ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 27: George Pickens #3 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates with a turkey leg following the victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in the game at AT&T Stadium on November 27, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 27: George Pickens #3 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates with a turkey leg following the victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in the game at AT&T Stadium on November 27, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
For half the season, it would have been very hard to argue that the Dallas Cowboys had any business playing in the NFL’s postseason. The offense produced, but the defense was among the worst in the league, and embarrassing losses to Chicago, Denver, Carolina and even the Cardinals piled up. But since the team was remade at the trade deadline, it’s looked much different in Dallas.
There was a dominant win over the lowly Raiders. Then there was a magical comeback against the defending-champ Eagles. And now, on Thanksgiving, there is the 31-28 victory over Kansas City, a win that brings Dallas to 6-5-1 and, according to The Athletic’s playoff predictor, gives them a 24% chance to land in the NFL’s postseason tournament.
Having beaten last year’s two Super Bowl contestants, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that not only do the Cowboys have a path to the playoffs but that if they should make it, none should call them phonies: They’ll have earned it, the hard way.
Cowboys ‘Deserve to Be There’ in Playoffs
Jones met with reporters in the bowels of the Cowboys home stadium on Thursday, holding a turkey leg and smiling broadly.
“We’ve got Detroit coming up this week,” Jones said when talking about the playoffs. “We can think a lot more about it, moreso from the team and the way we’re playing than I do the job we’ve got ahead of us relative to wins and losses. The way this team is playing, I think we’ve got a team that can sustain this and then, if we get a shot at it, deserve to be there.”
Jones was asked, too, whether he’s seen a two-game stretch so impressive as this one, given that the team had beaten back-to-back Super Bowl contestants. Said Jones: “Under the circumstances, I haven’t. I don’t remember a better job, two games back-to-back at home. Kansas City had a nice crowd here. And so it was really important to us to play the way we did.”
Jerry Jones
GettyJerry Jones of the Cowboys
Best Overall Effort From Cowboys in 2025
The Cowboys had as complete an effort as they’ve put up all season against the Chiefs, starting with 27-for-39 passing for 320 yards and two touchdowns by Dak Prescott. Both star receivers–CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens–took turns carrying the offense and the running game provided 137 yards on 26 carries.
The defense struggled to contain Patrick Mahomes, but came through with big plays when it needed to, holding the Chiefs to 5-for-13 on third downs and sacking Mahomes three times (Prescott was not sacked in the game).
With 452 yards of offense, to 362 for Kansas City, it was a strong Cowboys performance.
“I’ll say this, we’re playing good teams,” Jones said. “We’re playing really good, we’re playing good on both sides of the ball, really. I feel good about where we are compared to where we were. We’re playing teams that are hard to beat and don’t go easy, as you can see. What a thrill to compete at this level. I can’t say enough about how our defense has been shaping up.”