ARLINGTON — As crazy as it would’ve seemed earlier this season, the Cowboys and Chiefs found themselves at a similar junction on Thanksgiving. Two franchises that began in Dallas. Two teams slotted in the 10th spot in their respective conferences. Two teams hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The winner not only kept their road to the playoffs intact, but also, fittingly, earned the Preston Road Trophy, given to the winner of this rare matchup.
Hey, at least the Cowboys have one piece of hardware in their collection for this season now.
The Cowboys defeated the Chiefs 31-28 on Thanksgiving in front of a crowd that was seemingly split. As the CBS broadcast said, the game felt like a regular-season playoff game.
Cowboys
The Cowboys have now won three straight games for the first time since they won five in a row in 2023.
Will either of these teams make it to the postseason? We’ll see, but the Cowboys now have life after this successful stretch.
Here are five takeaways from the Cowboys’ victory:
Turkey Day Triumph: See photos from Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day win over Chiefs
View GalleryLamb is back
For the record:Tthe Cowboys tried to tell us. Coach Brian Schottenheimer gave a spoiler alert immediately after Sunday’s game, telling the Chiefs they were going to throw to CeeDee Lamb. Quarterback Dak Prescott told us to check the history when asked about how Lamb has responded the game after a struggle, which he had in Sunday’s win over the Eagles. He said Lamb’s resolve was “unquestionable.”
“I don’t expect this to be any different,” Prescott said of Lamb.
It wasn’t.
Lamb’s impact was felt before the first quarter ended. He had three catches on third down that were conversions on the team’s second drive, including a touchdown on third and 10 from the Kansas City 15-yard line.
Lamb finished with seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. He also drew a deep pass interference that helped set up a field goal in the second half.
Most important: Lamb had no drops.
Avoiding the problem
The Eagles were caught by surprise by the five-down fronts the Cowboys like to run. The Chiefs weren’t going to fall victim to that.
The Chiefs were not only aware of the Cowboys’ newfound presence on the interior defensive line; they respected it and even avoided it. The Chiefs ran quick screens, jet sweeps and mostly focused their offensive attack on Dallas’ edges, rather than its interior. They did so successfully early on, too.
The Cowboys, to their credit, adjusted quickly. The Cowboys forced four-straight punts after allowing touchdowns on the first two drives of the game.
It was a good chess match to watch play out.
Back in the end zone
The Cowboys initially elected to not bring Malik Davis back this offseason after three seasons of bouncing back and forth from the practice squad and active roster. He was signed well into training camp after rookie running back Jaydon Blue suffered a heel injury.
Late signings like that usually don’t stick around for long, let alone score an important touchdown on Thanksgiving. But Davis did.
Davis had the longest touchdown run for the Cowboys in more than three years, sprinting through the Chiefs defense for a 43-yard touchdown. It was Davis’ second touchdown of his career and his first in over 1,000 days.
Davis earned that opportunity. He originally was elevated three times because he was the team’s backup personal protector on punt to Juanyeh Thomas. When his elevations ran out, the Cowboys elected to waive corner Kaiir Elam so they could put Davis on the active roster. He’s been good when he’s got the ball, too, averaging over five yards per carry.
There was a long road for Davis to have that long touchdown run.
Ramped up
Schottenheimer was adamant throughout this year that they were going to play it smart with rookie corner Shavon Revel. He wanted to caution high expectations for a rookie coming off a torn ACL early in his final college season at East Carolina.
They waited until Revel felt confident in his ability to cut and run full speed. Once that happened, they used a full practice window before activating him. In his first two games, against the Raiders and Eagles, they kept him on a relative snap count.
That limited snap count was gone on Thanksgiving. Revel started for the first time and played extensively against the Chiefs. A further review will be needed to determine how well Revel played, but overall the secondary played pretty well.
Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown also started for the third straight game and appeared to be off a snap count limit.
Revel and Overshown could be key players for the Cowboys moving forward – especially now that they aren’t limited.
Too little too late?
After the win over the Eagles, the Cowboys’ playoff chances, according to ESPN, moved from 7% to 9%.
The point being: after the bye week, the potential path to the playoffs for the Cowboys was always going to be slim. They knew it, too. Earlier this week, Prescott noted that the Cowboys had to win out if they wanted a chance at the postseason.
Regardless of Thursday’s outcome, one thought emerged throughout the game: Imagine if the Cowboys were playing like this earlier this season?
The team has cautioned any takes about the newcomers on defense being the only difference, but it’s hard to argue with that timing. Plus, we knew throughout the early parts of the season that the Cowboys’ defense only needed to be average to win with an offense as powerful as the one Dallas possesses. Reminder: Through 10 weeks, the Cowboys had the second-ranked scoring offense in the NFL, but the 31st-ranked defense.
The Cowboys will be tough competition for the rest of the season. There should be momentum heading into next season, especially if they can bring back George Pickens and Javonte Williams.
But as for a playoff push this year? It might be too little too late.
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