There once was a time when the Dallas Cowboys weren’t the only pro football team in town.
For three falls, the Dallas Texans of the AFL shared the spotlight with the Cowboys. They found success much earlier than their NFL cousins. The Texans won the 1962 AFL Championship.
Then they packed up and moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.
They would play in two Super Bowls, winning one, as the 1960s came to an end.
The Cowboys would play for the NFL Championship twice in the same time span. But they wouldn’t reach the Super Bowl until two years after the Chiefs win.
It would be another season before Dallas would bring home a Super Bowl title.
This year, the Cowboys will host the Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day in Week 13.
While the Cowboys have become a Thanksgiving Day staple, Kansas City hasn’t fared quite as well playing on this holiday.
The First Thanksgiving Day Game
The Texans did play on Thanksgiving back in 1960. But they would face the New York Titans, later to become the Jets, on Nov. 24th of that year.
The Titans won the game, 41-35.
Overall, the Chiefs franchise is a combined 5-4 when they play on Thanksgiving Day.
They were 2-2 while still in the AFL. And 3-2 after the NFL-AFL merger.
The Cowboys have hosted the Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day once before. Back in 1995, the Cowboys jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and cruised to a 24-12 win.
As that was the last season Dallas won a Super Bowl, a 2025 holiday victory would be a welcome omen for Dallas.
The Cowboys are 34-22-1 when playing on Thanksgiving. They’ve won the last three games by an impressive 100-50 combined score.
The last holiday loss came in 2021 to the Raiders, a 36-33 defeat in overtime.
By The Numbers
The two teams have met a total of 12 times. Dallas holds a 7-5 advantage overall. The Chiefs have never beaten the Cowboys twice in a row.
Kansas City, led by Patrick Mahomes, won the last meeting, back in 2021 in Kansas City, 19-9.
The Cowboys have won five in a row at home over Kansas City. The only Chiefs win in Dallas came in a 35-31 win at Texas Stadium in 1975.
Dallas has a 41-23 mark in Week 13 games, and are 29-12 when those games are played in Dallas. If you’re looking for good omens, here’s one.
The Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day win in 1995 is the only time they’ve faced the Chiefs in Week 13.
