The Thanksgiving game is already here! It feels like only yesterday we were buckling up for a season filled with excitement and mystery as we waited to see what type of football team the Dallas Cowboys would be. Now, after 12 weeks, we are again faced with excitement and mystery as we ponder whether or not this new and improved football team can make a run at the playoffs.
The Cowboys are coming off a big win against the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, and now have to turn around
and face the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Unlike the Eagles, the Chiefs are not sitting in great shape and need to win to keep up with the playoff race. The Cowboys know all about that as they are trying to revive their playoff chances by pulling off three straight. It should be a good game with plenty of things to keep our attention. Here are five things to watch when these two teams square off on Thursday.
1. Extra helpings of Rice
Patrick Mahomes has an assortment of receiving weapons. The Chiefs’ five wide receivers with the most receiving yards are only separated by 140 yards. They include Marquise Brown (439 yards), Rashee Rice (394), Tyquan Thornton (372), Xavier Worthy (340), and JuJu Schuster Smith (299). At any moment, any one of these goods could be on his radar.
While there are plenty of options, there is no doubt about who the alpha receiver is since Rice made his return in Week 7. The three-year veteran is making up for lost time, commanding a team-leading 26% target share. He’s coming off an eight-catch, 141-yard performance on Sunday against the Colts. Rice is one of the more underrated wide-receiving talents in the league, and if the Cowboys’ secondary isn’t careful, he could be in for a huge day. Expect Mahomes to feed him early and often.
2. Stuffing for everyone
The Chiefs have a stingy defense. They’ve only allowed 201 points this season, ranking them fourth-best in the league. They are pretty balanced both against the pass and the run with good players all across the defense. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has a very disciplined group that all rally to the ball and wrap up. This team rarely misses tackles as they only whiff on 9.2% of their tackles, third-lowest in the league. Defensive tackle Chris Jones leads the push up front, while squirrelly defenders like Leo Chenal and Chamarri Conner will chase people down. The Chiefs’ defense has held their opponents to less than 75 rushing yards in four of their last five games. Running the ball against them won’t be easy.
Additionally, it won’t change much when the Chiefs have the ball because running the ball against the Cowboys is no longer a walk in the park. Since Quinnen Williams joined the team, the Cowboys’ defense has allowed the fewest yards before contact to running backs. The three-DT front, combined with some reinforcements in the back-seven, has made the Cowboys a tougher team to run against all of a sudden. Chiefs running backs Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco will have to fight for every yard.
3. The Roaming Mahomes
There are two versions of Mahomes. The times when he faces pressure in his face and shows he’s human, and the times when he rolls out of the pocket and punishes you. The Cowboys are hoping to see more of the former on Thursday. Under pressure, Mahomes has completed only 38% of his passes, third-lowest in the league. With a revamped interior defensive line, the Cowboys’ defense has been applying the heat, so they have a real chance to collapse that pocket.
Of course, when he takes off scrambling, it’s a completely different story. Mahomes has scrambled on a career-high 18% of his dropbacks. Extending plays will tax the Cowboys’ secondary, as those guys can’t hold down the fort forever. Whether he’s passing or taking off running, Mahomes’ scrambling has led to a league high 557 yards of offense. If he gets loose too often, it could be the Cowboys’ secondary that gets cooked on Thursday.
4. Hat trick for Pickens
It cannot be overstated how incredible George Pickens has been for the Cowboys’ offense this season. He’s already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, and he still has six games to go. Pickens has had nine catches for 140+ yards and a touchdown in each of the last two games. Against the Chiefs, he could make it three in a row for such an accomplishment. While everyone keeps expecting CeeDee Lamb to have a “get right” game, don’t be surprised if Dak Prescott keeps riding the hot hand. Pickens will have his share of one-on-one moments, so the opportunity to continue to dazzle with big plays will be there. Expect a big day from Pickens, with a big celebration, and possibly a ticky-tack unsportsmanlike penalty. Oh well, we’ll still love it!
5. Who’s going to be clutch?
Of the five games the Chiefs have lost this season, all have been one-score games, and three have been by just three points. Normally, Kansas City is on the winning end of those close games as they have a knack for pulling out a dramatic win. On Sunday against the Colts, that’s exactly what they did as they won the game in overtime.
The Cowboys are coming off the clutchiest of clutch games, beating the Eagles after trailing 21-0 early. This game could come down to the wire, and come down to who makes the plays in the clutch. Both Mahomes and Prescott have a good track record in game-winning drives, and Harrison Butker and Brandon Aubrey are two of the most reliable legs in the game. Don’t be surprised if we get another wild finish at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
