Patrick Mahomes enters Thanksgiving week with the Kansas City Chiefs hoping to get back on the winning track. Now at 6-5 and fighting to stay alive in the playoff race, the Chiefs will play another must-win game against the red-hot Dallas Cowboys in Week 13. And Mahomes makes it clear with his commitment to the team.

Mahomes’ message came as he was previewing Thursday’s showdown against the Dallas Cowboys, a game with season-altering stakes for both franchises. The Chiefs quarterback was asked about the NFL’s history related to Thanksgiving trophies, the Turducken, and John Madden’s famous celebrations, but things quickly shifted toward Dallas and its Preston Road Trophy.

“Yeah, I’ve heard of that. I didn’t even think about that. But yeah, I think we should have it right now. We won the last time we played the Cowboys. So, we’ll try to keep that in the Hunt household, I guess,” he said on Tuesday at the presser.

Well, the Chiefs did beat Dallas in their last meeting, but the series has been inclined towards the Cowboys historically. Dallas leads the all-time rivalry 7–5, and the Preston Road Trophy has changed sides in each of the last four matchups. Kansas City won the inaugural trophy in 1998 but has never held it through two consecutive regular-season games.

Even Chiefs head coach Andy Reid admitted the tradition hasn’t crossed his path.

“Yeah, I know,” Reid said. ”(I’m) not sure I’ve ever seen the trophy, but I know there’s, they have a thing going. Yeah, it’s all good.”

Firstly, the rivalry between the two teams runs deeper than perhaps fans realize. The Chiefs were originally the Dallas Texans in 1960, brought about by Lamar Hunt after the NFL denied his expansion bid. When Dallas brought out the Cowboys shortly thereafter, both teams were in direct competition with one another, with both even sharing the Cotton Bowl from 1960 to 1962. Eventually, Hunt moved the franchise to Kansas City, but the historical overlap between the two organizations remains unmistakable.

There are contemporary ties as well. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer is the son of longtime Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer. Mahomes himself grew up in Texas. He expects more than 50 family and friends in attendance and even purchased a suite for the game. But with all of that nostalgia comes a ton of playoff weight on Thursday’s matchup.

Mahomes didn’t just address the rivalry; he also embraced NFL Thanksgiving culture.

Mahomes shares excitement for NFL’s Turducken tradition

He mentioned that one moment he has yet to experience in his career is taking a bite of the Turducken after a holiday victory.

”I’m thinking of the turducken man, John Madden — that to me is the coolest thing… to be able to be a part of that, I think that would be a special moment,” Mahomes said.

It will be the first Thanksgiving game for Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones together. Despite all their achievements, the trio has never played on the holiday or earned the Madden tradition that comes with it. Mahomes has a history with it.

Back in 2022, he revealed he had a turducken specifically prepared by his chefs for Thanksgiving, stating that it was a tribute to the late John Madden. Now that Kansas City’s fighting to stay above .500, with Mahomes headed home to a stadium he grew up visiting, the quarterback finally has a chance to celebrate a Thanksgiving win with the NFL’s most famous tradition.

A commitment to win. A trophy he wants to keep in the Hunt family. And a Turducken moment he’s long waited for.