ARLINGTON, Texas – This past Sunday might have been "unbelievable," the Dallas Cowboys recovering from a 21-0 deficit to defeat the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21, here at AT&T Stadium.
After all, this once was a 3-5-1 team wallowing in a two-game losing streak that had only beaten the downtrodden Raiders the previous Monday night. So, a win, yes, but maybe just a blue moon.
Well, then this, just four days later and down by merely a point, 21-20, with 14:51 left in the fourth quarter to the mighty Kansas City Chiefs, the ones having played in the previous three Super Bowls, reigning kings of the AFC.
Awww, come on, piece of cake down just one, or more appropriately but a turkey leg here Thanksgiving Day at AT&T Stadium for this bunch, what these Cowboys are doing fast becoming mighty "believable."
Cowboys 31, Chiefs 28!
And not just any Chiefs now. That's last year's AFC champions and two-time defending Super Bowl champions the previous two seasons who employ this Texas-born quarterback magician Patrick Mahomes and his tight end sidekick Travis Kelce, Swiftly becoming known worldwide.
Happiest of Thanksgivings. Enjoy the leftovers.
That's right, all this verified right here before 93,739 folks on Thanksgiving Day, and my early guess the largest television audience to watch an NFL regular-season game, these Cowboys silencing the red-clad tomahawk chop faithful the short-sighted Cowboys fans allowed into this affair between the two pro football franchises birthed in 1960 right here in Dallas with ticket dumps.
Do you now believe in these Schotty Cowboys?
Think you bess.
Only a bad case of cataracts would cloud the glaring lights of these Cowboys now rumbling through the NFL before your very eyes. But if you can't see for yourself, allow me to present this factual evidence for your benefit.
This is now three consecutive victories in but 11 days, first time since the 2023 season when they won five straight, and don't come in here qualifying what they've done, like, aw, they only beat the Raiders like many did three games ago. But now, in order, they dropped the Eagles to 8-3, and don't think they wouldn't be looking over their shoulders if the Bears cause them a problem Friday afternoon. Followed that up by silencing all that "Chieeefffs" baloney echoing through AT&T Thursday, humbling them cats to 6-6.
Mighty dang impressive.
Want more?
These are two straight come-from behind victories over five days, this last one after trailing 7-0, 14-7 and the 21-20.
This is two straight games slashing what had thought to be credible defenses, first the Eagles for 473 total yards and then four days later the 457 dump on the Chiefs, turning into what we'erew going to call Defense Busters.
Nothing the Chiefs could do to prevent the return of CeeDee Lamb dropping right on their heads a seven-catch, 112-yard receiving performance, including one touchdown. Nothing they could do to contain George Pickens, six more catches for 88 yards, and get this during the Cowboys touchdown drive and ensuing two-point conversion, GP awoke for three catches (39 yards, 11 and 2 on the two-point conversion) to vault the Cowboys into a 28-21, lead erasing that one-point deficit with 11:15 to play.
Oh, mercy me, you know that team that supposedly couldn't run straight, everyone knocking the front office for not spending big on a running back. Well, let's see, put 137 ground yards on the KC defense, the 11th 100-yard rushing performance in 12 games and seventh straight. Anyone still with doubts about Javonte Williams, and how 'bout that Malik Davis, the one-time guy released and then only re-signed to the practice squad before the 53, exploding for a 43-yard touchdown run right up the Chiefs gut, the Cowboys longest of the season, the two combining for 106 of those yards on just 20 carries?
"I I don't know if there's a bigger fan in our locker room than me for Malik Davis," Dak Prescott said of Davis, who one play after his touchdown run makes the tackle on the ensuing kickoff return. "And you can ask some guys in there, whether it be Will Grier, whether it be some of the coaches. I've been a Malik fan since from Day 1."
And sorry, can't help myself, since Dak's name just came up. But do you believe, and that's to the naysayers, too, or particularly those players voting Dak in the preseason NFL Top 100 poll but 79th, incredibly the second to last quarterback, in this Dak Prescott? Let's see, against the Chiefs, Dak slashed 320 yards passing, 69.2 percent completions, two touchdowns (OK, one pick to start the game off) and another 100.4 QB rating, his fourth 300-yard passing game of the season, seventh 100.0 QB rating of 2025, eighth multiple-touchdown game and third straight. Tony Romo in the booth personally witnessing Dak knocking him off the top of Cowboys all-time charts one by one.
Anyone out there topping all that?
And how remiss would we be if we did not bow down to the offensive line, one having to replace starting left tackle Tyler Guyton in this game (high ankle sprain) with backup Nate Thomas. Not only did those guys, along with the tight ends and fullback Hunter Luepke, ignite this running game, but Dak was not sacked even once. And not sure if this was some crowning achievement award, but when the entire offense gathered around the postgame, on-field turkey celebration, and this after the kneel-down, victory formation up-and-down nod instituted by Tom Landry back in the day, there was rookie guard Tyler Booker with the funky turkey head hat on, turning the stalwart Chiefs veteran Chris Jones into a non-factor all but that one play the first series.
Yep, you win, and you get the turkey legs. You get the breasts, wings and entire carcass right there on the postgame TV show. You get the John Madden Thanksgiving Trophy. You get the Preston Road Trophy, the one that goes back and forth between the Jones and Kansas City Hunt family owners that presiding Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt brought to the game, he and Jerry sharing a photo-op on field beforehand.
But most of all, the Cowboys got the W, immediately depositing that sucker in the win column before anyone else this week has a chance, moving that record to 6-5-1 thanks to those three wins in 11 days, the first time all season they have hovered above .500,
That right there, head coach Brian Schottenheimer was most of all thankful for, able to celebrate with his mom, wife and two kids, along with finally revealing his dad Marty's NFL player card has been stuffed into his pocket during the past few games. And to think it was 30 years ago Thanksgiving Day dad Marty was coaching these Chiefs against the Cowboys, a game the Cowboys won the last time the two franchises once sharing the Cotton Bowl met on Thanksgiving.
"I think we're playing good football," Schotty said. "I don't want to minimize that. I think you guys know what we're capable of on offense. I think the defense, again, has just taken so many strides over the last couple of weeks. When I watch our defense play, man, I see violence, I see passion. I see everybody running to the football."
Me, I see 28 points, and that might not seem much of an accomplishment, but these were the Chiefs, that was Patrick Mahomes and Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce out there. And that's four of the past five games giving up less than 30 points. And don't give me one of those sarcastic yawns. Why, after holding the Eagles to 24 points in the season opener, a four-point Cowboys loss, five of the next seven opponents scored at least 30 points against the Cowboys, Denver a high of 44 and the Packers 40 in the overtime tie among that cluster.
Now for recent history, but 17, 21, 28, all in a row.
And after giving up at least 136 yards rushing in six of the first eight games, the defense limiting the Chiefs to 119 yards rushing, again steps in the right direction.
Oh, and consider this: At one point in the game the Cowboys were playing without veteran safety Malik Hooker, this past Sunday's starting corner Caelen Carson (hamstring/inactive) and veteran starter DaRon Bland (foot), meaning they were out there trying to contain Mahomes with two rookie corners, Shavon Revel playing in just his third NFL game/first start and Trikweze Bridges, and a second-year Reddy Steward in the slot.
"I think those guys, they're going to battle," Schottenheimer said. "I watch those guys every day in practice and they're going to battle," then going on to point out when those in-game injuries occur, no matter who has to go in to play, that you "don't have time to worry about it because the game keeps going on."
Brother this one did, the Cowboys taking all these steps in the right direction.
Yep, just all of it here of late.
"On top of where we've put ourselves right before these games and just the place that we're in of having to get these wins against two elite teams, I mean the two teams that played in the Super Bowl lastyear," Dak said, and he knows, "last year's last year. But you're talking about two organizations that obviously know how to win and we just beat them both in two great games, as you said in four days, and just showing the resiliency of this unit, of this brotherhood on top of everything that we've been through, yeah, I don't know if there's been two more impressive wins.
"But I can tell you right now that we're not going to just sit on some high because of that. We know we've got a big one coming again next week. And all this really does for us is just give us more confidence knowing that we can go play with whoever."
And whoever becomes the Lions next Thursday night in Detroit, losers to the Packers earlier on Thanksgiving and after winning four of their first five games have now lost four of the past seven that includes two of the past three, dropping to 7-5, but a half game better than the resurgent Cowboys.
Just the next chance to continue figuring out before our very eyes "whoever" these Cowboys are actually becoming.
