Patrick Mahomes was a rookie backup the last time the Kansas City Chiefs suffered five losses through Thanksgiving.
But Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid are adamant it’s not too late for the Chiefs (6-5) to put something together in the crowded AFC playoff picture as they venture to Dallas to face the surging Cowboys (5-5-1) on Thursday afternoon.
Dak Prescott guided the Cowboys to a 28-17 victory over the Chiefs during Mahomes’ rookie year in 2017, when Kansas City closed out the year with four straight wins. Now, quarterbacks are front and center as holiday headliners for teams looking to launch into a playoff picture that wouldn’t currently include them.
“Obviously, you grow up watching Thanksgiving games, no matter who you’re a fan of,” Mahomes said as he returned to Cowboys Stadium for the first time since his freshman season at Texas Tech. “That kid in me wants to be able to go play on Thanksgiving and find a way to win. More than anything, we just want to win.”
Mahomes said he had more than 50 friends and family attending the game in a suite, but he leaves the ticket rejections — “there aren’t any left” — to his wife while preparing for a short week for the Cowboys. He’s playing against the Dallas team for the first time as a professional, but he watched a ton of Cowboys games because they were his dad’s favorite team.
This week, he’s watching the team closely to get to know his personnel.
“They’ve added players, they’re playing at a higher level than they were at the beginning of the year,” Mahomes said. “They are in a bit of the same situation as us: everything is on the line, you have to go out there and play your best football.”
Mahomes was listed on the injury report with a groin injury, but said there was no risk he would miss the game. He played almost the entire Week 12 overtime victory against the Colts with this discomfort.
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, who like Prescott attended Mississippi State, had 3.5 sacks the last time the Chiefs saw the Cowboys, a 19-9 victory at Kansas City in 2021. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has noticed a renewed spark in Jones’ practice performance and business approach in recent weeks. He will face rookie first-round pick Tyler Booker in an attempt to put pressure on Prescott.
“We have to win every game at this point. The Philly game doesn’t mean anything right now,” Prescott said of the Cowboys who sneaked into second place in the NFC East with a 21-point rally to beat the Eagles last week. “Nothing that’s happened so far really means anything other than it’s put us in position to compete in must-win games.”
Keeping Prescott off-balance is a top priority to slow Dallas down. The Cowboys rank first in the NFL in total offense (387.3 yards per game) and fourth in points scored (29.1 per game). Wide receiver George Pickens is one of two receivers with more than 1,000 receiving yards (Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba) and delivered another big performance in Dallas’ upset of the Eagles last week. CeeDee Lamb has 632 yards despite missing time due to an ankle injury.
“I think the biggest challenge is preparing the guys (on a short week),” Spagnuolo said. “We’re going to have to mix it up. The reason they’re so good (at the wide receiver position) is you can’t take them both out. When they catch the ball, there’s a lot of yards after the catch. They have a lot of weapons.”
Mahomes may be forced to try to get comfortable without right guard Trey Smith (ankle), who missed the second half last week. Prescott could operate without left tackle Tyler Guyton (ankle).
If there’s a decisive advantage on either side, it could be the running game of the Cowboys and running back Javonte Williams. He has 896 yards and eight touchdowns with an average of 5.0 yards per carry. Kareem Hunt leads the Chiefs with 457 rushing yards and is coming off 30 carries last week as Kansas City ran over 90 plays.
“He’s not a spring chicken out there,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy joked Tuesday.
Mahomes has been running more this season, but the groin injury could put that approach on pause. He has 36 more passing yards than Prescott – 2,977 to 2,941 – this season and the Cowboys and Chiefs are ranked first and second in the league in net passing yards.
Lamb is locked in after being plagued by falls for the second time this season against the Eagles last week.
“He’s got that look in his eye that shows he’s serious. He’s ready to play. There’s going to be a lot of balls up to 88 on Thursday afternoon,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said.
Dallas has won three straight games on Thanksgiving Day and is 34-22-1 all-time over the November break.
The Chiefs are 1-4 on the road this season.
–Field level media
