Cowboys edge Chiefs

By Elwyn Henderson

The Dallas Cowboys returned to AT&T Stadium in Arlington Thanksgiving Day to take on the always dangerous Kansas City Chiefs in a must win game for both squads in a game that the NFL predicted could become the most watched game ever in NFL history. When the smoke cleared the Cowboys racked up their third win in a row, taking the contest 31-28 and moving to 6-5-1 on the year. The loss dropped the Chiefs to 6-6 on the season.

KC won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Harrison Butker kicked off and Dallas began their first drive from their 29.

On third down Dak Prescott was intercepted at the KC 49 and the ball was returned 12 yards down to the Dallas 37 where Patrick Mahomes trotted onto the field for his first ever game as an NFL player at the stadium.

It took just 2 plays for Mahomes to blast the Cowboys defense for a TD The score came on a 27-yard pass down the left sideline to Rashee Rice with 13:04 left in the first quarter. Butker added the PAT and the Chiefs jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead. The 2-play drive took just 36 seconds off the clock.

Dallas began their next drive at their 25 after a 23-yard KaVonte Turpin return of the kickoff. Prescott led the Dallas offense down the field and hit CeeDee Lamb on a 15-yard TD pass with 6:50 left in the opening frame. The drive was 12 plays, 75 yards and took 6:14. Brandon Aubrey nailed the extra point and the game was tied 7-7.

Aubrey’s kickoff after the score was returned from the 13 up to the 28 and Mahomes brought the KC offense back on the field.

Mahomes led the Chiefs methodically down the field for their second TD of the day. He hit Travis Kelce on a 2-yard scoring play with 1 second left in the opening quarter. Butker’s kick was good and KC led 14-7.

Dallas was penalized for an illegal block in the back on the return as the first quarter expired and Prescott brought the offense out to begin their third possession of the day at their 16.

They moved the ball down to the 30 and on 4th down Aubrey came in and kicked a 49-yard field goal to close the Dallas deficit to 14-10 with 10:22 left in the first half of play. The drive was 10 plays, 53 yards and took 4:39.

Thanks to a holding call and a sack of Patrick Mahomes forced a Matt Araiza punt and after a Turpin fair catch Prescott brought the offense back out with 6:03 left in the first half at their 15 hoping to get a score before the half ended.

They did just that with Malik Davis finishing off the deal with a 44-yard TD fun with 3:10 left in the first half. Aubrey’s extra point kick was good and the Cowboys had their first lead of the day at 17-14. The drive was an 8-play, 85-yard affair that took 2:53 off the second quarter clock.

KC began their final possession of the first half at their 32. The Cowboys defense rose to the occasion, forcing an Araiza punt from his 48. The kick went out of bounds at the 14 and Prescott brought the offense back on the field. They ran 1 play and the half ended with the Cowboys leading 17-14.

The Chiefs returned the second half kickoff up to their 49 and Mahomes brought his charges out in excellent starting field position. The Dallas defense got the job done, forcing a punt that went down to the Dallas 3 where it was downed by KC and Prescott and the offense began their first drive of the half in a precarious position.

They avoided a turnover but went three-and-out. Fortunately, Bryan Anger bailed the team out with a 62-yard punt that was returned up to the KC 37 with 10:51 left in the third quarter, bringing Mahomes and his offense back on the field.

The defense held once again, forcing an Araiza punt from the Dallas 44. The kick was downed at the Dallas 4 and Prescott and the offense went back on the field again in a very dangerous spot.

Things turned out different on this possession, as the Cowboys appeared to have a TD pass to Jake Ferguson but after video assist he only got one foot down on a second down play. Prescott threw incomplete into the end zone on third down and Aubrey a 36-yard field goal with 4:09 left in the third quarter, increasing the Cowboys lead to 20-14. The drive was 78 yards and took 7 plays and 2:56.

The ensuing kickoff was returned to the 20 and Mahomes brought the KC offense back on the field.

Mahomes led the team the 80 yards into the end zone. On 4th and goal from the 4 Mahomes hit Rice for the TD. Butker added the extra point and KC took the lead back again 21-20 with 14:51 left in the game. The drive was 11 plays, 8 yards and took 4:18.

Butker’s next kickoff was taken by Turpin at the 7 and returned to the 32 and the ‘Boys came back on the field hoping for another touchdown to get back in the lead.

They were able to do just that as Prescott hit Williams on a 3-yard TD pass with 11:15 left in the game, putting Dallas up 26-21. The Cowboys chose to go for 2 and Prescott hit Pickens, putting the lead for Dallas to 28-21. KC was called for roughing the passer and a 15-yard penalty was assessed on the kickoff. The drive was an 8-play, 68-yard affair that consumed 3:36 off the clock.

Aubrey’s kickoff was returned up to the Chiefs 39 and Mahomes went back on the offensive one again. The Cowboys defense took care of business forced another punt. The ball went into the end zone but Dallas was called for a holding penalty during the kick, setting Prescott and company up at their 10 with 9:26 left in the game.

The Cowboys drove down to the Chiefs 8 and on a 4th and 4 Aubrey booted a 26-yard field goal with 5:16 left in the game, putting Dallas up 31-21. The drive was 8 plays, 82 yards and took 4:10 off the fourth quarter clock.

The Chiefs set up on their 33 after Aubrey’s kickoff and Mahomes went back to work.

They moved the 67 yards down the field for a touchdown with 3:27 left in the game. Mahomes hit a 42-yard pass on third down to keep the drive alive and then on 3rd and goal from the 10 he hit Hollywood Brown in the back of the end zone. Butker’s extra point was good and the Dallas lead was cut to 31-28. The drive was 7 plays, 67 yards and took 1:29.

The Cowboys began their next drive at their 32. They moved down to the KC 27 and Prescott took a knee three times and the clock ran out and Dallas had a 3-game win streak and kept their playoff hopes alive.

The Mirror asked a jubilant Coach Brian Shottenheimer if the team kept improving and won enough games over the last 5 weeks of the season to get into the playoffs if he agreed they could make some noise.

“Yeah, we’ll play anybody anywhere. I mean I think you can see that by what we’ve done the last couple of weeks and the moment’s not too big for us. We just play and then we know the fourth quarter’s going to come and when the fourth quarter comes, we know we’re going to find a way to win. And I think you just keep doing that. There was no question that when we went up 10 that that team was going to make a run. That’s what they are. That’s why they’ve won championships. Patrick’s an incredible quarterback, but our guys just keep playing and we came out with the ball at the end and we’re able to do the Landry shift before we took the knee to honor Coach Tom.”

When Dak Prescott held his postgame presser he was asked about the momentum the three game winning streak meant to the team.

“We can be whatever we want to be. Everything’s in front of us. I just was telling the offensive that when we’re in those kneel downs at the end of the game, but it’s not going to happen next Thursday. It’s going to happen Sunday when we get in the building. It’s just taking it one day at a time, putting everything in, understanding that we win during the week with our preparation and that we just get to come out here and play the game that we love and playing it free. All these wins, all they’ve done is just given us more and more confidence. And this brotherhood is as strong and as tight as I’ve been around and seen and we’re playing elite complimentary football right now. It’s not something that we can hang our hat on and say, yeah, we’ve done, but we can build off of it. We can be proud of what we’ve done, but we’ve got to push forward knowing that that’s all behind us. And what’s important is what’s in front of us. And anything that we’ve done up to this point really doesn’t matter. We’ve still put ourselves in a tough position. Doesn’t mean that we’ve got out of it just because the two teams that we’ve beat. Next week’s just as important as this game was.”

Chiefs Coach Andy Reid gave the Cowboys credit when he held his press conference.

 

“My hat goes off to the Cowboys. They did a nice job and they battled through. I’m proud of our guys for battling through. Some of the things that were going on, I don’t always agree with things on my end, but that’s alright. Things happen and you’ve got to fight through it, so the bottom line is we’re having too many penalties, and we’ve got to make sure we take care of that. Both sides of the ball. To get off the field [on] third downs and then to stay on the field offensively and not backing yourself up. So, no excuses, we’ll work on cleaning it up. We appreciate our fans’ support. They came out here and cheered is on and we appreciate all of the red in the stands, So, Thanksgiving – it is Thanksgiving, so that’s bigger than probably any of this, This was a nice microcosm of how the world should be, where it’s competition. It’s not people killing each other and doing all those crazy things that go on. All religions, all races out here, enjoying an event. And if we can learn one thing from it, you know, as we go through it as a country here, man, that’s it right there. Great competition. And then everybody gets along and then shakes hands afterwards and go about your way there.”

Patrick Mahomes was asked his thoughts on the game when he faced the media after the game.

 

“Just missed opportunities. I mean, just like all the losses we’ve had this year. I mean, getting the ball two times kind of midfield started the second half and they’re not coming through and getting points at all. That’s stuff that you can’t do against good football teams and we did that today. We’ve got to be more consistent at the end of the day. We’ve had big plays, we’ve had runs where we can really just score at any time, but we got to be consistent for four quarters and especially when you play good football teams and they have a good offense. So, they have a good football team. They’re playing well right now. They’re in the same desperation that we are and they played better over four quarters than we did. So, even though we have good plays here and there, we got to be more consistent at the end of the day.”

The Chiefs will get ten days off before their next game on December 7th when they host the Houston Texans in a do-or-die game for both teams.

 

The Cowboys, on the other hand, hit the field again next Thursday night, December 4th when they travel to Detroit to take on the talented Lions who have dropped two consecutive games and can’t afford to lose again. Once again, that game will be do-or-die for both teams as we move into the final 5 games of the 2025 season. It should be a wild finish!