Philadelphia Stumble in Texas & Mahomes Rescues Kansas City – Best Highlights from National Football League the Twelfth Week
Week 12 delivered an epic Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Eagles collapse?
Playoff Mahomes showed up to salvage the Chiefs' campaign as the Chicago Bears continue to impress as they continue their winning streak.
Did Sanders perform sufficiently on his first NFL start to secure the full-time role in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the best of the action in the league.
The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?
Dallas were trailing badly at 21-0 down against the defending championship champions, how exactly did they produce their joint-best recovery ever?
The emotions of a first home fixture since a teammate’s tragic death may have been a factor, however it was a combination of Prescott’s resolve and a defence that pounced on uncommon errors by the Eagles.
Dak eclipsed Tony Romo marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch possessions (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his diving touchdown personifying his energetic showing.
Philly wasted a advantage of 21 points or more for the initial time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with several turnovers this season – the other being a disappointing NFC East defeat at the New York.
In addition to fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the attacking malaise that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He'd only thrown for 200-plus yards in four games before the weekend, he had more than 150 in the first half by himself in Dallas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four straight punts, a failed three-point attempt and then a fumble handing opportunity after opportunity to the Dallas.
Philadelphia’s defence is brilliant, it really is, but an offence that's not surpassed twenty-one points in five of 7 games (three losses) is now a huge concern, as the components are all there but it's just not clicking.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about securing the big situations, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is does just about enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there could be problems ahead.
In Focus – Playoff Patrick Appears Early to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn't quite as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a strong Indianapolis team was hugely notable – and may have just saved their campaign.
How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of making the postseason, when a defeat on Sunday would have dropped that number to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the playoff form of Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the second half alone and leading 3 point-scoring possessions in their last four possessions to win it in overtime.
Some huge throws and swashbuckling scrambles are commonplace for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and only 10th in the AFC standings.
That was closer to the old Kansas City however, with a first close victory of the season after losing five already – they secured eleven of them the previous season so, if that belief comes back, this Kansas City faithful may not be done so soon.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Kings of the North?
You just can't overlook the Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them first of the NFC North and at eight and three – sharing the same standing as the Philadelphia.
They appear dangerous on each side of the ball, with a defense that leads the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging quarterback now used to securing tight games.
He may still be shaky, surrendering a touchdown after a turnover in his own end zone – but he also passed for three touchdowns and, with already 5 final period comebacks this season, he understands how to get the job done.
Green Bay are in close chase in the NFC North after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are in contention after beating the New York in extra time with a huge game from Gibbs.
The Bears are interestingly the most consistent with eight victories in 9, but as they travel to the championship champs on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how strong they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store
It appears one of the best holiday line-ups for years, with every game packed with postseason consequences.
The Lions welcome the Packers in the classic curtain-raiser in Detroit, prior to a rare trip back to Dallas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Texans way back in the 1960s before relocating to Kansas City.
The weekend’s comeback teams are both holding on to playoff aspirations but have very little margin for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.
What about the Ravens? An unattractive victory over the New York actually has them top of the division after starting 1-5 and looking finished.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (20:00)
Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Job?
Cleveland Browns coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Sanders had done sufficiently in his first NFL start to keep the first-team job when Gabriel comes back.
But the issue will keep being raised as Shedeur became the first Cleveland signal-caller to secure his debut league game after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 additional rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.
It was only the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly aggressive Browns defense getting ten sacks, but the Browns’ offense needs a director, a presence to inspire confidence.
And self-belief is something not missing in Shedeur, who told a network {