Arrowhead Pride
On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs face the Dallas Cowboys. We welcome David Halprin of Blogging The Boys— our sister SB Nation site covering the Cowboys — for Five Questions with the Enemy.
I kind of feel that way about every game they play from here on out. Even after beating the Eagles on Sunday, the Cowboys are still three games back in the win column for a run at the NFC East. Additionally, Dallas is 10th in the NFC playoff rankings, meaning either the Eagles or a few other teams need to fall apart for any chance at the playoffs. So losing games now feels like it is over as far as the playoffs are concerned. Even now, the odds are slim: a loss would really hurt any remaining chance.
The Cowboys’ offense is built around two things. One is Javonte Williams providing a credible running threat to keep defenses honest about that part of the game. Williams has done that for most of the year with a lot of inside runs that the Cowboys’ offensive line does a good job of blocking up. Williams is a strong, violent runner who always seems to fall forward for extra yards. He’s not a home run hitter, but he grinds out the yards. The other pillar is the George Pickens/CeeDee Lamb duo — especially Pickens, who now is as hot as any receiver not named Smith-Njigba. Pickens on the slant is money — and his ability to high-point balls with his huge catch radius makes him a threat deep even when he is covered. The Cowboys are going to try and pound Williams through the interior to keep the Chiefs defense honest, then exploit the passing game with Pickens/Lamb — plus tight end Jake Ferguson. It’s a very well-rounded attack.
The guy who has to come up big this week is left tackle Nate Thomas. The Cowboys regular left tackle, Tyler Guyton, sprained his ankle in the Eagles game; he won’t play on Thursday. Thomas has had to play some games already this year because of injury or poor play by right tackle Terence Steele, but this will be different because it’s such a high-profile, pressure game against a dangerous opponent. Thomas is in his second year, was only a seventh-round draft pick and was on injured reserve all of his rookie year. He has to anchor down the left side of the line. Otherwise, the Cowboys’ vertical passing game — which they rely on a lot — won’t be able to function. Fortunately, Thomas has played pretty well in his limited role so far, so there is some confidence he can handle it.
