Chiefs News 11/28: Patrick Mahomes admits margin for error now gone

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QB Patrick Mahomes acknowledges Chiefs’ tough road ahead | ESPN

“You’ve got to win every game now — and hope that’s enough,” Mahomes said of the Chiefs’ attempt to make the postseason with five games left in the regular season.

With a 6-6 record and outside the AFC’s playoff picture, the Chiefs’ chances of clinching a postseason berth dropped Thursday from 63% to 47%, according to ESPN Analytics. All five games remaining on the Chiefs’ schedule, starting Dec. 7 against the Houston Texans, will be against AFC opponents, too. Mahomes understands that every game for the Chiefs is essentially a play-in game to keep their playoff hopes alive.

“We’re going to play a lot of good teams coming up,” Mahomes said. “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.”

Chiefs-Cowboys on Thanksgiving: What We Learned from Dallas’ 31-28 win | NFL.com

Chiefs’ miscues come back to haunt. Patrick Mahomes nearly pulled off another epic comeback, stacking how-did-he-do-that plays, particularly late in the game, to cut the Cowboys’ double-digit lead. However, the miscues and a mid-game lull spelled doom. Following back-to-back early scoring drives to open the game, the offense went cold. Four straight Chiefs drives sputtered over the second and third quarters, despite crossing midfield on each possession. The hiccup allowed the Cowboys to take control of the contest in the middle frames. Mahomes engineered a comeback bid, but the defense’s inability to slow Dak Prescott stung. Drops peppered the offensive problems, but penalties on both sides of the ball were K.C.’s biggest bugaboo. Andy Reid’s squad was penalized 10 times for 119 yards on the day, including multiple holds and big defensive pass interference calls. It’s not the winning ball that the Chiefs have been known for the past decade. The loss pushed K.C. to 6-6, putting its 10-year playoff streak on life support.

Chiefs-Cowboys takeaways: George Pickens, Dak Prescott spark win, boost playoff hopes | The Athletic

Losing the numbers game

Chiefs coach Andy Reid admits he determines his team’s fourth-down decisions by feel, but his intuition seemed to let him down in this one.

With the Chiefs trailing by three in the third quarter, Reid elected to punt on a fourth-and-4 from the Cowboys’ 44.

According to NFL analyst Ben Baldwin’s fourth-down bot, that single decision to punt instead of going for it reduced the Chiefs’ win probability from 52 percent to 45 percent. It’s difficult for that big of a swing to take place on a single coach’s decision.

The rest of the game only solidified why the Chiefs shouldn’t have willingly surrendered a possession. Dallas went field goal, touchdown, field goal on its next three drives, putting the game out of reach when K.C. was still trying to play catch-up. — Newel

2025 NFL Week 13 Winners and Losers and Top Takeaways | Bleacher Report

Chiefs Takeaway: The defense has become a major problem

Double-digit penalties (five of which were defensive holding or pass interference), no sacks and no turnovers. That’s not a recipe for success. The Chiefs went the entire month of November without forcing a turnover on defense, and they now have just two sacks in their last three games.

They got their hands on Prescott no more than a handful of times in Thursday’s loss.

No wonder they struggled to get off the field on third down, wasting a strong performance from Mahomes and a stellar start from an offense that converted all three of its red-zone opportunities.

The offense has been inconsistent and mistake-prone, too, but it’s a lot easier to envision Mahomes carrying that unit to contention than it is to envision a fading Chris Jones or anyone else getting this D back on track.

Loser: Chris Jones, Chiefs

The six-time Pro Bowler might be having the worst season of his career. He made some plays in Dallas, but he didn’t impact Prescott at all. The defense needs him to step up, but the 31-year-old has just three sacks in 12 games.

Not ideal for one of the 10 highest-paid defensive players in the sport.

This defense may need a makeover in a few months.

Chiefs’ season on life support after Thanksgiving loss to Cowboys | Yardbarker

Key takeaway: Kansas City Chiefs’ season on life support

The Chiefs (6-6) have been a playoff fixture for a decade, but their dynasty could be crumbling. With Thursday’s loss, Kansas City likely must run the table to qualify for the postseason. We can’t completely rule out quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has never missed the playoffs, but at No. 10 in the AFC standings, time is running out for the Chiefs to get into the playoff field.

Around the NFL

Packers’ Jordan Love feasts on Thanksgiving with 4 TDs in win | ESPN

The Green Bay Packers probably wouldn’t mind if the NFL scheduled them for a Thanksgiving game again next year. And the year after. And the year after that.

Jordan Love and Micah Parsons feasted on holiday football once again. The Packers quarterback and defensive star brought a few others along for the ride in Thursday’s 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions.

Love stayed perfect on Turkey Day. The Packers have played on this day during all three years that he has been the starting quarterback and they won every time, with Love playing better each year. This time, it was with four touchdown passes, including a pair on fourth down.

Parsons, a regular participant on this day from his time with the Dallas Cowboys, added another 2.5 sacks against the Lions to run his career Thanksgiving total to 8.5 sacks in five games.

Ravens vs. Bengals score: Cincinnati forces 5 turnovers, rolls in Joe Burrow’s return | CBS Sports

Joe Burrow looked smooth in his return

The big storyline coming into Thursday night was the return of Burrow. Pregame, the NBC broadcast highlighted how the Bengals quarterback was wearing a metal plate in his cleat to help stabilize his turf toe injury that kept him out since Week 2. Watching him throughout the contest, it was hard to see Burrow in any sort of discomfort, and the veteran moved around quite normally. He seemed to move up and down the pocket with fluidity and was able to roll out to his right on several occasions without any limitations.

He also seemed to get more comfortable as the game went on, completing 64% of his passes in the second half for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs-Cowboys: 3 instant takeaways from Thanksgiving loss to Cowboys

CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens dominated Chiefs’ coverage

Going into the game, it was clear that wide receiver CeeDee Lamb would be a top-tier challenge for the Chiefs’ star cornerback Trent McDuffie. That was obvious from Dallas’ first touchdown drive. Lamb beat McDuffie to convert two third downs, the second ending in a 15-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone.

Lamb continued to be a difference-maker for the Cowboys’ offense throughout the game, whether or not he completed catches; he drew three defensive pass interference flags from McDuffie.

Lamb chipped away at the Chiefs, totaling 112 yards over seven catches. The attention on Lamb started opening up opportunities for wide receiver George Pickens, who began to take over as Dallas’ top playmaker in the second half.

Pickens finished the game as the team leader in targets (13), accumulating 88 yards over six catches. Like Lamb, Pickens made positive plays by drawing pass interference calls in crucial situations.

Down 7 points in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs sent McDuffie on a blitz, leaving safety Chamarri Conner in single coverage against Lamb down the field. The lobbed pass was hauled in for a 51-yard gain that helped Dallas take a 10-point lead.

Lamb and Pickens helped close out the game by overwhelming the Chiefs’ defensive backs on the last drive, moving the chains until Dallas was able to kneel for the victory.

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