Philly Falter in Texas & Mahomes Saves Chiefs – Top Highlights from NFL the Twelfth Week
Week 12 delivered an epic Cowboys rally, or perhaps an epic Eagles implosion?
Postseason Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's season while the Bears keep to surprise while they extend their winning run.
And did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his debut NFL outing to secure the starting role in Cleveland?
Let's take a look at the best of the action in the NFL.
The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
Dallas were trailing badly at 21-0 behind versus the defending championship champions, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best recovery ever?
Sentiment of a initial home game after a teammate’s tragic death could have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that pounced on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.
Dak eclipsed Romo’s records for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his plunging score embodying his all-action showing.
Philly squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since 1999, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the other being another disappointing NFC East loss at the Giants.
In addition to 14 infractions for ninety-six yards, the attacking malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was huge. He'd only thrown for 200-plus yards in four games prior to the weekend, he had over 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Texas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense derailed spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a missed field goal and then a fumble giving opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defense is brilliant, it truly is, but an offense that's not eclipsed 21 points in five of 7 games (3 losses) is now a huge worry, because the components are all there but it's just not working.
Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the big moments, the defense keeps them in it and what offense there is does barely sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is failing, there could be problems in the future.
In Focus – Playoff Patrick Appears Early to Save Kansas City
It wasn’t as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point comeback in the final period versus a strong Indianapolis team was hugely impressive – and could have only saved their season.
How significant was it? Well, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent chance of reaching the postseason, whereas a loss on Sunday would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.
It’s no surprise the postseason form of Mahomes turned up, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half alone and guiding 3 point-scoring possessions in their final 4 series to win it in extra time.
A few huge throws and daring runs are commonplace for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Kansas City are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and only 10th in the conference rankings.
This was more like the former Chiefs though, with a first close victory of the year after losing five already – they secured eleven of them the previous season so, if that confidence returns, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished so soon.
Discussion – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the North?
You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears now. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, maintained them top of the NFC North and at 8-3 – sharing the same record as the Philadelphia.
They appear dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defense that leads the NFL in interceptions and total turnovers and, in Williams, a young quarterback now accustomed to winning close games.
He may at times be shaky, giving away a score after a fumble in his own goal area – but he additionally passed for three touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this season, he knows how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in hot chase in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after beating the Giants in extra time with a monster game from Gibbs.
The Bears are strangely the most reliable with 8 victories in nine, but as they visit the championship winners on Thanksgiving we'll see just how good they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Store
This looks one of the best holiday line-ups for years, with each game loaded with postseason consequences.
The Lions welcome the Packers in the classic opener in Detroit, before a rare trip return to Dallas for the Chiefs, who started out existence as the Texans long ago in the 1960s before relocating to Missouri.
Sunday's rally teams are both holding on to playoff aspirations but have minimal room for error – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly victory over the Jets actually has them top of the AFC North after starting one and five and appearing dead and buried.
Holiday and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)
Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Starting Role?
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done enough in his debut NFL start to maintain the starting position when Dillon Gabriel comes back.
Yet the issue will continue to be raised as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to win his first NFL game after Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen additional rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.
It came just the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an nearly aggressive Browns defense recording 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 {