ARLINGTON, Texas -- Coach Brian Schottenheimer wanted to bask in the glow of the Dallas Cowboys' improbable 24-21 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles just a little bit longer before wondering what remains possible with six games left.
He was hoping it could last until 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
"Who are we playing?" Schottenheimer said facetiously.
He knows the Kansas City Chiefs will be at AT&T Stadium on Thanksgiving (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS) -- and his history with the Chiefs runs deep. Schottenheimer's father, Marty, coached the Chiefs for 10 years. Brian graduated from nearby Blue Valley High School, where he played quarterback and won a Kansas state championship in 1991.
"The Chiefs are an incredible team," Schottenheimer said. "You look at what they've done, and I have firsthand knowledge of the organization, and they're terrific."
The Cowboys have won consecutive games for the first time in Schottenheimer's debut season as head coach. For the first time since Week 16 of last season, the Cowboys beat a team with a winning record (the Eagles are now 8-3).
At 5-5-1, the Cowboys' path to a playoff spot is most likely via the wild card, but even that is marked with potential potholes. The Cowboys lose head-to-head tiebreakers with the 8-3 Chicago Bears and 6-5 Carolina Panthers (who play Monday night versus the 49ers).
They play the Detroit Lions (7-4) a week after the Chiefs.
Following the Lions game, however, the Cowboys play one team with a winning the record the rest of the way (Week 16 versus the 7-4 Los Angeles Chargers).
After being down 21-0, the Cowboys stage a comeback, capped off by Brandon Aubrey's field goal as time expires.
"It's not one game at a time. We have to win every game," quarterback Dak Prescott said. "With that being said, you can only do that by winning every play and giving it your best every play. When you do that, can stay focused, and finish with elite execution, you're going to feel confident and good about what you've done. We just have to find that, and it really starts at practice and at these walkthroughs in the next couple of days getting ready for Kansas City."
In the past two games, the Cowboys' defense has allowed 37 combined points, 36 first downs and 575 yards, with three takeaways.
"We're going to be fighting; scratch, claw every play until it's over," defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said.
The Cowboys' offense has been hitting big plays all season. Javonte Williams is 104 rushing yards away from 1,000 on the season. Prescott, who became the Cowboys' all-time leader in passing yards versus the Eagles, has 24 touchdown passes.
And then there's George Pickens, acquired from the Steelers during the offseason and in the last year of his contract. He has a career-high 67 catches for 1,054 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games. With each game his price tag goes up as free agency beckons.
"He's not from here," Prescott said. "He's not from this planet. We lucked out getting a guy like that. We have to make sure we keep him."
But as good as it is right now, it might not be good enough in the end because of the Cowboys' struggles to start the season.
"Yeah, we've put ourselves in this position," Schottenheimer said. "I look back on certain games, I'm like, 'Man.' But you know, again, you can't focus on that. You've got to focus on the fact you're getting ready to play. We just beat the defending Super Bowl champions, getting ready to play the team that they played. And you know, you just go out and take each championship opportunity as its own.
"After 17 games, we're going to either be in the playoffs or not. But if we keep playing the way we're playing right now, I like our chances. A lot of these teams play each other. We play a lot of the teams that are ahead of us, and we'll see how it goes."