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Editor’s note: Throughout November, we remember some of the best NFL, college football and sports culture occasions around the Thanksgiving holiday in Thanksgiving Sports Moments.

The Athletic has live coverage of Cowboys vs Commanders in the NFL Thanksgiving game.

When discussing NFL rivalries, few teams carry the storyline of equal disdain as the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders.

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The matchup is considered a contest of archrivals, but the game itself hasn’t lived up to the hype in recent years. Dallas holds a 76-48-2 lead in the all-time series, and in the past 10 years, Washington has won only six times in 20 games.

With the Cowboys traditionally hosting Thanksgiving games since 1966, playing Washington on the fourth Thursday of November always seems to spark nostalgia — even though Dallas holds an 8-2 holiday record. The Cowboys won the first six Thanksgiving meetings from 1968 to 2002, and they are favored to win Thursday as the teams meet up once again.

Dallas is 32-22-1 in Thanksgiving games against all NFL opponents. (Note: The Cowboys didn’t play a Thanksgiving game in 1975 or 1977. Then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle experimented with the concept of having the St. Louis Cardinals, instead of the Cowboys, be the other featured team alongside the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. It was a short-lived trial.) Regardless of the Cowboys’ record against the Commanders (once the “Redskins,” then briefly the “Washington Football Team”), from the days of the Cotton Bowl to the days of Texas Stadium to the current days of AT&T Stadium (which briefly was Cowboys Stadium before the naming rights), the Thanksgiving matchup always manages to bring intrigue.

Many eyes will be glued to the TV screen Thursday afternoon as families partake in turkey, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, green beans and all kinds of desserts and pastries. It’s the only NFL game on TV during that late-afternoon time slot.

A win for the Cowboys (7-3) will keep them in the mix for an NFC East title. The Philadelphia Eagles are two games ahead and have the best record in the NFL at 9-1. A win for the Commanders (4-7) will keep them in postseason contention. It also will help cushion that all-time deficit against a hated rival on Thanksgiving.

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It’s time to take a ride on the football nostalgia train. Here’s a timeline of the 10 previous Dallas-Washington matchups on Thanksgiving.

Nov. 28, 1968: Dallas 29, Washington 20

For a minute, it looked like Washington would complete a nice comeback after trailing for the first three quarters. Once down 17-0, Washington took a 20-19 lead early in the fourth quarter after Pat Richter caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jim Ninowski.

But a Mike Clark field goal gave Dallas a 22-20 lead, and the Cowboys defense secured the win with an interception returned for a touchdown by Larry Cole.

This was a game in which Ninowski threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns, but he also had three interceptions in the loss. Don Perkins rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown for Dallas. Craig Baynham added 44 yards and a score in the victory.

Nov. 28, 1974: Dallas 24, Washington 23

Roger Staubach left the game in the third quarter with a concussion, and a rookie named Clint Longley entered with the Cowboys trailing 16-3.

All Longley did was ignite a Dallas offense and throw one of the most memorable passes in Cowboys history, a 50-yard strike to Drew Pearson with 28 seconds left to play.

#TBT Thanksgiving 1974, when Clint Longley replaced Staubach and rallied the #Cowboys to a win over the #Redskins. pic.twitter.com/04OFHV9zPv

— Dem Boyz Nation (@DemBoyzNation) August 5, 2016

Longley threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns — in less than a half. Pearson finished with five catches for 108 yards and a score.

Nov. 23, 1978: Dallas 37, Washington 10

This was a game in which Washington never had a chance. Dallas led 20-0 at halftime and 30-3 entering the fourth quarter.

Washington simply couldn’t stop the Cowboys’ potent offense. Dallas finished with 507 total offensive yards, compared to 201 yards by Washington.

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Staubach threw for 218 yards and a touchdown but completed only nine passes. Scott Laidlaw led a strong Dallas ground attack with 122 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Tony Dorsett, in his second year with the Cowboys, had 72 yards on a game-high 21 carries.

Nov. 22, 1990: Dallas 27, Washington 17

In head coach Jimmy Johnson’s second year, the Cowboys went from a 1-15 team to a 7-9 playoff contender. In the middle of a four-game winning streak, Dallas turned a 17-10 third-quarter deficit into a 10-point win over Washington.

Emmitt Smith, in his rookie year with the Cowboys, took control in the second half, rushing for two touchdowns, the last being a 48-yard fourth-quarter scamper. He finished with 132 rushing yards on 23 carries.

Nov. 28, 1996: Dallas 21, Washington 10

Clock management was a big key to the success of the Cowboys of the ’90s. In the 1996 Thanksgiving game, the Cowboys kept the ball for 36:35. Washington had the ball for 23:25.

How effective was Dallas with time of possession? Troy Aikman finished with only 63 passing yards, but when you have a run game that includes Smith and a bulldozing offensive line, good things happen.

11-28-1996, the Cowboys beat the Redskins on Thanksgiving 21-10 to even them in the standings at 8-5. @EmmittSmith22 ran for 155 yards and all 3 Dallas touchdowns. Aikman only threw for 63 yards in the win. pic.twitter.com/0ObN59Jv5i

— Scott F (@TheFrizz87) November 28, 2018

Smith finished with 155 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Defensively, the Cowboys held Washington to 209 total yards and forced three turnovers.

Nov. 28, 2002: Dallas 27, Washington 20

2002 saw Chad Hutchinson take snaps at quarterback for the Cowboys. He put up pedestrian numbers throughout the Thanksgiving game at Texas Stadium, but he made the necessary plays in the fourth quarter to help orchestrate a comeback.

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Dallas trailed 20-10 early in the third quarter, but safety Roy Williams intercepted a Danny Wuerffel pass and returned it 5 yards for a touchdown to trim the lead to 3. Hutchinson capped a three-play, 54-yard fourth-quarter drive with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway, giving the Cowboys the lead.

Smith finished with 144 rushing yards and surpassed the 17,000 rushing-yard mark for his career.

Nov. 22, 2012: Washington 38, Dallas 31

Robert Griffin III holds one particular claim over Joe Theismann, Sonny Jurgensen, Sammy Baugh, Doug Williams and the rest of the Washington quarterbacks of the past. He is the first Washington quarterback to beat Dallas in a Thanksgiving game — and he did so as a rookie.

Griffin put on a clinic at Cowboys Stadium, throwing for 304 yards and four touchdowns and leading Washington to a 28-3 halftime edge. All 28 points were scored in the second quarter.

Robert Griffin III torches the Cowboys for 4 TD passes on Thanksgiving day! 🦃🏈#ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/carKEwvuHg

— Rich In Facts (@RichInFacts) November 23, 2017

The Cowboys tried to mount a remarkable comeback in the second half, but Griffin remained calm late and led Washington to a key victory in a competitive NFC East. Griffin told The Athletic it “was a game I’ll never forget.”

Nov. 24, 2016: Dallas 31, Washington 26

Washington’s Kirk Cousins showed grit at AT&T Stadium with a monster performance, but the Cowboys held on for their 10th win in 11 games. Additionally, it was Dallas’ 10th straight win of the season.

Washington outgained Dallas 505-353 for the day, and Cousins threw for 449 yards and three touchdowns, but it was the Cowboys’ methodical approach that proved the difference. Dallas held a double-digit lead through much of the second half. Washington closed the lead with a touchdown late in the game, but the Cowboys managed to score a key win.

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A rookie Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cowboys.

Nov. 22, 2018: Dallas 31, Washington 23

In 2016, Elliott as a rookie jumped into the Salvation Army kettle after a touchdown run against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was fined for the stunt. Two years later, following a 16-yard touchdown run, Elliott decided not to jump into the kettle but instead made a $21 donation to the cause.

It was the first touchdown of the day for Dallas, and Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper provided additional highlights in the win. While Elliott finished with 121 yards and the score, Prescott threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those scores went to Cooper, who had a 40-yard touchdown in the third quarter, then followed up with a 90-yard catch-and-run minutes later.

Nov. 26, 2020: Washington 41, Dallas 16

2020 was the first of two seasons Washington played as “Washington Football Team” after dropping “Redskins.” That season also saw Washington earn the NFC East sweep against the Cowboys for the first time since 2012. The Thanksgiving game sealed the sweep.

A strong fourth quarter for Washington turned a close affair into a blowout victory at AT&T Stadium. Washington led 20-16 entering the final quarter, and the Cowboys defense couldn’t find an answer for Antonio Gibson, who rushed for two of his three touchdowns in the final 12 1/2 minutes of play.

Gibson finished with 115 yards and three scores, and Montez Sweat returned an interception 15 yards for Washington’s final score late in the fourth quarter.

This series is part of a partnership with Accenture.

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Photos of Robert Griffin III, Emmitt Smith and Roger Staubach: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images, Paul Buck / AFP via Getty Images; and Focus on Sport via Getty Images)

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