Cowboys vs. Commanders score: Live updates, game highlights, analysis for NFC East Thanksgiving showdown

Plenty of families spend a good portion of their Thanksgiving cooking, and that’s what quarterback Dak Prescott and his pass-catchers spent the first half of the Dallas Cowboys’ matchup with the Washington Commanders doing: sautéing the Washington secondary. The host Cowboys took a 20-10 lead into the locker room before clearing out for Dolly Parton’s halftime show. 

It was evident early on that the Cowboys were going to get almost everything they want when dropping back to pass Thursday. On the opening drive, Pro Bowl wide receiver CeeDee Lamb blew past Washington corner Benjamin St-Juste for what should have been a walk-in touchdown, but Prescott overthrew him. He would atone for that in the second quarter by dropping a 31-yard touchdown pass into a wide-open Brandin Cooks’ bread basket for a touchdown over the middle. Cooks left his defender in the slot and the middle-of-the-field safety in the dust with ease for the 31-yard touchdown, his fourth of the season – all of which have come since Week 6.

The touchdown was Prescott’s second of the half, and it put Dallas ahead 14-4. His first came on a 15-yard catch-and-run screen pass to backup running back Rico Dowdle, marking his third career scrimmage touchdown. All three of them have come in 2023. Pro Bowler Tony Pollard concluded the Cowboys scoring in the first half with a seven-yard rushing touchdown on a scoring drive that took no time at all — 1:25 to go 75 yards for the score. Prescott surgically drove them down the field completing three of his four passes. He finished the half with 221 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-18 passing. 

Defensively, the Cowboys have generated the amount of pressure one would expect from the NFL’s No. 1 quarterback pressure rate team: a lot. However, they only got home for two sacks in the first half, one by defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and one split by All-Pro Micah Parsons and Dante Fowler. Despite the regular duress, Sam Howell hung in there to have a solid opening 30 minutes: 170 yards through the air on 16-of-23 passing and a one-yard rushing touchdown

Stay tuned for the second half to see if the Commanders can hang around or if the Cowboys continue their aerial fireworks.