The Kansas City Chiefs are used to the primetime slot. Playing on the holidays is nothing new for them after battling on Christmas Day the last couple of years. But for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, the Chiefs will play on Thanksgiving. This week's trip takes place in arguably the foremost spot on the trio of turkey day games- Dallas.
It is fair to wonder if the Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys will set Thanksgiving viewership records, given the status of both franchises. But if Kansas City is going to have a happy Thanksgiving, it will take a reverse of the road blues the Chiefs have endured this season.
Even as up and down as this season has been, the Chiefs are a spectacular 5-1 at home. K.C. has won five straight games at Arrowhead Stadium since losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the home opener. But on the road? The Chiefs are a horrific 1-4 on the year.
Their lone road win of the season was against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. And even that trip was not the prettiest under the bright lights. Kansas City downed the Giants 22-9, thanks to some key catches in crucial moments by Tyquan Thornton.
Comparing home/away splits
When you look at some of the numbers, the most basic items in the game are quite unbearable when the Chiefs are on the road. Let's compare some marks on the road versus when Kansas City is at home in 2025.
Home: 166 points scored, 27.6 points scored per game, 84 points allowed, 14 points allowed per game
Away: 111 points scored, 22.2 points scored per game, 117 points allowed, 23.4 points allowed per game
The Chiefs just have not played any clean outings on the road. When going up against the Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, and Denver Broncos, the Chiefs were chasing the game from the jump on the scoreboard. Kansas City blew a lead in Jacksonville, of course. And against the Giants, it was far too shaky against one of the league's most unaligned organizations.
For the most part at home, they battled back quickly if they were trailing early. Unlike the road trips, where it felt like they were playing panicked and rushed when trailing. The Chiefs have been able to dive into a deeper bag of tricks on offense at home. Simply put, the run game has been given more manageable opportunities in those circumstances, compared to the road. That showed just last Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. And in the passing game, there has been more creativity and less hurried attempts when Mahomes is on his home turf.
Cowboys have answered in wild games in Jerry World
The Cowboys have had some wild games take place at home this season. Jerry World was treated to an amazing comeback just this past week against the division rival Philadelphia Eagles. That was the first time in Eagles' franchise history that they had lost when leading by 21 points or more.
Dallas also won an improbable game with offensive fireworks against the Giants there early in the season. And in what resulted in a tie, the Cowboys outplayed the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football early on as well.
The Cowboys sit at 3-1-1 at home this season. Dallas has gone just 2-4 on the road. Brian Schottenheimer's team has averaged 33 points scored at home this season. Their lone home loss was the only time in which Dallas did not score 24 points or more on home turf this season. It is also important to note that the Cowboys are averaging 29.4 points allowed per game at home.
Even on the road, Dallas is averaging 27.8 points allowed per game. The Cowboys have one of the more fun and dynamic offenses when Dak Prescott and the weapons are rolling. But with shaky defensive play week to week, it has left the Cowboys to play in many shootouts.
Can Chiefs get comfortable if game breaks into shootout?
Can the Chiefs remain settled or under control enough if the game turns into a shootout on the road? Mahomes was involved in plenty of those in the state of Texas throughout his college career. But in this current NFL season, he and his weapons have been looking for any sort of consistency in hostile environments.
Part of reversing this year's road blues may include what we saw against Indianapolis. Running the ball more often from under center seemed to relax things a bit. The Cowboys have not been the greatest run defense this season, by far. Though, it is better in recent weeks than it was early in the season, due to the Quinnen Williams trade acquisition.
In the passing game, the Chiefs may look for the same yards after catch and explosive gains that they got on Sunday. If that materializes, we may finally see Kansas City get into a road groove when everything is essentially a must-win from here on out. Finishing and capitalizing on opportunities is going to be the main difference if the Chiefs are to get improved results on the road.