The Dallas Cowboys got contributions up and down the roster in their 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving. Their stars were the biggest catalysts, but Sam Williams, Malik Davis, Reddy Steward, Nathan Thomas, and Ryan Flournoy all had outstanding games.
However, nobody's performance came as a bigger surprise than Davis, who was only signed to the active roster last week after spending most of the season on the practice squad. Davis turned the game on its head with a 43-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Dallas a 17-14 lead.
It was a special moment for the fourth-year running back, but the NFL nearly spoiled the celebration. Davis told Cowboys reporter Patrik Walker right after the game that he’d been tapped for a random drug test.
NFL purportedly drug-tested Cowboys RB Malik Davis after breakout game vs. Chiefs
The NFL really couldn't even wait for player media availability to conclude to summon Davis. Unfortunately, random drug tests for unlikely heroes have become the norm. While there's some logic behind that, it's extremely rare that a player actually fails these tests.
Performance-enhancing drugs are hardly an epidemic in the NFL. Every once in a while, a player will get suspended for several games for testing positive for a banned substance. But it's pretty sad that the league insists on spamming these postgame tests every week. It's insulting to the players that put in the work to finally break through for their respective teams, and Davis is no different.
A former undrafted free agent out of Florida, Davis has managed to stick around with the Cowboys in some capacity for the last four seasons. Even with his long touchdown run against the Chiefs, he's had more jerseys with Dallas (four) than touchdowns (two) since he entered the league.
Davis has long been a favorite among Cowboys fans. He never quite broke through the way fans hoped he would after some impressive training camps and preseasons. But he never stopped working. He's been waived a total of five times, including on three occasions in 2025, and as recently as this month before rejoining the practice squad and then back to the active roster.
Davis seemingly had a tight grip on the RB2 job before Thursday's win. That grip morphed into a chokehold with that performance. Not even a random drug test can spoil this moment for the 27-year-old.