Philip Rivers was more than comfortable on the Thanksgiving stage for the first time in his 14 NFL seasons.
Same with Keenan Allen, who did not have to wait nearly that long.
Rivers on Thursday threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns, while Allen had a career-high 172 yards in his second straight huge game as the Los Angeles Chargers beat the fading Dallas Cowboys 28-6.
Photo: Jerome Miron-USA Today
Desmond King returned an interception 90 yards for the punctuating touchdown.
The Chargers (5-6) moved within 1.5 games of American Football Conference West-leading Kansas City after starting 0-4, while the Chiefs won their first five.
“Playing on Thanksgiving was everything it was cranked up to be,” said Rivers, who was 27 of 33 in his ninth career 400-yard game. “As a quarterback, you want to play well and throw it to your guys, and we did a lot today, but I’m more excited about our team.”
Defending National Football Conference East champions the Cowboys (5-6) have lost three straight games by at least 20 points for the first time since 2004, all without suspended star running back Ezekiel Elliott in a damaging slide for their fading playoff hopes.
Dallas, playing their 50th Thanksgiving game, finally ended a touchdown drought at a team-record 10 quarters on Rod Smith’s two-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys have been outscored 72-6 in the second half of the three losses.
Quarterback Dak Prescott has looked lost without Elliott, his backfield mate for a pair of remarkable rookie seasons that led the Cowboys to the best record in the National Football Conference last season.
Prescott had two interceptions, giving him five in two games after throwing just four last season.
Last year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has nine picks for the season and the Cowboys already have twice as many losses as a year ago, with Elliott only halfway through a six-game suspension for alleged domestic violence.
“The last thing I’m doing is pointing a finger and saying: ‘We need this guy, we need that to happen,’” said Prescott, who was 20 of 27 for 179 yards in his third straight game without a touchdown pass. “I’m going to say we’ve just got to figure out what’s going on and get out of this slump.”
Rivers had seven completions of at least 22 yards, including Allen’s 42-yard catch and run when he weaved through five defenders for a 22-6 lead.
Allen, in his fifth season, has two of his three biggest yardage games in the past two weeks.
He had 11 catches and a score after 12 grabs for 159 yards and two touchdowns in a 54-24 win over Buffalo.
“When I first got here, he was a little heavy,” first-year coach Anthony Lynn said. “I think once he got his weight down, you could see the run after catch, the quickness, all those things you see in a No. 1 receiver.”
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