It’s only been two weeks, but there’s little doubt that the difference is obvious. The Cowboys defense came back from the bye week with two new weapons–lineman Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson–on hand, as well as a raft of players returning from injuries. the defensive backfield has been reset. The linebackers are completely new. The defensive front added an All-Pro.
The Cowboys allowed just 37 points combined in the past two weeks, after allowing 30.8 per game in the first nine weeks of the season.
It’s been a more aggressive bunch all around, and for the Cowboys next critical showdown–they are all critical at this point–the opponent happens to be the Chiefs, the AFC’s Super Bowl team for five of the past six seasons. And Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who grew up a Cowboys fan in Texas, has taken notice.
Patrick Mahomes: Cowboys ‘Playing at a Higher Level’
Speaking to Kansas City media this week, Mahomes made clear that he will need to be on his toes on Thursday. Mahomes and the Chiefs–like the Cowboys–are coming off an emotionally draining comeback win on Sunday, rallying from a 20-9 fourth-quarter deficit to seal a 23-20 overtime win over the Colts. The Cowboys rallied from 21-0 down in the first half to win their game against the Eagles.
Mahomes even praised defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who was nearly run out of town on rails early in the year.
“Obviously, they’ve been in the scheme a little bit longer and then they’ve gotten, they’ve added players, they’ve also gotten players healthy,” Mahomes said. “You see that they’re playing at a higher level than they were playing at the beginning of the year. That comes with being more comfortable with the scheme that you’re in. And so, they’re coached really well by coach Eberflus.
“They fly around to the football and they’re kind of in the same situation as us, it’s kind of all on the line. You have to go out there every single week and play your best football. And they’ve responded these last few weeks and played really good football, so it will be a great challenge for us.”
Both Teams Badly Need a Win
Indeed, the Chiefs will come in at 6-5, and like the 5-5-1 Cowboys, a disappointment. But Kansas City’s road to the AFC playoffs is a lot easier than the road shapes up for the Cowboys in the NFC, where seven teams are 7-4 or better. Whether they can do that will depend largely on Mahomes, who has had his struggles but is playing better lately.
He managed a season-high 352 yards on Sunday. And he’ll have a little extra inspiration this week, because he will be at AT&T Stadium, where he used to watch games as a kid growing up in East Texas.
Patrick Mahomes Grew Up a Cowboys Fan
Mahomes talked about the Cowboys fandom of his youth before Thursday’s game.
“I went a good amount,” he said. “Once to the old stadium when I was really young. And then the new stadium, once it was built, my dad could get us into the bottom area where the Cowboys would come out. So, we’d get the nosebleed seats and just go down there the whole game. I don’t know if that is allowed. But it was really cool, making memories with my dad, my brother and stuff like that. Got to go probably three or four games growing up.
“It’s definitely going to be surreal being able to play them at the stadium I used to watch them at.”
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