Cowboys Conquer Chiefs in Thrilling Playoff Push

The Dallas Cowboys beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-28 on Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, 2025, at AT&T Stadium for their third straight win. Dak Prescott threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns, and Dallas ran out the final 3:27 to keep Patrick Mahomes on the sideline. In hindsight, the Week 13 win was the high-water mark of the Cowboys’ 2025 season.

Dak Delivers in the Clutch

Dallas outgained Kansas City 457 to 362 in total yards, according to the CBS Sports box score. The Chiefs led 14-7 after one quarter. Dallas outscored them 24-14 the rest of the way. Kansas City’s blitz forced an interception on Prescott’s second pass. Prescott answered by leading scoring drives on six of nine possessions that didn’t end a half, per NFL.com’s analysis. He finished 27 of 39 for 320 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, per Sky Sports. The finish showed his command. Up 31-28 with 3:27 left, Prescott hit George Pickens for a 13-yard first down at the two-minute warning, per the AP recap on CBS Sports. Dallas knelt out the clock, and Mahomes never got the ball back.

Cowboys Conquer Chiefs at the Peak of Their Season

The win lifted Dallas to 6-5-1, four days after a 24-21 victory over reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, per the AP recap. Kansas City arrived as the defending AFC champion and last season’s Super Bowl runner-up. It left at 6-6. CeeDee Lamb shook off his drops against the Eagles. He posted seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, per Sky Sports, including a 51-yard catch. George Pickens, whom the Cowboys acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a May 2025 trade, added six catches for 88 yards. He also caught a fourth-quarter two-point try. It was the two-receiver game Dallas made that trade to get. Javonte Williams carried 17 times for 59 yards, per Sky Sports, and caught a 3-yard touchdown. Malik Davis broke a 43-yard touchdown run, per CBS Sports. Brandon Aubrey’s 26-yard field goal with 5:20 left made it 31-21, per the AP recap on CBS Sports.

Mahomes’ Heroics Fall Short

Patrick Mahomes kept Kansas City in it. He completed 23 of 34 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns, per Sky Sports’ game report. Two of those touchdown throws came on fourth down, per the AP recap on CBS Sports. Rashee Rice caught eight passes for 92 yards and two scores, and Kareem Hunt ran 14 times for 58 yards, per Sky Sports. Mahomes also found Travis Kelce for a touchdown, per FOX 4. The last Chiefs drive nearly changed everything. A 42-yard completion to Xavier Worthy keyed the march. Mahomes then hit Hollywood Brown for a 10-yard score with 3:27 left to make it 31-28, per Sky Sports. Dallas’ defense sacked Mahomes three times, per Sky Sports. The offense handled the rest by keeping the ball for the final 3:27. Four touchdown passes weren’t enough without one more possession.

Playoff Hopes Crumble for Both Teams After Thanksgiving

The momentum didn’t last. Dallas lost its next two games, to Detroit and Minnesota, per Blogging The Boys. The Cowboys were officially eliminated on Dec. 20, 2025, when the Eagles clinched the NFC East. Dallas finished 7-9-1 after a 34-17 Week 18 loss to the Giants. Per DallasCowboys.com, it was the team’s first back-to-back losing records since three straight 5-11 seasons from 2000-02. The collapse closed Brian Schottenheimer’s first season as head coach. “I did not think that we would be 7-9-1. I didn’t think that we wouldn’t be in the playoffs,” Schottenheimer said, as reported by Cowboys Country on SI. Kansas City fell harder. The Chiefs finished 6-11, their worst record since 2012, per CBS Sports. They also missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014, CBS Sports noted.

The low point came in Week 15. Mahomes tore his ACL in a 16-13 home loss to the Chargers, per Sky Sports. The Dec. 14, 2025, defeat eliminated Kansas City from playoff contention, per Chiefs On SI. The fall was steep for last season’s Super Bowl runner-up. Less than a year after playing for the title, the Chiefs were out of the race. Neither team won more than one game after Thanksgiving. Dallas went 1-4, and Kansas City went 0-5.

The Thanksgiving tape shows Dallas’ offense at its best. Prescott spread the ball, Lamb and Pickens combined for 200 receiving yards, and the backfield produced two touchdowns. The 1-4 finish suggests that version was hard to sustain.

After this game, the big question was whether the streak marked a turning point or a temporary surge. The answer is now clear. It was a surge, and the final five weeks erased the ground it gained.

The context still matters. Dallas beat both of last season’s Super Bowl teams in four days, per the AP recap. It stands as the best stretch of Schottenheimer’s first season.

Prescott’s performance holds up on rewatch. He absorbed an interception on his second pass, then guided the offense to 31 points and 457 total yards.

The Dallas defense did enough without dominating. It allowed 362 yards and four touchdown passes but recorded three sacks. Against Mahomes, that was just enough because the offense kept scoring.

The broader lesson of Thanksgiving 2025: one statement win doesn’t make a season. For more on Dallas, read Redemption in Rio de Janeiro: Ravens Beat Cowboys With 56-Yard Goal. Follow the latest across our NFL coverage.

What People Are Saying About the Cowboys’ Playoff Push

On Thanksgiving night, Dallas looked like a team built for a playoff run. Beating the Eagles and Chiefs in four days put the Cowboys at 6-5-1 with momentum.

Kansas City looked like a 6-6 team running out of margin. Mahomes’ four touchdown passes suggested the quarterback wasn’t the problem.

The Dallas case aged poorly. Losses to Detroit and Minnesota followed, and the Eagles’ division title on Dec. 20 closed the door.

The Kansas City warning signs aged worse. The Chiefs never won again in 2025, and Mahomes’ Week 15 ACL tear came in the loss that eliminated them.

Looking back, the Thanksgiving game reads as a final peak for both teams.

Lamb’s 112-yard night answered his drops against Philadelphia, at least for a week. Dallas didn’t turn that bounce-back into a winning December.

Pickens’ six catches and two-point grab made the May trade look like a win. The Lamb-Pickens pairing was the clearest positive Dallas carried out of the game.

Mahomes’ line still cuts both ways. Four touchdown passes kept Kansas City close, but the defense couldn’t get him the ball back late.

The rest of the season delivered the verdict. Kansas City finished 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.