Philly Falter in Dallas & Patrick Saves Kansas City – Best Moments from NFL Week 12
The twelfth week delivered an epic Dallas Cowboys rally, or perhaps an epic Philadelphia Eagles collapse?
Postseason Patrick Mahomes arrived to rescue the Kansas City's campaign while the Bears continue to impress as they extend their victorious run.
Did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his first professional outing to secure the full-time role in Cleveland?
Let's take a look at the pick of the action in the league.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?
Dallas found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero behind against the reigning Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best recovery ever?
The emotions of a initial home fixture since Marshawn Kneeland untimely death could have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Dak Prescott determination and a defensive unit that cashed in on uncommon mistakes by the Eagles.
Prescott surpassed Romo’s marks for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his diving touchdown personifying his all-action display.
Philadelphia squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time since 1999, with just their second game with several giveaways this season – the previous being another bad NFC East defeat at the New York.
In addition to fourteen infractions for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He'd only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games prior to Sunday, he had more than one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters by himself in Dallas.
However from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense derailed spectacularly – with four straight punts, a failed three-point attempt and then a turnover giving chance after chance to the Dallas.
The Eagles defence is brilliant, it really is, but an offense that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of seven games (3 losses) is now a major worry, as the components are all there but it's just not working.
Nick Sirianni game is all about winning the key situations, the defence maintains them in it and what offence there is does just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the composure and ball protection is breaking down, there could be problems ahead.
In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Early to Rescue Chiefs
It wasn't as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point recovery in the fourth quarter versus a strong Indianapolis squad was very notable – and could have just saved their season.
How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of making the playoffs, whereas a defeat on Sunday would have dropped that number to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and guiding 3 scoring possessions in their last four possessions to seal it in overtime.
Some huge throws and swashbuckling runs are commonplace for Patrick in the playoffs, but right now the Kansas City are in post-season form – at 6-5 and just tenth in the AFC rankings.
That was more like the former Chiefs however, with a initial close win of the season after losing 5 previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Kansas City faithful might not be finished just yet.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the Division?
You can no longer ignore the Bears now. A victory over the Steelers, minus Rodgers, kept them top of the division and at 8-3 – holding the same standing as the Philadelphia.
They appear threatening on both sides of the ball, with a defence that leads the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young quarterback now used to winning close games.
He can still be inconsistent, giving away a score after a fumble in his own goal area – but he additionally passed for 3 scores and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he understands how to get the job done.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Gibbs.
Chicago are strangely the most reliable with eight wins in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how strong they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Store
This looks among the most exciting holiday schedules for years, with each game packed with playoff implications.
The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the classic opener in Michigan, prior to a rare trip back to Texas for the Kansas City, who began existence as the Texans way back in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.
Sunday's comeback teams are both clinging to playoff hopes but have minimal room for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets in fact has them top of the AFC North after beginning one and five and appearing dead and buried.
Holiday and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?
Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had done enough in his first professional outing to maintain the first-team job when Dillon Gabriel returns.
Yet the issue will continue to be raised as Shedeur became the first Browns quarterback to win his first NFL game after Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other rookie signal callers failing to do so since.
It came just the Las Vegas, and with the help of an almost aggressive Browns defense recording 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offense needs a leader, a figurehead to build belief.
And confidence is something not missing in Sanders, who told a CBS {