Mark Sanchez threw for one touchdown and ran for another as the Philadelphia Eagles seized sole possession of first place with a 33-10 rout of the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.
The Eagles raced out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back on their way to improving to 6-0 overall on Thanksgiving Day.
“We are really in a good spot. We want to cherish this, but we can’t get complacent,” said Sanchez, who had 217 yards on 20-of-29 passing for the Eagles.
Photo: USA Today
In the other Thanksgiving Day games, defending Super Bowl champions the Seattle Seahawks stomped the San Francisco 49ers 19-3 in a rematch of last year’s National Football Conference championship game, while Joique Bell and Calvin Johnson each scored twice as the Detroit Lions crushed the Chicago Bears 34-17.
Sanchez’s precision passing and a superb defensive effort allowed the Eagles to improve to 9-3 for the season. They now lead the second-placed Cowboys (8-4) in the race for top spot in the National Football Conference Eastern Division.
“Nobody gave us a chance today,” running back LeSean McCoy said. “We been criticized all year, especially myself. It doesn’t matter what anybody says, it matters what goes on in our dressing room. We believe in each other.”
McCoy credited his offensive line with helping him rush for 159 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
“I got my bodyguards and they did a great job today,” he said.
The Eagles ended Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s consecutive games streak with a touchdown pass at 38 games and held league rushing leader DeMarco Murray to below 100 yards.
“Our guys came ready to play. They played with great energy,” Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said.
Richard Sherman finished with two interceptions to highlight Seattle’s stingy defense as the Seahawks beat the 49ers in a highly anticipated National Football Conference West Division showdown.
The outspoken cornerback picked off quarterback Colin Kaepernick twice as Seattle held the 49ers offense to just 164 total yards.
Russell Wilson completed 15-of-22 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown pass, while Marshawn Lynch ran for 104 yards on 20 carries and Steven Hauschka kicked five field goals for the Seahawks, who have won five of their past six games.
Kaepernick threw for 121 yards on 16-of-29 passing as the 49ers saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was 34 for 45 for 390 yards with two touchdown passes for the Lions, who rebounded from a pair of road losses to Arizona and New England by breezing past the Bears on Thursday.
“We had shown that we could do it in spurts at times this season,” Stafford said of his offense. “To put it together for 60 minutes was gratifying.”
Bell totaled 91 yards on 23 carries, while Johnson had 11 catches for 146 yards for Detroit, who have won their past two Thanksgiving Day games thanks to a triumph over Green Bay last year.
Quarterback Jay Cutler was 31 for 48 for 280 yards with a pair of touchdown passes along with two interceptions for the Bears, who had won their previous two games heading into the contest.
Johnson made a nine-yard catch in the first half, moving him over 10,000 receiving yards for his career. He reached the milestone in an NFL-record 115 games, one fewer than Torry Holt.
Johnson finished with 11 catches for 146 yards, raising his career total to 10,052.
The victory moves Detroit half a game back of Green Bay for first place in the National Football Conference Northern Division.
The Green Bay Packers host the New England Patriots in a potential Super Bowl preview at Lambeau Field in a game which highlights a slate of 12 games tomorrow.
The Monday night contest features the Miami Dolphins at the New York Jets.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite