The Dallas Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts both rode roughshod to victories on Thanksgiving, vanquishing their opponents by the cumulative score of 65-16, while Green Bay hung on to defeat the stubborn Detroit Lions, 37-26.
As predicted, the lone close contest on Turkey Day proved to be that of the Packers versus Detroit, which still had the opportunity to prevail over Green Bay with less than two minutes remaining. Packers’ quarterback Brett Favre played another virtually flawless game, hitting on 20 consecutive passes to set a franchise record. He hit receivers for three touchdowns and racked up 381 yards in the air.
With their win the Packers jacked up their season record to 10-1, matching its best 11 game record since 1929. The Lions fell to 6-5 in losing their third consecutive game, although quarterback Jon Kitna put in a credible effort, hitting on 19-of-40 passes for 224 yards with a TD and an interception. Running back Kevin Jones amassed 93 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown for the Lions.
The results were much more predictable for both the Cowboys and the Colts. The Cowboys manhandled the hapless New York Jets Thursday, 34-3, hiking their seasonal mark to 10-1, the franchise’s best in its history. Coming off a stunning win over Pittsburgh, the Jets – now 2-9 – couldn’t stop the relentless Dallas offense, although Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Terrell Owens didn’t put up the kind of numbers they’ve regularly been posting.
Romo did hit Owens for a 22-yard touchdown late in the game, but Owens only picked up 65 receiving yards, breaking a skein of four consecutive games with 100 yards or more. Cowboys’ running back Marion Barber gained 103 yards on the ground, while Julius Jones picked up another 64 yards. Meanwhile the Dallas defense didn’t allow a touchdown for the first time this season.
“I thought it was a solid, solid game,” remarked Dallas head coach Wade Phillips to The Associated Press. “We played well throughout.”
Now Dallas must ramp up for their next contest – against Green Bay.
As for the Colts-Atlanta Falcons contest, the results were all-too predictable for the 69,000 plus fans in attendance at Atlanta Thursday night: The Colts essentially romped. Although Atlanta clung to an early 10-0 lead, and later led in the game’s second quarter, the mighty Colts’ offense rolled over the tired Falcons’ defense. A questionable roughing the punter call against the Falcons took the air from Atlanta’s sails, as its defense was doing a credible job against Indianapolis.
Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning threw for three second quarter TDs and feature back Joseph Addai added a rushing touchdown in the third frame to spark the Colts to an easy victory. About the only highlight for the woeful Falcons was running back Warrick Dunn passing the 10,000-yard mark in rushing for his career.
