From an on-field perspective, Week 13's matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys is massive, as both teams continue to fight for their playoff hopes. Despite each team earning come-from-behind, season-saving victories on Sunday, both the Chiefs and Cowboys are 10th in their respective conference standings.
According to the Sportsline Projection Model, the Chiefs would have a 74% chance to reach the postseason with a win and just a 46% chance if they were to lose. For Dallas, the game is even more pivotal, as a loss tomorrow would drop them to a 6% chance at a postseason berth.
While the implications for this game are huge, it will also extend beyond what takes place between the white lines tomorrow. There is a strong connection between the Chiefs and Cowboys' head coach Brian Schottenheimer. The 52-year-old first-time head coach is the son of longtime NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, who roamed the Chiefs' sidelines from 1989 to 1998.
The elder Schottenheimer was an extremely successful head coach for over two decades for the Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders, and (at the time) San Diego Chargers. Schottenheimer recorded a regular season record of 200-126-1 and led his teams to the conference championship three times. He is currently a semifinalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the upcoming class of 2026.
A must-win Thursday matchup doubles as a generational crossroads for the Schottenheimer family.
During Schottenheimer's decade-long tenure in Kansas City, the Chiefs reached the postseason seven times, won the AFC West three times, and advanced to the AFC Championship game once in 1993. Prior to his arrival, the Chiefs were among the laughingstocks of the NFL, as they made the postseason just once in a seventeen-year timespan. Once Schottenheimer took the job after a successful tenure with the Cleveland Browns (yes, success in Cleveland—you read that right), the Chiefs became a perennial playoff contender and, in some cases, were a Super Bowl–caliber operation.
While Kansas City never reached the big game under Schottenheimer, the once-downtrodden franchise became a staple of the AFC postseason under him. The consistency the Chiefs had in the ’90s is even more impressive given that they rarely had a truly elite quarterback. The best signal-caller that Schottenheimer coached in Kansas City was Joe Montana in 1993 and 1994. While Montana was still a very good quarterback and even showed some vintage magic in the 1993 postseason, he wasn't quite at his peak, which had made him such a dominant player with the 49ers.
Outside of the Montana era, the likes of Steve Bono, Steve DeBerg, and Elvis Grbac had the starting quarterback duties under Schottenheimer. While these were solid starters, the Chiefs shared a conference with inner-circle Hall of Famers such as John Elway, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly, often putting them at a disadvantage at the game's most important position. Despite this, the Chiefs were constantly in the mix largely thanks to Schottenheimer's coaching prowess.
Brian Schottenheimer, who will look across the field from the opposing sideline, worked under his father with the Chiefs in 1998 as a coaching assistant. The Schottenheimers shared a coaching staff in Washington and San Diego, with Brian serving as the quarterbacks coach at both stops. Despite having no head coaching experience at any level, Schottenheimer was hired to lead the Cowboys this past January.
Schottenheimer's debut season has been impressive, as Dallas's offense leads the NFL in yards per game and ranks 4th in points per game. Schottenheimer has also gotten MVP-caliber play out of Dak Prescott, as the veteran quarterback is completing just south of 70% of his passes, has tossed 23 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions, and is posting a quarterback rating of 102.6. Prescott also leads the NFL in ESPN's QBR metric with a mark of 74.0.
Tomorrow's game represents many things. Two marquee franchises squaring off in a must-win game for both sides will create an excellent product. It also represents strong family connections between Schottenheimer and the Chiefs, as he will coach against the team his father helped revive and had great success with for a decade. Kansas City is also where Schottenheimer got his second coaching job at the professional level.
Schottenheimer also reflected on watching his dad's Chiefs face off against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving during the 1995 season. When asked about this in Tuesday's press conference, the first-year head coach facetiously said, "The Cowboys won? Good for the Cowboys. Sorry Dad, I'm a Cowboy now."
Despite all of this, there should be no love lost for either team or coaching staff once the ball is kicked off tomorrow afternoon. Both Schottenheimer and Andy Reid will have to prepare their teams for quick turnarounds following their season-saving victories just four days ago. While Reid will look to keep his team's playoff aspirations alive against his former division rival, Schottenheimer will have the opportunity to do so against the franchise his father is a historical pillar of.