The Cowboys celebrated Thanksgiving by taking a commanding lead in the NFC East. After sending the Redskins home with a 31-26 defeat, the Cowboys are now in complete control of the division and, more importantly, still on track to lock up the top seed in the conference.

Dallas is 10-1. A 6-4-1, Washington is in third in the division. Barring a complete collapse, the NFC East belongs to the Cowboys, who now lead the Giants by 2 1/2 games. And if they keep stringing together wins -- they've already won 10 in a row -- they'll outlast Seattle for home-field advantage.

Getting to 10 wins -- which was a franchise record for consecutive wins -- wasn't easy, though. The Redskins made them work for it throughout a chippy (see: Dez Bryant and Josh Norman's postgame scuffle) defensive game that suddenly morphed into an offensive shootout in the fourth quarter. To survive, the Cowboys relied on a familiar formula to put away their divisional rivals: Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.

Prescott threw for 195 yards and a touchdown and added 39 yards and a score on the ground. He didn't turn the ball over. Elliott rushed for 97 yards on 20 carries, scoring twice.

Here are eight takeaways from the game.

1. A fourth quarter explosion

The Redskins and Cowboys combined for 23 points in the first three quarters. They scored 34 in the final 15 minutes.

After the Redskins closed the gap to five points with a touchdown in the first 10 seconds of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys responded by mounting a seven-play, 75-yard drive.

Elliott ripped off a 21-yard run to start the drive. He caught a pass from Prescott for 19 more yards on the next play. Prescott capped off the drive with a 6-yard run.

And in the process, he gained LeBron James' approval.

Yes sir @dak!! Great drive and answer to their TD — LeBron James (@KingJames) November 25, 2016

The Redskins had an answer: They told DeSean Jackson to go long and Kirk Cousins found him for a quick 67-yard touchdown.

Once again -- after a failed surprise onside kick -- Prescott and Elliott went back to work. Prescott scrambled for a key first down and drew a 15-yard penalty, completed a downfield strike to Dez Bryant near the goal line, and Elliott polished off the drive with a short-range touchdown.

Bryant strutted in celebration.

DEZ BRYANT ON THE SIDELINES TOO pic.twitter.com/R75dzIuBDz — Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) November 25, 2016

Trailing by 12, the Redskins closed the gap again. Cousins led the Redskins on a 15-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a Jordan Reed touchdown reception -- his second of the game. With 1:53 remaining, the Redskins trailed by five points, but they were running out of time after they opted to dink and dunk their way down the field for that touchdown.

Their onside kick failed, so they needed a stop. They didn't get one, allowing a first down to Cole Beasley on a quick screen, which sealed the result.

2. Washington misses out on points

A week ago, the Redskins dropped 42 points on the Packers. In that game, Cousins outplayed Aaron Rodgers by throwing for 375 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. After, Cousins even screamed "How you like me now?" in his general manager's face.

They did not see the same sort of success against the Cowboys, even after factoring in their fourth quarter scoring spurt. It's not that they didn't gain plenty of yards -- heck, Cousins' 449 passing yards nearly topped Troy Aikman's Thanksgiving day record of 455 set in 1998 -- it's that they blew so many opportunities to score in the first half.

Dustin Hopkins missed two field goals in the first half. That's not good.

Neither is the fact that both of Hopkins' successful field goals were kicked from inside the 10-yard line.

Washington's GM should walk up to Cousins on sideline and scream ``I'd like six points now'' — Jim Souhan (@SouhanStrib) November 24, 2016

Obviously, the Redskins pieced together an explosive fourth quarter, but they shouldn't ignore the red zone issues that plagued them in the first half. It's what ultimately cost them the ballgame.

3. Jordan Reed goes from a sling to two TDs

Cousins' inaccurate pass on third-and-goal at the beginning of the second quarter cost the Redskins more than just a touchdown. It also injured Redskins tight end Jordan Reed, who went up to snag the pass and came down hard on his shoulder.

NFL/Fox

Washington announced that he suffered a shoulder injury and called him questionable to return. He was also spotted wearing a sling.

Redskins TE Jordan Reed with sling on left arm now. — Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) November 24, 2016

He ended up coming back in the second half. And then, with the Redskins trying to climb out of an 11-point hole, he somehow made this catch:

good golly, Jordan Reed pic.twitter.com/UAv76gcwQw — Mike Tunison (@xmasape) November 24, 2016

Which set up the Redskins' first touchdown of the game. Of course, it ended up being Reed who scored it:

Later, he came down with Washington's final touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Reed ended up catching 10 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Of note: He played through an AC joint separation, according to Jay Gruden.

4. A tale of two beginnings

The Cowboys took the opening drive 75 yards on seven plays. The series began with a 15-yard run by wide receiver Lucky Whitehead. Prescott completed both of his passes. And Elliott rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown on four carries.

That's how they began the game.

Meanwhile, the Redskins opened the game by settling for a field goal, calling a timeout before the ball was snapped because they were late getting onto the field, and then missing the kick.

Or did they? It was close.

Woooooooooof. That's about as close as it gets: pic.twitter.com/w1uaXrQBh2 — SB Nation (@SBNation) November 24, 2016

Those plays aren't reviewable, but it appeared to be a good call by the official underneath the upright.

5. Terrance Williams staying in bounds pays off

Remember when the Cowboys lost their only game of the season when Terrance Williams decided that running out of bounds wasn't in his and the Cowboys' best interests? Finally, Williams' bad habit paid off.

In the second quarter, Williams somehow stayed in bounds on this pass from Prescott, which handed the Cowboys a 17-3 lead:

Nice footwork:

6. Dez and Norman go off

If you missed the game and are wondering how Bryant and Norman got along during the game, this short clip provides the only answer you need:

Dez Bryant and Josh Norman wishing each other a very happy Thanksgiving pic.twitter.com/xgmYpu0Nan — Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) November 25, 2016

Yeah, it was chippy. For what it's worth, Bryant ended up having a productive game, racking up 72 yards on five catches.

7. It's always sunny in Dallas

This is a problem with the Cowboys' fancy stadium, aka Jerry World.

"Hey is there any chance the sun might shine through the big hole"

"Maybe. But it'd have to be afternoon in the fall. Won't be a problem." pic.twitter.com/qHOMqcgbcl — The Ringer (@ringer) November 24, 2016

And this isn't the first time it's popped up.

8. What's next?

The Cowboys get a second consecutive Thursday night game. They'll head to Minnesota to take on the Vikings, who are in complete free-fall mode. After starting 5-0, the Vikings have now dropped five of their past six games -- including a Thanksgiving day last-second loss to the Lions.

Meanwhile, the Redskins get 10 days off until they face the Cardinals in Arizona. The Cardinals are 4-5-1 and don't look anything like the playoff team they were a year ago.