The Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff hopes suffered a significant setback following their loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.
Despite a heroic performance from two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs came up short in their bid for a post-game ‘turducken’ feast on Thursday afternoon.
The future Hall of Fame signal-caller threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns. Still, in the end, it wasn’t enough to top Dak Prescott’s Cowboys, who walked out of ‘Jerry World’ with a 31-28 win and now hold back-to-back victories over last year’s Super Bowl teams after knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles, this past Sunday.
With the loss, the Chiefs dropped to 6-6 on the season. Still, they somehow managed not to drop any spots in the AFC playoff picture after the Cincinnati Bengals, with a returning Joe Burrow, upset the Baltimore Ravens in the Thanksgiving nightcap. This result saw the Pittsburgh Steelers gain the tiebreaker over the Ravens for the AFC North division.
However, while not falling any farther down in the AFC, the Chiefs find themselves with two more losses than the seventh-seeded Buffalo Bills, who travel to Pittsburgh for a massive game against the Steelers on Sunday afternoon.
Can The Chiefs Rally to Make the Playoffs?
Following Thursday’s action, PFSN’s Playoff Meter has the Chiefs with just the 10th-best odds to make the playoffs in the AFC, sitting at just 27.1% and a 1.7% chance to win the AFC West.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Chiefs, who head back home to Kansas City with 10 days to prepare for a Sunday Night Football showdown with the white-hot Houston Texans, who’ve won three straight games, boast one of the best defenses in the NFL, and are one week removed from wreaking havoc on Josh Allen and the Bills.
Patrick Mahomes Knows It’s ‘Must-Win’ From Here on Out
With a 6-6 record and the schedule not easing up, Mahomes and co. Know that the final five games of the regular season are all virtually a must-win.
“We’re going to play a lot of good teams coming up,” Mahomes said following Thursday’s loss. “If we’re going to make the playoffs, we’re going to have to win them all. That’s got to be the mindset when we step into the [training facility] when we get back.”
The Chiefs’ remaining schedule includes the aforementioned matchup with the Texans, as well as the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, and Denver Broncos, before their regular-season finale in Las Vegas against the Raiders.