Cowboys Top 10 Thanksgiving Memories
In a 2020 that’s anything but comfortable and a Thanksgiving that will likely feel eerily unfamiliar, it’s good to have something to count on this holiday.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Football Team, playing for first place in the NFC East.
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Even though the once-proud teams enter with a combined record of 6-14, they’re again near the top of the division and their rivalry resumed on the last Thursday in November feels welcomingly normal. COVID may prevent families from gathering, but it can’t shut down one of America’s most fond Thanksgiving traditions.
Like the deadbeat uncle who scarfs all the cranberry sauce but ultimately makes you feel relatively happy and successful after feasting on his failure, Washington is Dallas’ most recurrent popular house guest. Today will be the 10th Thanksgiving meeting, with the Cowboys holding a stark 8-1 edge including a 31-23 victory two years ago.
A lot, of course, has changed from that game. It featured starting quarterbacks named Dak Prescott and Colt McCoy. And, in 2018, the only Thanksgiving “illness” we feared was the involuntary nap courtesy of turkey’s bountiful tryptophan.
The magic of Thanksgiving might be dented this year, but the matchup persists.
Turkey. Dressing. The Salvation Army’s red kettle. The halftime musical act, this one starring Kane Brown. It’ll feel the same, just different.
The Cowboys are 31-20-1 all-time on Thanksgiving, including some indelible memories serving Washington as the main dish.
10. 2012 Washington 38, Cowboys 31 – Scintillating rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III burns the turkey and spills the dressing with three second-quarter touchdown passes en route to a bewildering 28-3 halftime lead. It remains Washington’s only victory in nine Thanksgiving trips to DFW.
9. 1987 Vikings 44, Cowboys 38 (OT) – Darrin Nelson’s game-ending, 24-yard touchdown run overcomes Danny White’s five touchdowns and drops 5-6 Dallas out of the playoff race.
8. 2005 Broncos 24, Cowboys 21 (OT) – After Billy Cundiff misses a 34-yard field goal late in regulation, Denver’s Ron Dayne sets up the heartbreak loss with a 55-yard rumble.
7. 2016 Cowboys 31, Redskins 26 – Dallas pushes its win streak to 10 by getting a combined four touchdowns from rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott and surviving a wild 34-point fourth quarter by recovering a late onside kick.
6. 1998 Vikings 46, Cowboys 36 – Rookie receiver Randy Moss haunts the team that passed over him for Greg Ellis in the draft with three touchdowns and 163 yards receiving.
5. 2011 Cowboys 20, Dolphins 19 – A 10-play drive fueled by Jason Witten and DeMarco Murray eats up the final five minutes and sets up Dan Bailey’s game-winning 28-yard field on the game’s final play.
4. 1989 Eagles 27, Cowboys 0 – Philly’s Buddy Ryan injects some “Bounty Bowl” humiliation with a $200 reward for one of his players taking out Cowboys’ kicker Luis Zendejas.
3. 1994 Cowboys 42, Packers 31 – With Troy Aikman and Rodney Peete sidelined with injuries and his team trailing 17-3, Jason Garrett steps in and throws for 311 yards and leads Dallas to a record 36 second-half points.
2. 1993 Dolphins 16, Cowboys 14 – Ice storm. Leon Lett. You know the rest. Grumble mumble …
1. 1974 Cowboys 24, Redskins 23 – Replacing an injured Roger Staubach, Abilene Christian rookie Clint Longley — making his first NFL appearance — orchestrates a dramatic and improbable rally, climaxed by a 50-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson with 28 seconds remaining.
