Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott on Thursday threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to a crucial 31-28 victory over Kansas City that further dimmed the Chiefs’ playoff hopes.
The Cowboys, who have now won three straight to revive their own post-season bid, withstood two fourth-down touchdown passes from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes threw for four touchdowns without an interception, but could not get Kansas City into the win column.
Photo: AP
CeeDee Lamb caught seven passes for 112 yards and the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the night.
Javonte Williams ran for 59 yards and caught a touchdown pass, while Malik Davis ran for a 43-yard touchdown for Dallas, who have beaten Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles and last year’s Super Bowl runners-up Kansas City in less than a week.
“We’re a hot team right now,” said Prescott, brandishing a turkey drumstick in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Chiefs got off to a quick start as Jaylen Watson intercepted Prescott on the third play from scrimmage to set the stage for a Kansas City touchdown, but the Cowboys took a 17-14 lead into halftime and pushed the advantage to 20-14 late in the third quarter before Mahomes found Rashee Rice with a three-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth to put Kansas City back on top 21-20.
Dallas responded with an eight-play, 68-yard drive capped by Prescott’s three-yard scoring pass to Williams and a two-point conversion for a 28-21 lead.
Brandon Aubrey’s 26-yard field goal pushed Dallas’ lead to 31-21 before Mahomes piloted another scoring drive, escaping two defenders to find Xavier Worthy with a 42-yard pass that set up a 10-yard scoring pass to Hollywood Brown with 3 minutes, 27 seconds left to play.
The Chiefs did not get another chance. Two pass interference penalties gave the Cowboys first downs, Prescott clinched another first down and Dallas ran down the clock.
The Cowboys improved to 6-5-1, second in the National Football Conference East behind the 8-3 Eagles. The Chiefs fell to 6-6 — third in the American Football Conference West and currently outside the playoff picture.
“At the end of the day you’ve just got to win every game and hope that’s enough,” Mahomes said.
Prescott said the Cowboys were already looking ahead to next week’s meeting with the Detroit Lions.
“We know we’ve got a big one coming again next week, and all this really does for us is give us more confidence,” he said.
The Lions’ playoff hopes took a hit with a 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love threw four touchdown passes, including two on fourth down, tying his career-high.
He added a game-sealing fourth-down pass to Dontayvion Wicks with 1:55 remaining.
“We knew what was at stake with this game,” Love said. “It’s a tight race. To be able to go out there on fourth down and execute, make some big-time plays, [that’s] the difference in that game right there.”
The Packers improved to 8-3-1, second in the National Football Conference North behind the 8-3 Chicago Bears.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow returned from a nine-game injury absence to lead the Bengals to a 32-14 victory in Baltimore that snapped the Ravens’ five-game winning streak.
Burrow, who had been sidelined by a toe injury, threw for two second-half touchdowns and the Bengals capitalized on five Ravens turnovers. That included an interception and two fumbles by quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has now gone three games without a touchdown pass.
The Bengals, who had lost eight of nine games without Burrows, remained in third place in the American Football Conference North at 4-8, while the Ravens fell to 6-6 — dropping a shade behind the 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers for the division lead.
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