The sun beamed and the stars aligned as Dak Prescott out-duelled Patrick Mahomes to inspire the Dallas Cowboys to a 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in a blockbuster Thanksgiving matchup at AT&T Stadium on Thursday.Â
CeeDee Lamb tormented Trent McDuffie on his way to seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, while a hurdling George Pickens feasted in unison with 88 yards as the focal-point tandem to the NFL's most potent passing attack.
Prescott finished 27 of 39 for 320 yards, two touchdowns and an opening-drive interception to keep Dallas alive at 6-5-1 amid increasingly-fine margins for two teams scrapping for their playoff fate.
Trailing 31-21 with four minutes to play, Mahomes conjured trademark heroics when he somehow managed to keep his feet while stumbling out of a collapsing pocket before leaping over a diving tackle attempt and unleashing a 42-yard off-platform, off-balance strike to Xavier Worthy.
He would turn it into a 10-yard touchdown strike to Hollywood Brown to pull within three with 3.27 remaining, only to see an ice-cold Prescott steer the Cowboys to victory formation.
Mahomes went 23 of 34 for 261 yards and four touchdowns while being sacked three times as the Chiefs slipped to 6-6 in another dent to their postseason hopes.
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From Rashee Rice to Pickens, X Factor receivers traded excellence at the beginning of a frantic fourth quarter engrained in playoff stakes and radiating a playoff atmosphere.
Both Mahomes' mayhem and magic had lifted the Chiefs on top at 21-20 in the opening seconds of the final stanza when he defied both odds and angle to float a three-yard touchdown pass to Rice on fourth-and-goal. Mahomes, who had no intention of allowing Andy Reid to send on the field goal unit, was seemingly sliding towards no man's land when he shifted left outside the pocket with defenders in his face before contorting his body and picking out his star receiver.
It capped an 11-play 80-yard drive - 49 of which came courtesy of Rice - to give the Chiefs a 21-20 advantage having seen the prime attraction to their third quarter be two Matt Araiza punts that landed inside the five-yard line.
Pickens ignited the reply with a 39-yard catch-and-run featuring a stunning hurdle, before making an 11-yard grab down at the three to tee up Prescott's scramble-and-strike touchdown flip to Javonte Williams for a 28-21 advantage. Pickens then celebrated with his arms out-stretched while looking to the heavens after reeling in the two-point conversion inside the pylon. He was unplayable, yet again.
Rice and Travis Kelce were guilty of sloppy drops on Kansas City's next drive to surrender possession back to the Cowboys. Prescott opened his reply with a 51-yard strike to Lamb from his own 10 before seeing Brandon Aubrey make it a 10-point game with a 26-yard field goal.
Late twists loomed when Mahomes' wizardry flipped the field on his 42-yard heave to Worthy, sustaining a march towards Brown's toe-tap touchdown at the back of the end zone to make it 31-28.
But the Cowboys would return to their bread and butter as Lamb drew the last of multiple pass interference penalties from McDuffie, before Pickens' 13-yard catch sealed the game.
A collision of NFL titans had hit frantic heights within minutes of kickoff when Prescott was intercepted by Jaylen Watson on just the third play of the game. The Chiefs needed just two minutes to, temporarily, dampen the Dallas crowd when Rice punished the pick with a 27-yard catch-and-run.
Steve Spagnuolo had adopted an aggressive blitz-heavy approach to try and disrupt Prescott, who harnessed the storm impressively as he led a 12-play 75-yard drive culminating in a 15-yard touchdown catch from Lamb, including a devastating double-move from the Cowboys receiver to lose McDuffie.
It was over to the Chiefs. Mahomes was able to rescue a third-and-14 with a 16-yard scramble down to the nine, before Kareem Hunt was stuffed on third-and-goal from the two. The two-time MVP would not be denied and linked up with Kelce on the ensuing play for a two-yard go-ahead touchdown.
Having pulled to within 14-10 through Brandon Aubrey's 49-yard field goal, Dallas went ahead when Malik Davis broke free up the middle for a 43-yard rushing touchdown at the end of an eight-play 85-yard possession featuring two third-down conversions.
Kansas City lost both rookie starting left tackle Josh Simmons and right tackle Jawaan Taylor to injuries during the game.
Reid's side return to Arrowhead to host the Houston Texans in Week 14, while the Cowboys are on the road against the Detroit Lions.
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