Much to the dismay of the Oakland Raiders, Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys offense chose Thanksgiving Day to get back on track after struggling over the past two contests, posting a 494 yards, a new season-high, and 24 points to win easily at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, 24-7.
Romo went 18 for 29 passing for 299 yards and two touchdowns, posting a 121.1 passer rating. 12 of his 18 completions went to the combo of Miles Austin, who had been quiet since the Philadelphia game, and Jason Witten, who was a game-time decision with a sore foot. Witten finished with five catches and 107 yards; Austin, seemingly ubiquitous on the day, led Dallas's receivers with seven catches, 145 yards and a touchdown.
Dallas took the lead on a 39-yard Nick Folk field goal in the first quarter, set up by a 66 yard run by Tashard Choice, out of the Razorback. This would be only one of a number of quick-strikes on the day for Dallas's offense, as the big-play threat, absent against Green Bay and Washington, returned. Felix Jones extended the Cowboys' lead to 10-0 on a 46-yard run early in the second quarter.
A possession later, Austin and Witten combined for 64 yards worth of real estate on a seven-play, 88-yard scoring drive, which culminated in a nine-yard touchdown grab for Austin; the extra-point gave Dallas a 17-0 lead, which they took to the locker room at half.
Oakland struck first in the second half, capitalizing on a seven-minute, 11-play drive with a Darrius Heyward-Bey touchdown grab, to close the lead to 17-7, Heyward-Bey's first on the season, and Bruce Gradkowski's third since replacing JaMarcus Russell last week.
The momentum, if there was any, was short-lived; the Dallas defense, led by Anthony Spencer and Keith Brooking, shut the door following the touchdown, allowing the offense to answer in short order.
Dallas opened the fourth quarter in good field position and wasted little time in taking advantage of it. On 1st and ten, Romo hit Witten for 44-yards to put Dallas on Oakland's 8-yard line; two plays later, Romo hit the often bemoaned Roy Williams in the back of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown pass.
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Williams finished with two catches for 15 yards and a touchdown.
Dallas spread the ball through the three-headed running attack deftly, with Choice, Jones and Marion Barber combining for 196 yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts. Each runner had around 60 yards on the ground, though Choice did most of his damage on a single (aforementioned) play.
The Cowboys, winners of each of their past four Thanksgiving Day games, move to 8-3 with the win.
