Passage: Coming off their win against the Eagles, the Redskins had a short turnaround and traveled to Cowboys Stadium to take on their hated rival the Dallas Cowboys for the 2012 edition of the annual Thanksgiving Day game. Washington had reason to be nervous, as they were 1-6 all-time on Thanksgiving, and 0-6 against Dallas. In the first, Washington got the ball first, but went three-and-out. After a Sav Rocca punt, Dallas had decent field position, and quickly reached the red zone. However, Washington's defense then stiffened, and held Dallas to a Dan Bailey 30-yard field goal. The teams then exchanged punts, and the first quarter concluded without any further scoring. In the second, Washington had the ball inside their own 35, and quarterback Robert Griffin III used a play-action pass, and found a streaking Aldrick Robinson for a 68-yard strike, and Washington took its first lead of the game, at 7-3. On Dallas' ensuing possession, Dallas moved the ball into Washington territory, but after Tony Romo completed an 11-yard pass to Dez Bryant that had Dallas in Washington territory, Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson hit him, and dislodged the football, which was subsequently recovered by safety DeJon Gomes into Dallas territory. Washington would capitalize, with their drive culminating in an Alfred Morris 1-yard touchdown run to extend Washington's advantage to 14-3. Dallas would then punt after just three plays, and Washington marched near midfield, before Griffin connected with wide receiver Pierre Gar&#231;on across the middle, and Garcon proceeded to streak to the endzone for a 59-yard score, and Washington led 21-3 with just over 2 minutes remaining in the half. Dallas would attempt to run a two-minute drill, but Romo's pass, intended for Cole Beasley was intercepted by DeAngelo Hall and returned inside the Dallas 25. With mere seconds remaining in the half, Griffin found Santana Moss in the corner of the endzone for a score, and a 28-3 halftime lead. In the third, Dallas marched down the field on their opening possession, but the drive stalled again, and Dallas settled for another Bailey field goal, this time from 33 yards out. The majority of the rest of the quarter proved to be a defensive struggle, as Romo was intercepted again, this time by London Fletcher, but Washington could not capitalize on it. After a Rocca punt, Dallas was pinned inside their 20, but Romo connected with a wide-open Dez Bryant, who streaked 85 yards to the end zone, and before you could blink, Dallas was back in the game, at 28-13 Washington. Going into the fourth, Washington was driving, in an attempt to extend their lead back to three scores. They would succeed in this endeavor, as Griffin found tight end Niles Paul for a 30-yard touchdown on third-and-inches, and Washington took a 35-13 lead with just under 13 minutes to go. Dallas, however, would not give up, as expected. To save time, Dallas ran a no-huddle offense, and was able to march down the field, and find Felix Jones for a 10-yard touchdown, and a subsequent quarterback draw by Romo cut the lead to 35-21 with just under 10 minutes remaining. On Washington's next possession, disaster struck. Robert Griffin III lofted a throw over the middle that he overthrew horribly, and it was easily intercepted by Charlie Peprah and returned inside the Washington 20. However, Washington's defense put Dallas into a 4th down situation, but Romo found Dez Bryant in the left corner of the end zone, and with over 8 minutes remaining, Dallas was now within a touchdown, as Washington's lead was merely 35-28. With his mettle about to be tested, Robert Griffin III led an efficient, clock-chewing drive that concluded with a Kai Forbath 48-yard field goal to extend Washington's advantage to 38-28 with just under three minutes remaining. Dallas, needing a touchdown, onside kick recovery, and field goal to send it to overtime, again marched into Washington territory, but couldn't get to the endzone, as Dez Bryant caught a pass in the endzone that was dislodged at the last minute by Madieu Williams, and Dallas had to settle for a 51-yard field goal by Bailey. This cut the score to 38-31, and Dallas lined up for an onside kick, needing a touchdown to tie the game, with 18 seconds remaining. However, it was recovered by DeAngelo Hall and returned to the Dallas 2, as Hall opted not to score, instead letting Robert Griffin III kneel-down to seal the deal. Griffin went 20-for-28 for 311 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception, becoming the first rookie QB in NFL history to throw 4 passing touchdowns in back-to-back games. With the win, Washington improved to 5-6, 2-1 in the NFC East, and into second place in the NFC East by virtue of the tiebreaker over Dallas. Washington also won its first Thanksgiving game since the 1973 season, when they defeated the Detroit Lions. Washington improved to 2-6 all-time on Thanksgiving, and 1-6 against Dallas.
Output: How many points were scored in the first half?