Philly Stumble in Texas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Top Moments from National Football League the Twelfth Week
Week 12 provided an incredible Dallas Cowboys rally, or perhaps an massive Philadelphia Eagles implosion?
Playoff Patrick Mahomes arrived to rescue the Chiefs' season while the Bears continue to surprise as they extend their winning streak.
And did Shedeur Sanders do enough on his debut NFL start to earn the full-time role in Ohio?
We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the league.
The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?
Dallas found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero behind against the defending championship champions, so how on earth did they produce their joint-best recovery ever?
Sentiment of a initial home game since a teammate’s tragic death may have been a factor, but technically it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that cashed in on uncommon errors by the Philadelphia.
Dak eclipsed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an dynamic performance – his plunging score personifying his all-action showing.
Philadelphia wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the first time since 1999, with only their second game with multiple turnovers this year – the other being another bad division loss at the New York.
Along with fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He'd only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 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 fell apart dramatically – with four straight kicks, a missed field goal and then a fumble handing chance after chance to the Dallas.
The Eagles defense is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in five of 7 games (3 losses) is now a huge concern, because the components are all there but it's just not working.
Sirianni’s game is all about winning the key situations, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is does barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is breaking down, there may be trouble in the future.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Prematurely to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn’t quite as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a powerful Indianapolis squad was very impressive – and may have only rescued their campaign.
How significant was it? Well, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Kansas City a 58% chance of reaching the playoffs, when a loss on Sunday would have dropped that figure to 28%.
No wonder the postseason version of Patrick Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and leading three point-scoring drives in their last four series to win it in overtime.
A few huge passes and swashbuckling scrambles are commonplace for Mahomes in the postseason, but currently the Chiefs are in playoff form – at 6-5 and just tenth in the AFC rankings.
That was more like the old Chiefs though, with a first one-score win of the year after losing 5 already – they won 11 of them last year so, if that confidence returns, this Kansas City faithful may not be done so soon.
Discussion – Are Chicago Be Kings of the North?
You can no longer ignore the Bears now. A victory over the Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, maintained them top of the division and at eight and three – sharing the identical record as the Philadelphia.
They appear threatening on each side of the ball, with a defense that tops the NFL in picks and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now used to securing close games.
He may at times be shaky, giving away a score after a turnover in his team’s end zone – but he also threw three touchdowns and, with already five fourth-quarter comebacks this season, he knows how to finish the game.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot pursuit in the NFC North after dominating the Vikings and the Lions are right there after beating the New York in overtime with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Bears are interestingly the most consistent with 8 wins in 9, but as they travel to the championship champs on the holiday we'll see just how good they truly are.
Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store
It appears among the most exciting holiday line-ups for years, with each game packed with playoff implications.
The Lions welcome the Packers in the traditional curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a rare trip back to Dallas for the Chiefs, who began life as the Dallas Texans long ago in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.
Sunday's comeback teams are both clinging to postseason hopes but have minimal room for error – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets in fact has them leading of the AFC North after beginning 1-5 and looking finished.
Holiday and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Retain His Job?
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done enough in his first NFL outing to keep the starting job when Gabriel comes back.
Yet the issue will continue to be asked as Shedeur became the first Cleveland quarterback to secure his first league start after Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 other rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.
It came just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an almost feral Browns defense recording ten tackles, but Cleveland's offense requires a leader, a presence to inspire confidence.
And confidence is one thing not missing in Shedeur, who informed a network {