Did the Cowboys’ win over the Eagles set the table for a playoff run?

ARLINGTON, Texas — Coach Brian Schottenheimer wanted to bask in the glow of the Dallas Cowboys’ improbable 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles a little longer before wondering what remained possible with six games remaining.

He was hoping it would last until 11:59pm Sunday.

“Who are we playing?” Schottenheimer said sarcastically.

He knows the Kansas City Chiefs will be at AT&T Stadium on Thanksgiving (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS) — and his history with the Chiefs runs deep. Schottenheimer’s father, Marty, coached the Chiefs for 10 years. Brian graduated from nearby Blue Valley High School, where he played quarterback and won the Kansas state championship in 1991.

“The Chiefs are a great team,” Schottenheimer said. “You look at what they’ve done, and I have first-hand knowledge of the organization, and they’re great.”

The Cowboys won back-to-back games for the first time in Schottenheimer’s first season as head coach. For the first time since Week 16 of last season, the Cowboys beat a team with a winning record (the Eagles are now 8-3).

At 5-5-1, the Cowboys’ path to a playoff spot will likely be via the wild card, but even that features potential potholes. The Cowboys lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with the 8-3 Chicago Bears and 6-5 Carolina Panthers (who play Monday night versus the 49ers).

They play the Detroit Lions (7-4) a week after the Chiefs.

However, after the Lions game, the Cowboys play one team with a winning record the rest of the way (Week 16 vs. 7-4 Los Angeles Chargers).

“It’s not one game at a time. We have to win every game,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “With that being said, you can only do that by winning every game and giving your best every game. When you do that, you can stay focused, finish with an outstanding performance, you’ll feel confident and good about what you’ve done. We’ve just got to find that, and it really starts in practice and in those walkthroughs the next couple of days to get ready for Kansas City.”

In the past two games, the Cowboys’ defense has allowed a combined 37 points, 36 first downs and 575 yards, with three takeaways.

“We’re going to fight, scratch and claw every play until it’s over,” defensive tackle Osa Odegizwa said.

The Cowboys offense has had great success all season. Javonte Williams is 104 yards shy of 1,000 yards on the season. Prescott, who became the Cowboys’ all-time leader in passing yards against the Eagles, has 24 touchdown passes.

Then there’s George Pickens, who was acquired from the Steelers during the offseason and is in the final year of his contract. He has a career-high 67 catches for 1,054 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games. With each game, his price rises with the advent of free agency.

“He’s not from here,” Prescott said. “He’s not from this planet. We’re lucky to get a guy like this. We have to make sure we keep him.”

But as good as he is now, he may not be good enough in the end due to the Cowboys’ struggles to start the season.

“Yes, we put ourselves in that position,” Schottenheimer said. “When I look at some games, I’m like, ‘Man.’ But you know, again, you can’t focus on that. You have to focus on the fact that you’re getting ready to play. We just beat the defending Super Bowl champions, and we’re getting ready to play the team that they played. And, you know, you just have to go out and take every championship opportunity as your own.”

“After 17 games, we’ll either be in the playoffs or not. But if we keep playing the way we’re playing now, I like our chances. A lot of these teams are playing each other. We’re playing a lot of teams that are ahead of us, and we’ll see how it goes.”