Preview for Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys
Two teams that saved their seasons last week meet on Thanksgiving as the Dallas Cowboys’ traditional holiday game sees them welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to Arlington.
Kansas City needed overtime last week to avoid falling to 5-6, knocking off the season’s surprise package, the Indianapolis Colts, 23-20. The Chiefs overturned a 20-9 deficit at home. Had they failed to do so, they would have faced the likely prospect of needing to win all of their remaining games to make the playoffs.
Given the Chiefs have reached at least the AFC Championship Game in each of the last seven seasons, the prospect of Patrick Mahomes and Co. failing to qualify for the postseason is a difficult one to reconcile.
Yet the reality is their margin for error down the stretch is still slim despite their impressive fightback against Indianapolis.
Indeed, the Chiefs are still a game outside the Wild Card places and face a stretch run that includes matchups with the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos. Both the Chargers and Broncos have already defeated the Chiefs this season as they each aim to dethrone them in the AFC West.
For head coach Andy Reid, one of the biggest obstacles in the Chiefs’ way as they look to build momentum towards a playoff push concerns the Dallas defensive line.
“It starts up front with them,” said Reid. “That front brings it. You saw that the other night; that’s real. The Eagles have a good offensive line, [so] it’s a great challenge for our offensive line. They are legit there.”
That defensive line pressured quarterback Jalen Hurts 23 times, per advanced analytics site Pro Football Focus, as the Cowboys fought back from a 21-point deficit to defeat defending Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 to keep their season alive in Week 12.
At 5-5-1, the Cowboys’ path to the postseason is a narrow one. With two of the three teams occupying the NFC Wild Card spots already having already racked up eight wins, the Cowboys may well need to win the remainder of their games to get into the playoffs.
While the Cowboys had little time to bask in the win over their NFC East rivals, quarterback Dak Prescott believes their display could have a positive impact on their ability to perform against the Chiefs following a short turnaround.
“It’s vital, you’ve got to reset,” Prescott said. “Yeah, that was a great win, great, tough win, emotional coming back from down 21, but it was only to be celebrated that night to be honest with you.
“Especially on the short week, you’ve got to move forward, you’ve got to get on your film, you’ve got to find a way to crunch five days into two, two and a half, three days.
“We know how talented and good this team is coming in. We know how important it is to start fast, and that’s our focus. However, if that doesn’t happen, you’ve got to be resilient, you’ve got to show competitive stamina. At the end of the day, it’s a four-quarter game and that is what the goodness of last week does.”
