Sportsnaut
The NFL Thanksgiving slate kicked off with the Green Bay Packers pulling off an impressive win over the Detroit Lions in an NFC battle with huge playoff implications. Once that wrapped up, we got an equally fantastic duel between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from the Chiefs vs Cowboys matchup on Thanksgiving Day at AT&T Stadium.
The only reason Dak Prescott gets a bad rap nationally is because he just so happens to be the Cowboys quarterback. Prescott came into Thanksgiving Day with a 20-4 TD-INT, 110.2 QB rating, and a 68.4 percent completion rate in his last eight games, but Dallas only had a 4-3-1 record to show for it because of its defense. Now, Prescott has a league-average defense, and it’s made all the difference in highlighting what he can do. After that game-opening interception on his second throw of the night, Prescott completed 26-of-37 attempts for 320 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and a 114.5 QB rating. He also delivered some money throws, including that downfield strike to Lamb in the fourth quarter to set up a critical score and precision darts to Lamb and Pickens to ice the victory. Ignore the star on his helmet and simply recognize that Prescott is one of the game’s top quarterbacks.
On the one hand, we understand that this is just who Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is, and it’s never going to change. It’s just maddening to see that in a must-win game for a team that already has five losses, Reid coached this one like Kansas City already had a playoff spot locked up. The biggest issues came early. First, on 4th-and-5 from the Cowboys’ 49-yard line in the third quarter. A coach with Rice, Travis Kelce, and Patrick Mahomes should go for it in this situation. Reid punted it. Later in the third quarter, still trailing 17-14, the Chiefs offense had the football on the Cowboys’ 44-yard line with a 4th-and-4 attempt. Again, in a situation where the data screams to go for it, Reid punted. Those two calls cost Kansas City 8.9 percent in win probability. The Chiefs ended up losing, and they are now 6-6 on the season.
It’s truly remarkable how much better this Chiefs offense is when Rashee Rice is on the field and getting peppered with targets. Just four days ago, he drew a season-high in targets (12) and took over in the second half on the way to a 141-yard game with 8 receptions. Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day, Patrick Mahomes made sure his top receiver feasted in his return to Texas. Rice’s numbers, including his second consecutive 90-yard game, are impressive. What really stood out, of course, is the phenomenal fourth-down grab he made in the end zone for his second score of the day....
