Philadelphia Stumble in Texas & Mahomes Saves Kansas City – Top Highlights from NFL Week 12
Week 12 delivered an epic Dallas Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles implosion?
Postseason Mahomes showed up to salvage the Chiefs' season while the Bears keep to impress while they extend their winning streak.
Did Sanders perform sufficiently on his first professional outing to secure the full-time role in Ohio?
We’ll examine at the best of the week in the NFL.
The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
Dallas were trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind against the defending championship winners, how exactly did they produce their equal-largest comeback in history?
Sentiment of a first home fixture after Marshawn Kneeland tragic death could have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defence that pounced on uncommon errors by the Philadelphia.
Prescott surpassed Romo’s marks for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his diving touchdown personifying his energetic showing.
Philly wasted a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with several turnovers this year – the other being a disappointing NFC East defeat at the Giants.
Along with 14 infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games before Sunday, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half by himself in Dallas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offense derailed dramatically – with four consecutive kicks, a failed field goal and then a fumble giving opportunity after chance to the Dallas.
Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a major concern, because the pieces are all there but it's simply not clicking.
Sirianni’s approach is all about winning the big moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offense there is does just about enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is breaking down, there may be trouble in the future.
Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Appears Early to Save Chiefs
It wasn't as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point comeback in the fourth quarter versus a strong Colts team was hugely notable – and could have only rescued their season.
How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s Next Gen Stats now give the Kansas City a 58% chance of making the postseason, when a defeat on the weekend would have reduced that figure to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the postseason form of Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and guiding 3 point-scoring possessions in their last 4 possessions to win it in overtime.
Some huge passes and daring runs are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in post-season form – at six and five and just 10th in the conference rankings.
This was closer to the former Chiefs though, with a first one-score win of the season after losing 5 previously – they won eleven of them the previous season so, if that belief comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be done so soon.
Discussion – Are Chicago Be Kings of the North?
You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, minus Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at eight and three – holding the identical record as the Philadelphia.
They appear threatening on each side of the ball, with a defense that leads the league in picks and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to securing tight games.
He can at times be inconsistent, surrendering a score after a turnover in his team’s goal area – but he also threw 3 touchdowns and, with already 5 final period comebacks this year, he understands how to get the job done.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot chase in the NFC North after overpowering the Vikings and the Lions are right there after beating the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Bears are strangely the most consistent with 8 wins in 9, but as they visit the championship champs on the holiday we'll see exactly how good they really are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store
This looks one of the best holiday schedules for a long time, with each game packed with playoff consequences.
Detroit host the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Detroit, before a rare visit back to Texas for the Kansas City, who started out life as the Dallas Texans way back in the sixties before relocating to Missouri.
The weekend’s rally teams are each clinging to playoff aspirations but have minimal room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.
What about the Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets actually has them top of the division after starting one and five and looking dead and buried.
Holiday and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, 28 November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Keep His Job?
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Sanders had done enough in his first NFL start to maintain the first-team position when Dillon Gabriel returns.
Yet the question will keep being raised as Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win his first NFL start after Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other rookie quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so since.
It was only the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Cleveland defence getting 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offense requires a director, a figurehead to inspire confidence.
Moreover self-belief is one thing not lacking in Shedeur, who informed a network {