7, as they committed four turnovers, which gave extra opportunities to an explosive offense. Three of those turnovers were fumbles from inside the New Orleans 20, as they have dropped four of five games on the road. Matt Ryan threw for 377 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, but the Falcons ran for just 26 yards as a team. The Saints also rolled behind their defense, which had a season-high six sacks, as the NFC's hottest team will visit the Dallas Cowboys next Thursday night.
Speaking of those Cowboys, when that matchup takes place at AT&T Stadium, it will be a battle of first place teams. Dallas took down the short-handed Washington Redskins, 31-23, to pull in to a tie for first place in the NFC East at 6-5. Dak Prescott totaled three touchdowns, while Ezekiel Elliott ran for 121 yards and a score, helping the Cowboys improve to 4-1 on their home field. Prescott threw for 289 yards and two scores, both of which went to Amari Cooper, who had eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns in his best game since coming over from Oakland.
Cooper had touchdown catches of 90 and 40 yards in the third quarter, as the Cowboys totaled 404 yards in the win. The Redskins were playing without Alex Smith, who broke two bones in his leg during last Sunday's loss, as Colt McCoy got his first NFL start since 2014. McCoy did throw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, but his three interceptions hurt his team's chances on the road. The Cowboys have now won three in a row overall to get back atop the division, while also winning eight of their past nine Thanksgiving Day games against Washington. The two teams have split the season series for the second time in three years, but remain in a two-horse battle for the division, with Philadelphia falling off quickly.
One other first-place team took care of business on this holiday, and it was another short-handed team in the Chicago Bears. They were playing without Mitchell Trubisky on Thursday afternoon, so they turned to their defense to beat the Detroit Lions, 23-16. Eddie Jackson had the game-winning pick-six in the fourth quarter, sending the Bears to 8-3 and a two-game lead on the Minnesota Vikings in the division. The Bears' defense would seal the game a little later, intercepting a pass in the end zone on a play that they seemingly got away with on a push-off.
Chase Daniel got the start in place of Trubisky, and it was a clean one, as he threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns, without turning the ball over. The Bears moved over .500 on the road this season, while the Lions dropped to .500 at Ford Field, and 4-7 overall, hurting their playoff chances even more under first-year head coach Matt Patricia. Legarrette Blount ran in for two scores for Detroit, but their schedule does not get any easier, as they will host the Los Angeles Rams on December 2nd. Meanwhile, the Bears move on to visit the New York Giants that same day.
