Patrick Mahomes was a rookie backup the last time the Kansas City Chiefs carried five losses into Thanksgiving.
But Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid are adamant it’s not too late for the Chiefs (6-5) to get something cooking in the crowded AFC playoff picture as they venture into Dallas to tackle the climbing Cowboys (5-5-1) on Thursday afternoon.
Dak Prescott guided the Cowboys to a 28-17 win over the Chiefs in Mahomes’ rookie year in 2017, when Kansas City closed out the year with four consecutive wins. Now the quarterbacks are front and center for the holiday headliner for teams grasping for traction to nudge into a playoff picture that wouldn’t include them at present.
“Obviously you grow up watching Thanksgiving games no matter who you are a fan of,” Mahomes said as he makes his return to Cowboys Stadium for the first time since his freshman season at Texas Tech. “That kid in me wants to be able to go out there and play on Thanksgiving and find a way to win. More than anything, we just want to win.”
Mahomes said he has more than 50 friends and family attending the game in a suite, but he’s leaving ticket denials — “there are none left” — to his wife while locking in short-week prep for the Cowboys. He is playing the team in Dallas for the first time as a pro, but watched a ton of Cowboys games because they were his father’s favorite team.
This week he’s watching the team closely to learn their personnel.
“They’ve added players, they’re playing at a higher level than they were at the beginning of the year,” Mahomes said. “They’re kind of in the same situation as us: it’s all on the line, you’ve got to go out there and play your best football.”
Mahomes was listed on the injury report with a groin injury but said there’s no risk of him missing the game. He played almost the entire Week 12 overtime win against the Colts with the 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 Kansas City win in 2021. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo noticed a renewed spark in Jones’ practice performance and business-like approach in recent weeks. He’ll be matched up with rookie first-round pick Tyler Booker in attempting to pressure Prescott.
“We got to win every game at this point. The Philly game doesn’t mean anything right now,” Prescott said of the Cowboys sneaking into second place in the NFC East with a 21-point rally to beat the Eagles last week. “Nothing that has happened up to this point really means anything other than it has put us in position to be in must-win games.”
Keeping Prescott off-balance is a top priority to slow down Dallas. 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 over 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 with an ankle injury.
“I think the biggest challenge is getting the guys fresh and ready (on a short week),” Spagnuolo said. “We’re going to have to mix it up. The reason they’re so good (at wide receiver) is you can’t take both of them away. Both of them, when they catch the football, there’s a lot of yards after the catch. They’re got a lot of weapons.”
Mahomes might be forced to try to get comfortable without right guard Trey Smith (ankle), who missed the second half last week. Prescott could be operating without left tackle Tyler Guyton (ankle).
If there is a decided edge for either side, it could be the ground 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 a 30-carry effort last week, when Kansas City ran more than 90 plays.
“He’s no spring chicken back there,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy joked Tuesday.
Mahomes has run more this season but the groin injury might bring pause to that approach. 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 drops for the second time this season against the Eagles last week.
“He’s got that look in his eye that (he) means business. He’s ready to play. There will be plenty of balls going to 88 Thursday afternoon,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said.
Dallas has won three consecutive games on Thanksgiving Day and is 34-22-1 all-time on the November holiday.
The Chiefs are 1-4 on the road this season.
