The Kansas City Chiefs continued their up-and-down season Thursday, and this time the step back cost them. Dallas used a big day from Dak Prescott to hand the defending AFC champions a 31-28 loss on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
Prescott threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns, guiding the Cowboys to their third straight win and pushing them over .500 at 6-5-1 to stay in the NFC playoff race. The Chiefs fell to 6-6 and, with several tiebreakers working against them, likely need to win out to keep realistic postseason hopes alive.
Kansas City looked sharp early, jumping out to a 14-0 lead after capitalizing on an early Prescott interception. But the Chiefs’ offense stalled for most of the next two quarters while Dallas found its rhythm. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens proved to be the difference, combining for 200 receiving yards and repeatedly exploiting a shorthanded Kansas City secondary. Lamb finished with 112 yards and a touchdown; Pickens added 88 yards.
One of the game’s turning points came early when Lamb posted 44 yards in the first quarter alone, the most allowed all season by All-Pro corner Trent McDuffie to any receiver.
Dallas flipped the game in the fourth quarter. Trailing 21-20, the Cowboys marched 68 yards on an 11-play drive, highlighted by a 39-yard catch-and-run from Pickens that included a hurdle over McDuffie. Prescott capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Javonte Williams, then found Pickens again for the two-point conversion.
After forcing a punt, the Cowboys struck once more, as Prescott hit Lamb for a 51-yard gain to set up a field goal that stretched the margin to two scores with just over five minutes left.
Patrick Mahomes still delivered four touchdown passes for Kansas City. Rashee Rice hauled in two of them and finished with 92 yards, but the Chiefs couldn’t string together stops long enough to complete another late comeback.
Kansas City returns home next week searching for answers, and running out of time, in a season that has alternated progress with setbacks from the opening kickoff.
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