Washington (AFP) – Patrick Mahomes leads the Kansas City Chiefs into Dallas on Thursday’s US Thanksgiving holiday in a game both teams must win to stay in serious NFL playoff contention. Mahomes, trying to lead the Chiefs into the Super Bowl for the sixth time in seven seasons, has Kansas City one game out of an AFC wildcard playoff berth at 6-5 while the Cowboys are 5-5-1, two games out of an NFC playoff spot.
“You grow up watching Thanksgiving games no matter who you are a fan of,” Mahomes said. “That kid in me wants to go out there and play on Thanksgiving and find a way to win. We’re excited to play on Thanksgiving against a really good team with the whole world watching. More than anything we just want to win. If you’re going to be in front of everybody, you want to win the game.”
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Mahomes, who attended Cowboys games with his father as a child, must lift the injury-hit Chiefs in a short week of preparation. “Everybody is banged up at this time of the year. You have to be able to fight through that and play your best,” Mahomes said. “Coming up on a short week, everybody is grinding in here right now, making sure we get the whole game plan in and making sure everybody is ready to go.”
The Cowboys matched the greatest fightback to win in team history last week, rallying from 21-0 down to defeat reigning champion Philadelphia 24-21. “It’s vital, you’ve got to reset. That was a great win, tough win, emotional coming back from down 21, but it was only to be celebrated that night,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said. “Especially on the short week, you’ve got to move forward, got to get on your film, got to find a way to crunch five days into two or three days.”
Now they are at home against the Chiefs for the first time since 2017 after Kansas City rallied from 20-9 down to beat Indianapolis 23-20 in overtime on Sunday. “I think we’re hitting our stride and it’s all coming together,” Dallas defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said. “We’re all putting our heads together and executing as one.”
Prescott respects Mahomes and the Chiefs. “We know how talented this team is coming in. We know how important it is to start fast, and that’s our focus,” Prescott said. Asked what he respects about three-time Super Bowl champion Mahomes, Prescott said, “Everything in his game. Talent jumps out, but you watch a guy who plays with pure passion, who’ll do anything it takes to win… trying to make the extra play, never giving up on a play, has the ability to throw it back across his body. What I respect most is just his will to win.”
Other Thursday holiday matchups include Green Bay (7-3-1) at Detroit (7-4) and Cincinnati (3-8) at Baltimore (6-5) with Chicago visiting Philadelphia in a Friday matchup of 8-3 division leaders. Green Bay clings to a wildcard playoff spot just ahead of Detroit while AFC North division leader Baltimore tops Pittsburgh (6-5) on tiebreakers with the Steelers playing host to Buffalo (7-4) on Sunday. The Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo hold AFC wildcard playoff berths at 7-4 with Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Houston one game adrift.
Friday’s Bears at Philadelphia showdown is crucial as well, with each team trailing the Los Angeles Rams by a game in the fight for the NFC top seed and a playoff first-round bye. On Sunday, the Rams (9-2) will visit Carolina (6-6). Just behind the Rams in the NFC West are San Francisco (8-4), which visits Cleveland (3-8), and Seattle (8-3), which plays host to Minnesota (4-7). Seattle, San Francisco, and Green Bay own the three NFC wildcard playoff spots with Detroit a half-game out. Denver (9-2) takes an eight-game win streak to Washington on Sunday while NFL overall leader New England (10-2) seeks a 10th consecutive victory on Monday against the visiting New York Giants.
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