The Dallas Cowboys have won another one! Can you believe it! Just when the season felt lost, this resurgent football team is defying the odds and keeping the 2025 season on life support. The Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs came into this game both desperately needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, but it was the Cowboys who prevailed, 31-28. Here are ten thoughts on this scrumptious Thanksgiving victory.
1. Another bumpy start
This team loves to get their fans all worked up early, as they refuse to start the game playing well. For the second-straight week, they’ve started the game with the ball, did nothing with it, and then proceeded to fall behind. Against the Chiefs, they didn’t fall behind 21-0 thankfully, but we did watch Dak Prescott get hit on the opening possession, causing the ball to float in the air forever and land in the arms of a Chiefs’ defender. The Chiefs’ offense only needed two plays to go 37 yards and go up 7-0 before the first two minutes of the game.
2. Defense makes a stand
For the last two weeks, the Cowboys’ defense has looked pretty good, especially once they got settled in, but everyone expected this game to be a different story. It’s Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid after all. After the Chiefs’ first two possessions, it wasn’t looking good. Kansas City had its way with the Cowboys’ defense, scoring 14 quick points. But then, something changed. The Cowboys’ defense forced four straight punts, not allowing any points in the second and third quarters. It felt like the Eagles’ game all over again. The Chiefs eventually got rolling again in the fourth quarter, but by then, the Cowboys’ offense had caught up and even taken the lead.
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3. Dak was dealing
Coming into the game, it just felt like the team with the better playing quarterback was going to win. And most people expected that quarterback to be Mahomes. And let’s face it, Mahomes was sharp. He finished with 261 passing yards, throwing four touchdowns. He also added another 30 yards rushing as his elusiveness was a problem all afternoon. But he wasn’t the only quarterback in the zone on Thursday. Despite the early interception, Prescott made several big throws to keep drives going. He finished with 320 yards passing and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, where he dumped the ball off to Javonte Williams at the last second. The Cowboys needed to have a big game from their quarterback to have a chance to win this game, and they got it.
4. Pick your poison
It feels like all week, Cowboys fans have been debating over which wide receiver is better, CeeDee Lamb or George Pickens. Luckily, it was a short week, so we didn’t have to listen to it that long. It seems rather clear that both these receivers are super fantastic. Fans don’t have to pick between them. On this day, it was Lamb who led the stat sheet with seven catches, 112 yards, and a touchdown. Of course, Pickens was no slouch. He added another 88 yards and was jumping over people. Both these guys forced multiple pass interference penalties on the Chiefs’ corners as they had a McTuffie time covering them. Whether it’s Lamb or Pickens, or Pickens or Lamb, just take comfort that both play for the Cowboys, and Dak will find one of them.
5. Solid outing by the secondary
It didn’t look good at first, but the Cowboys’ secondary actually held up pretty well. As expected, Rashee Rice was a problem. He finished with eight catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns. And Xavier Worthy had 61 yards, but 42 of them came on a broken play when Mahomes escaped defenders twice. Despite a couple of hiccups, the Cowboys’ secondary played well. They were already down Caelen Carson, who was inactive, and during the game, they lost both their other two starting corners, DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel Jr, for a brief moment, but everyone else stepped up.
6. No Guyton, no problem
Speaking of holding up, the Cowboys’ offensive line had another strong performance. The Cowboys finished with 137 yards rushing, averaging over five yards per attempt. Williams was powering through defenders, and Malik Davis broke off a big one for a 43-yard touchdown. Not only that, but Prescott never got sacked. What’s impressive about this showing is that the Cowboys were without their starting left tackle, Tyler Guyton, calling upon second-year tackle Nate Thomas to fill in. Many times this season, the Cowboys have had to adapt along the offensive line with a new reserve filling in, and most times it hasn’t been a problem.
7. Schotty is in it to win it
Between last week’s fourth-down failures and roughing the kicker/no challenge, some have questioned the decision-making of head coach Brian Schottenheimer. In this game, the offense again had a fourth-and-short at midfield, where they went for it. This time, they converted. While favorable results will always make the coach seem smarter, it doesn’t go unnoticed that Schottenheimer has shown himself to be the aggressor with some bold play calls. The play-action pass to Lamb while backed up deep in their own end zone was a thing of beauty. His continued decisions to throw the ball late in the game to convert third downs despite needing to chew the clock showed that he wanted the game in his offense’s hands. It was nice to see the offense finish the game by running out the clock rather than having to deal with a sweat from one last defensive stand, and Cowboys’ fans are thankful for that.
8. Turpin to the rescue
Last week, return specialist/whatever-back KaVontae Turpin coughed up the football when he tripped on the turf monster and clipped the legs of his own lineman. You remember, right? That wasn’t fun. This week, he went from zero to hero when he fell on the loose ball after Pickens was stripped. Pickens, while sensational in almost every fashion, does tend to hold the ball a little carelessly at times, and the Chiefs made him pay for it. Fortunately, the speedy Turpin was there to save the day. It was a huge play by Turpin as it allowed the Cowboys to keep the ball and kick a field goal, which ultimately ended up being the difference in the game.
9. Two in a row against Super Bowl teams
The win against the Chiefs makes three in a row for the Cowboys, but they’ve also beaten both of last year’s Super Bowl teams over the span of five days. Beating the Eagles was huge for Dallas on Sunday, but to follow it up against Mahomes’ Chiefs, it feels pretty good. Sure, Kansas City is now 6-6 and fighting to get into the playoffs, but the Cowboys get a lot of flak for not beating good teams. Putting together big wins against both the reigning conference champs is a good notch on a belt that is becoming a little more impressive each week. Let’s hope they can keep things going next week against Detroit.
10. Let the playoff conversations begin
Just a few short weeks ago, the Cowboys were sitting at 3-5-1 with no one even thinking about the playoffs. They made a trade for a stud defensive tackle, and we all started talking about how promising 2026 looks. But now, after three straight wins, things have started to get a little interesting. Things are still a dogfight in the NFC as there are several teams that have good records, but the Cowboys have officially entered the chat. With many of those said teams having to go against each other, the opportunity to get back into the race should be there for Dallas if they can continue to win football games, and that’s fantastic news. The 2025 season still has meaning!
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