Cowboys shock Chiefs, igniting playoff hopes. Their improbable run reshapes the NFC picture and creates a dramatic surge in their postseason odds.
ARLINGTON - The Dallas Cowboys' season has a pulse.
Thursday's 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs here at AT&T Stadium keeps Dallas' season alive at 6-5-1, with the Detroit Lions up next week for Brian Schottenheimer's team.
We've written at length here of Dallas' brutal three-game gauntlet of the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and Detroit Lions, and how that stretch would make or break the Cowboys' season.
Well, they're 2-0, with a trip to the Lions to come. ... and a bit of clarity emerging in terms of the NFC Playoff Picture, which now stacks up this way ...
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Rams (9-2)
2. Eagles (8-3)
3. Bears (8-3)
4. Buccaneers (6-5)
WILD CARDS
5. Seahawks (8-3)
6. Packers (8-3-1)
7. 49ers (8-4)
8. Lions (7-5)
9. Cowboys (6-5-1)
10. Panthers (6-6)
Dallas actually advanced from the No. 10 slot with this win, but as you can see, the climb to be among the seven teams that make the postseason remains steep.
Oh, and it doesn't help that Dallas has losses against the Bears and the Panthers, while at the same time, a win at Detroit could be monumental.
There is this: Two weeks ago, Dallas' playoff chances were seen as being about 5 percent. Then it jumped to 11 percent. Now it's about 23 percent.
This is an accomplishment of sorts.
And what the locker room has done in the past two weeks isn't lost on Dak Prescott, who again willed his team to a win, going 27 of 39 for 320 yards with two touchdowns.
“I mean, the two teams that played in the Super Bowl last year, you're talking about two organizations that obviously know how to win, and we just beat them both in two great games in four days,” Prescott said. “Just showing the resiliency of this unit, this brotherhood, on top of everything that we've been through."
Given what was at stake back when the Cowboys faced the Las Vegas Raiders while dealing with the death of teammate Marshawn Kneeland? Well, the team got through that with a win.
Then to come from three TDs down against the Eagles to win 24-21?
Then to back up just a few days later against Mahomes and the Chiefs, put up 457 total yards, and 31 points to slay the current AFC champs?
All of it has Dak feeling a certain type of way.
"I don't know if there's been two more impressive wins, but I can tell you right now that we're not going to just sit on some high because of that," Prescott added. " We know we've got a big one coming again next week. All this really does for us is just give us more confidence knowing that we can go play with whoever.”
Added Dak: We can be whatever we want to be.''
Needing to win at least two of the three games in the "gauntlet," the Cowboys, performing well on both sides of the ball (credit coordinator Matt Eberflus and the front office trades for Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams for the defensive turnaround), will be confident heading into Ford Field next week.
Win that one, and suddenly, the season will take on a whole different look. And coach Brian Schottenheimer suddenly seems unconcerned about the quality of the opponent - maybe because of the quality of the Cowboys.
Said Schotty: "I've heard everybody talk about, 'Oh hey, they've got to play the Eagles, and then they got to play the Chiefs, and then the Lions and the Vikings.' We're going to play it.
"We'll play anybody, anywhere.''