Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs throws the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during a game at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 21, 2021. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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When the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, the Thanksgiving game will not only represent a homecoming for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but he also will face the team for whom he grew up rooting.
Mahomes was born in Tyler, Texas, which is about 100 miles from Dallas, and played football at Whitehouse High in Texas before starring at Texas Tech.
When Mahomes became a football fan in junior high, he started rooting for his father’s favorite team — the Cowboys and quarterback Tony Romo.
“I obviously watched a ton of Cowboys,” Mahomes said. “I watched Tony play a ton. It’s been cool to get to meet him now just because he was the quarterback that I grew up watching. There was a lot of good times watching those games with my family. It’s definitely going to be surreal being able to play them at the stadium that I watched them play.”
Now, as an announcer for CBS, which primarily televises the AFC, Romo frequently broadcasts the games of the quarterback with the longest contract — a 10-year, $450 million deal — in the NFL.
The connection between the well-compensated star and the quarterback he watched growing up was enhanced while Mahomes was at Texas Tech.
His then-Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury asked Romo to write Mahomes a letter of encouragement.
“I followed his career ever since,” Romo said. “He was just a kid with big dreams, and it’s amazing to see him go out and do what he’s done.”
The Thanksgiving game will be the fourth straight Chiefs game Romo and his play-by-play partner Jim Nantz have announced.
And it’s the second time Mahomes has started against the Cowboys.
The first came in November of 2021. Though Mahomes was just 23-of-37 for 260 yards and one interception while being harassed by then-Cowboys defender Micah Parsons, the Chiefs still won 19-9 at Arrowhead Stadium.
Although Thursday is the first time since Mahomes became the Chiefs’ starting quarterback that he will play in AT&T Stadium, Mahomes did play in JerryWorld as a Texas Tech freshman against Baylor and threw for an astounding 586 yards and six touchdowns in the Red Raiders’ 54-35 victory.
Mahomes also attended both AT&T Stadium — and once to the old Cowboys Stadium — as a fan.
“I went a good amount,” Mahomes said. “It was really cool just making memories with my dad and my brother.”
For Thursday’s visit he secured a luxury box and expects more than 50 of his family and friends to attend. His wife, Brittany, has been in charge of doling out the tickets to loved ones.
“Just getting to play back at home,” Mahomes said, “(I’ll) obviously have a lot of people in attendance that may not get to come up to Kansas City all the time and watch games. It will be a really cool experience to play there especially on Thanksgiving, and I’ll have a lot of family and friends in the stands.”
In addition to those in the suite, he’ll have the quarterback — for whom he grew up rooting — announcing yet another of his games.
“He is the standard that all other quarterbacks are going to be evaluated by,” Romo said. “And for them to get to their dreams, they have to get through this guy, and that’s really an incredible honor.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffedotin/2025/11/26/chiefs-star-patrick-mahomes-readies-to-face-hometown-cowboys-in-texas/
