As a nation of full stomachs sunk further and further into their couches watching football on Thanksgiving evening, Cowboys receiver George Pickens launched for the sky.
With Dallas facing third-and-8 just past midfield and trailing the Chiefs 21–20 in the fourth quarter, Pickens caught the ball short of the sticks and pivoted hard to find some free space. After juking and then outrunning one defender, Pickens was pursued by Chiefs corner Trent McDuffie.
Rather than try to shake off McDuffie, Pickens kept his speed and decided to fly, leaping McDuffie and landing just seven yards short of the end zone.
Replays showed that McDuffie was able to catch just enough of Pickens to force him to stumble to the ground, but it was still an unbelievable play.
A great play, but maybe an inch or two away from a play that would go down in Thanksgiving Day lore forever. Had Pickens cleared him clean and reached the end zone, we would have been watching that replay on Turkey Day for years to come.
While he came up short of the touchdown, the Cowboys were able to punch it in just a few plays later. On the two-point conversion attempt, Pickens found the end zone.
Most importantly, the Cowboys were able to secure a win, moving to 6–5–1 on the year and keeping their hopes of a postseason run alive. Tony Romo thinks they could run the table.
