I’m not revealing any major secrets here, but if the past 15 years or so that I’ve been intensely following the Dallas Cowboys training camp have taught me anything, it’s that rosters are largely set before the offseason program even begins, and most of the extra players brought in are little more than sparring and training partners for the roster locks.
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Chiefs vs. Cowboys: Three Bold Predictions As K.C. and Dallas Fight for Playoff Lives
The NFL’s Thanksgiving Day slate of football will continue on Thursday afternoon in Dallas as the Cowboys host the Chiefs for a 4:00 p.m. ET kickoff from AT&T Stadium.
Kansas City enters Week 13 coming off a massive overtime win against the Colts last Sunday that brought them to 6–5 on the season and kept their playoff hopes alive. Despite still not playing his best football, Patrick Mahomes got back to delivering when it mattered most—leading the offense to 14 unanswered points to close out the comeback while logging just his second 300-yard performance of the season.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, are winners of their last two after retooling their defense at the trade deadline. The team is sitting at 5–5–1 and is just outside the NFC playoff picture. With a win over the Eagles in their pocket and a matchup against the Lions upcoming, Dallas suddenly has a realistic path to returning to the postseason for the first time since 2022.
With a lot on the line this Thanksgiving afternoon, here are three bold predictions for Cowboys vs. Chiefs.
CeeDee Lamb hasn’t been nearly as productive as Dallas would like him to be over the last several weeks, but it’s not for a lack of trying.
Despite failing to tally a 100-yard game in over a month, Lamb has been targeted double-digit times in three of the Cowboys’ last four games. Drops, however, have become an issue—as the 26-year-old recorded his second three-drop performance of the season last Sunday against the Eagles.
With George Pickens garnering some much-deserved attention from the Chiefs’ secondary, expect Dak Prescott to continue feeding Lamb on Thursday afternoon—only this time, it pays off. Look for Lamb to post a season-high in receiving yards (115-plus) while also pacing Dallas in receptions as the former All-Pro gets back on track. ––Mike Kadlick
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The 2025 season hasn’t been the most productive for Kelce, as he’s still yet to record more than 91 receiving yards and hasn’t caught more than nine passes in any game this season. A matchup against the Cowboys’ defense may be the perfect recipe for him to turn in his best game of the campaign.
Two weeks ago against the Broncos, Kelce had nine catches on 13 targets for 91 yards and a touchdown in what was a vintage performance for the future Hall of Famer. I’m expecting him to have a Thanksgiving feast in Dallas, with even bigger numbers than he had in Week 10.
The Cowboys’ secondary has surrendered the third-most passing yards per game this season. Opponents have averaged 2.2 passing touchdowns per game against Dallas, second-most in the league. That all bodes well for Kelce, who I’m predicting will have his first game of the season with double-digit receptions, 100-plus yards, and more than one touchdown. ––Karl Rasmussen
Despite the Chiefs playing on what feels like every holiday since Mahomes took over as quarterback, Kansas City hasn’t suited up on Thanksgiving since 2006—when they beat the Broncos 19–10 at Arrowhead.
Now headed on the road, and with their backs against the wall as they look to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 2014, look for the Chiefs to make it two in a row on Turkey Day—though it won’t be easy.
In what will be not only an all-time classic, but also potentially the highest-rated game in NFL history, I’m predicting that—behind a three-touchdown performance from Mahomes—Kansas City will win 30–27 to keep their hopes alive for at least one more week. ––Kadlick
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That is the stark reality of NFL life.
Injuries, standout performances in camp, and the occasional suspension provide the opportunity for maybe a handful of players each year to work their way onto the roster, but that’s pretty much it.
To get a better feeling for what the contested spots could be on the 2026 Cowboys roster, I took a look at three separate roster projections. One from from our old friend Mike Fisher at CowboysRoundtable.com, one from the always reliable Jon Machota of The Athletic, and one from our very own Connor Livesay.
These three projections should give us a good idea of where public sentiment currently stands regarding the 2026 Cowboys roster. I’ve combined all three projections in the tables below, one for the offense and one for defense and special teams combined. The tables highlight (in yellow) the spots that do not yet appear to be locked down. Look closely, and you’ll see there aren’t many of those spots left, at least if these projections are anything to go by.
| POS | Machota | Fisher | Livesay | ||
| Quarterbacks | Prescott | Prescott | Prescott | ||
| Milton | Milton | Milton | |||
| Running Backs | J. Williams | J. Williams | J. Williams | ||
| Luepke | Luepke | Luepke | |||
| Blue | Blue | Blue | |||
| Mafah | |||||
| Wide Receivers | Lamb | Lamb | Lamb | ||
| Pickens | Pickens | Pickens | |||
| Flournoy | Flournoy | Flournoy | |||
| Turpin | Turpin | Turpin | |||
| Mingo | Mingo | Holden | |||
| Tight Ends | Ferguson | Ferguson | Ferguson | ||
| Spann-Ford | Spann-Ford | Spann-Ford | |||
| Schoonmaker | Schoonmaker | Schoonmaker | |||
| Trigg | Trigg | Trigg | |||
| Offensive Line | Guyton | Guyton | Guyton | ||
| Smith | Smith | Smith | |||
| Beebe | Beebe | Beebe | |||
| Booker | Booker | Booker | |||
| Steele | Steele | Steele | |||
| Thomas | Thomas | Thomas | |||
| Shelton | Shelton | Shelton | |||
| Bass | Bass | Bass | |||
| Keegan | Keegan | Cornelius | |||
| Cornelius | Henessey | Henessey |
Not too many surprises for the offense, and there really only seem to be four spots up for grabs.
At QB, the consensus seems to be that the team has invested too much in Milton to just let him go – though there is an expectation that Sam Howell will challenge for the backup spot.
At RB, the question is whether the Cowboys will carry three or four players; Phil Mafah would really have to show up in camp to grab one of the last roster spots on the 53.
At WR, the final spot seems to be the contested one, and don’t discount Marquez Valdes-Scantling here, he might be a safer option for 2026 than either Mingo or Holden.
At TE, the spots look fixed, but the team could easily opt for just three tight ends, and the odd man out in that case may not be Michael Trigg but Luke Schoonmaker.
Finally, the only two truly contested spots appear to be the last two offensive line spots, and at this point you can make a case for almost every lineman to fill one of those two spots. A lot here will depend on how training camp plays out.
On defense and special teams, the situation is very similar, with competition likely only for the last backup spots.
| POS | Machota | Fisher | Livesay | ||
| Defrensive Line | Q. Williams | Q. Williams | Q. Williams | ||
| K. Clark | K. Clark | K. Clark | |||
| Bullard | Bullard | Bullard | |||
| Overton | Overton | Overton | |||
| Ogbonnia | Ogbonnia | Ogbonnia | |||
| Outside Linebacker | Gary | Gary | Gary | ||
| Ezeiruaku | Ezeiruaku | Ezeiruaku | |||
| Lawrence | Lawrence | Lawrence | |||
| S. Williams | S. Williams | S. Williams | |||
| Houston | Houston | Houston | |||
| Wheat | Wheat | ||||
| Inside Linebacker | Overshown | Overshown | Overshown | ||
| Winters | Winters | Winters | |||
| Barham | Barham | Barham | |||
| James | James | James | |||
| Barron | Barron | Robinson | |||
| Cornerback | Bland | Bland | Bland | ||
| Revel | Revel | Revel | |||
| Durant | Durant | Durant | |||
| Moore | Moore | Moore | |||
| Kendrick | Steward | Butler | |||
| Bridges | Carson | ||||
| Safety | Downs | Downs | Downs | ||
| Thompson | Thompson | Thompson | |||
| Hooker | Hooker | Hooker | |||
| Locke | Locke | Locke | |||
| A. Clark | |||||
| Special Teams | Aubrey | Aubrey | Aubrey | ||
| Anger | Anger | Anger | |||
| Sieg | Sieg | Sieg |
At outside linebacker and safety, the only question is whether the Cowboys go long at those spots and keep an extra guy, and the fifth ILB spot also seems to be contested to some degree.
The cornerback position may be the most contested in camp, but again, it’s likely to be about just the two last spots at the position, but there will be a lot of players contesting those two spots.
As far as projections go, these three have probably summarized the general sentiment about the roster pretty well at this point of the season.
Suspensions (knock on wood), trades, injuries (knock on wood three times), and other things of that nature (knock on wood) tend to disrupt these projections. But that’s also where depth guys then get to step up and seize their opportunity.
What’s your take on the combined projections above, and which of your pet cats didn’t make the cut on any of the three projections?
DALLAS – Dallas police need a name for a dangerous robber who pulled a gun on a 7-Eleven clerk and walked out with the cash register drawer.
He was caught on camera. But it’s been six months, and he’s still at large.
7-Eleven Robberies
What we know:
The robbery in question happened on Jan. 13 around 10:30 p.m. at the store at 302 North Marsalis Avenue.
A Black male who is about 5 feet 8 inches tall and about 170 to 180 pounds walked in and waited until no other customers were inside.
“After it’s empty, he displays a handgun and points it at the cashier,” said Det. Eduardo Lopez Villa. “I don’t know what he said. He just demanded the cash from the cash register.”
Det. Villa said the suspect took the whole cash register drawer before fleeing eastbound on foot on 8th Street.
What you can do:
The detective believes anyone who knows the suspect will be able to recognize him.
“Yes, most definitely based on the video and the screenshot. If you know him, you’ll recognize him,” he said.
Tipsters can call or text Det. Villa at 469-755-8445.
“I need his information so I can talk to him about this incident,” he said.
FOX 4’s Trackdown
You can watch Shaun Rabb’s Trackdown series every Wednesday on FOX 4. Episodes are also posted weekly online, on YouTube and on FOX Local.
FOX 4 viewers have now helped to make 220 arrests.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Dallas Police Det. Eduardo Lopez Villa.
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