IRVING, Texas -- The weary and injured Dallas Cowboys snickered this week when Coach Barry Switzer said they would win on Thanksgiving because he believed in Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and Disneyland.


Late Thursday afternoon, the eyes of 53 men were like saucers, their voices filled with wonder.


"Coach said he believed in fairy tales," said guard Nate Newton. "Well, we just dropped one on them."


Footballs fell from the sky. Tiny men scampered across large expanses of green. Outlandish wishes were granted. And an Ivy League quarterback led the Cowboys to their biggest second half in history during a wild 42-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers.


In the other Thanksgiving Day game, the Detroit Lions dealt Buffalo a severe blow to its playoff hopes with a 35-21 win over the defending AFC champions.


"You know what this was?" asked Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin, his smile even brighter than his necklaces. "This was beautiful."


More specifically, this was a third-string quarterback named Jason Garrett, making his second start in six professional seasons, leading the Cowboys back from a 17-3 deficit to engineer 36 second-half points.


This was running back Emmitt Smith nearly outgaining the Packers by himself, totaling 228 yards, including 68 yards on a screen pass.


This was Brett Favre and Sterling Sharpe connecting on four touchdown passes for the Packers that meant absolutely nothing.


Before Monday, Garrett, a Princeton graduate, had spent most of the year on the scout team, and most of his career in hiding.


Undrafted out of college, a veteran of the World League and Canadian Football League, Garrett was known mostly for his shocking red hair and the absence of an NFL touchdown pass on his resume. He was only starting because in a span of a couple of hours last weekend, starter Troy Aikman injured his knee and backup Rodney Peete injured his thumb.


Asked where he was going after throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns against the league's fifth-ranked defense, Garrett did not say Disneyland.


"Going back to the scout team, I guess," he said.


Garrett's first downfield pass Thursday was a perfect completion -- to Packer cornerback Terrell Buckley. And by the time the first half reached its final minute, the Packers were leading 17-3, and Garrett was five of 16 for 54 yards. Then the first of several strange events occurred.


Ernie Zampese, the Cowboys offensive coordinator, left the press box for the field, thinking the offense would run out the clock. That left the play-calling for the final 30 seconds to Switzer, who thought differently: "I said hell no, let's throw it deep and see if some of our big guys can rebound it."


For the rest of the game, Garrett tossed up jump balls like he was an NBA referee.


After 59 yards worth of passes to receivers Michael Irvin and Alvin Harper, the Cowboys scored a last-second, 37-yard field goal by Chris Boniol to end the first half at 17-6.


The Cowboys charged out of the locker room and scored touchdowns on their next five possessions.


Kevin Williams' 87-yard kickoff return set up the first score. Garrett's 45-yard pass to wide-open Harper accounted for the second.


Forty-three yards of penalties by the frustrated Packers set up the third score. Smith's 68-yard run off the screen pass set up the fourth.


By then, Dallas led 32-24, and needed just Garrett's soaring 35-yard touchdown pass to Irvin on their next possession to clinch it.


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Jim Kelly was supposed to breathe new life into the Buffalo Bills. Instead, Dave Krieg and the Detroit Lions left the Bills gasping.


Krieg passed for 351 yards and three touchdowns and the Lions' defense harassed Kelly with three sacks and two interceptions in a 35-21 victory Thursday over the Bills in Pontiac, Michigan.


The loss left the Bills (6-6) at .500 deeper into the season than at any time since 1986, the last time they failed to qualify for the playoffs. It is a situation the Bills clearly aren't used to. Usually at this point in the season the Bills, who have played in the last four Super Bowls, are concerned mainly with wrapping up home-field advantage for the playoffs.


Buffalo might still qualify for the AFC playoffs as a wild card, but the chances of catching the Miami Dolphins and winning the AFC East now seem remote.


Krieg completed 20 of 25 passes, including seven to Herman Moore for 169 yards and did not throw an interception.


Kelly completed 29 of 35 for 273 yards, including a 20-yard TD toss to Russell Copeland and a 27-yard scoring flip to Pete Metzelaars. But he threw two costly interceptions to Willie Clay, who returned the second one 28 yards for the clinching touchdown with 1:07 left.


The expected battle between outstanding running backs did not develop as the quarterbacks took over the show.


Detroit's Barry Sanders ran 19 times for 45 yards to raise his league-leading total to 1,406, while Buffalo's Thurman Thomas had 58 yards on 17 carries.


(AP, Reuters)