AP

It may last only a week, with the Saints on the schedule next Thursday, but for now, the Cowboys are in first place.

They got there by dominating Washington in the second half to win 31-23 after taking a 31-13 lead.

The Cowboys have won three in a row and now are tied atop the NFC East with Washington at 6-5. It’s the first time Dallas has climbed over .500 this season.

The Cowboys celebrated their first touchdown with Ezekiel Elliott putting $21 into the Salvation Army Red Kettle. They celebrated their last touchdown with Elliott picking up Dak Prescott and putting him inside the giant kettle.

It was fun and games for the Cowboys, who got big plays from Prescott, Elliott, Amari Cooper, Leighton Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith, DeMarcus Lawrence, Anthony Brown and Xavier Woods.

Cooper, playing his fourth game with Dallas since joining the Cowboys in a trade from Oakland, made eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He had touchdowns of 40 and 90 yards.

It was the second-most receiving yards in Cooper’s career. He had 210 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches for the Raiders against the Chiefs on Oct. 10, 2017. The last time Dez Bryant had anything similar for the Cowboys came in an overtime loss to the Saints when he caught nine passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns in a 2012 game.

Prescott completed 22 of 31 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. It was Prescott’s most passing yards since he threw for 332 in a victory over the Giants last Dec. 10. He also ran for a touchdown.

Elliott had his third consecutive 100-yard game and his sixth of the season with 121 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. He has 18 in his three-year career, with no other running back in the league with more than 12 in that span.

The Cowboys had three interceptions of Colt McCoy, the first time they have had three takeaways since Nov. 30, 2017. Lawrence, Brown and Woods each had a pick.

Lawrence also had half a sack, three tackles and a pass defensed.

McCoy completed 24 of 38 passes for 268 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Adrian Peterson rushed for 35 yards on 12 carries.