<
        >

          Dak Prescott outdueled Patrick Mahomes in Cowboys' win

          play
          Bart Scott: Cowboys would be 'most dangerous out' if they make the playoffs (0:45)

          Bart Scott praises Dak Prescott and details why the Cowboys would be the most dangerous team if they make the playoffs. (0:45)

          • Todd ArcherNov 28, 2025, 10:30 AM ET
            Close
              Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010.
            Follow on X

          ARLINGTON, Texas -- Dak Prescott did not view Thursday's game as him against Patrick Mahomes. It was the Dallas Cowboys against the Kansas City Chiefs.

          While Mahomes was magical, throwing four touchdown passes and showing the ability to wiggle out of constant pressure to keep the Chiefs in the game until the end, Prescott matched the three-time Super Bowl champion with defining moments of his own in the Cowboys' 31-28 win against the Chiefs.

          It started after Mahomes gave Kansas City a 21-20 lead on the second play of the fourth quarter with his second fourth-down touchdown pass of the game.

          Facing third-and-8 from the Chiefs' 45, Prescott hit receiver George Pickens on a slant and saw the receiver deke one cornerback (Jaylen Watson) and hurdle another (Trent McDuffie) for a 39-yard gain.

          But what Prescott did on third-and-goal from the 3, as well as the subsequent 2-point play, was downright Mahomesian.

          Feeling pressure from his left, Prescott stepped up into the pocket and looked like he might try to run in the end zone until quickly flipping the ball to running back Javonte Williams, who scored.

          "Javonte kind of waved me down, showing me it was open," Prescott said. "That's just backyard football. That play's Javonte as much as it is me."

          Before the 2-point play, the communication system between the coach and quarterback went out. Prescott had to move closer to the sideline. When he heard the first two words from Schottenheimer, he knew the play.

          After the snap, Prescott was almost suffocated again, but he spun to his left to give him some space and fired a pass to the front pylon to Pickens, who tapped his toes on the blue turf to give the Cowboys a 28-21 lead.

          "I was just trying to make something happen with my feet," Prescott said. "Felt like I escaped around the backside, was able to get out of that tackle. And when I did, GP just gave me a great answer, was just being right there at the front pylon and made a hell of a catch."

          But Prescott knew the job wasn't done. Not with Mahomes on the other side. Starting at the Dallas 10 with 9:26 to play, it seemed a perfect time to run the ball and kill some clock. Except head coach Brian Schottenheimer had CeeDee Lamb -- who dropped three passes Sunday versus the Philadelphia Eagles -- run a deep route, and Prescott delivered a 51-yard completion.

          "Wasn't that hard of a throw. And you've got a guy like that, you just put some air under it and let him go make the play, which he did," Prescott said. "And so we're confident in what we do and Schotty is going to call those type of plays when we're in that situation. We want to win the game and we're not playing to lose."

          While that drive was nearly done in by a Pickens' fumble, only to be saved by KaVontae Turpin's recovery, the Cowboys were able to take a 10-point lead with a Brandon Aubrey field goal.

          "It's pretty easy to call plays when you have good players," Schottenheimer said. "And I mean that, I really do. I've called plays for a long time and usually the plays work a lot better when you have really good players."

          Prescott was at or near his best after his second pass attempt of the game was intercepted. He finished with two touchdown passes (Lamb and Williams). He completed 27 of 39 passes for 320 yards. He was not sacked.

          "Resilience, man," Lamb said of Prescott's answer to the turnover. "He's the leader. He's the epitome of that. He's the heart of this team. We protect [No.] 4."

          Mahomes would not go away. A 42-yard completion after he eluded Quinnen Williams and Donovan Ezeiruaku came four plays before his fourth touchdown pass with 3:27 to play to cut the gap to 31-28.

          Mahomes would not touch the ball again. Two pass interference penalties helped, but Prescott effectively ended the game with a 13-yard slant to Pickens at the two-minute warning.

          From there he was able to kneel three times and win against the Chiefs -- and Mahomes, who is now 1-1 versus Prescott.

          "Hopefully we can play again," Prescott said, "and hopefully we can play again on a bigger stage, in a more meaningful game sooner rather than later."