Philadelphia Falter in Texas & Patrick Rescues Chiefs – Top Moments from NFL Week 12
Week 12 delivered an epic Dallas Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?
Postseason Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's campaign while the Bears keep to surprise as they continue their winning run.
And did Sanders do sufficiently on his first NFL outing to secure the full-time job in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the league.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
Dallas found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero behind versus the reigning Super Bowl champions, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best recovery ever?
The emotions of a first home fixture after a teammate’s untimely death may have played a part, but technically it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that cashed in on uncommon errors by the Philadelphia.
Dak surpassed Romo’s marks for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch possessions (25) with an all-action performance – his diving score personifying his all-action display.
Philadelphia squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after 1999, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the other being a disappointing division loss at the Giants.
In addition to 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the attacking malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was significant. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half by himself in Dallas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offence fell apart dramatically – with four consecutive kicks, a failed three-point attempt and then a turnover giving chance after chance to the Cowboys.
Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offense that's not surpassed twenty-one points in five of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major worry, as the components are all there but it's simply not clicking.
Nick Sirianni game is all about winning the key moments, the defense maintains them in it and what offence there is manages just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is failing, there could be trouble ahead.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn't as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ 11-point recovery in the final period against a strong Indianapolis squad was very notable – and may have only rescued their season.
How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now give the Kansas City a 58% chance of making the postseason, when a loss on Sunday would have dropped that number to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, throwing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and leading three point-scoring possessions in their last 4 series to seal it in extra time.
A few big throws and swashbuckling scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Kansas City are in post-season form – at 6-5 and only 10th in the AFC rankings.
This was closer to the old Kansas City though, with a initial one-score win of the year after losing 5 already – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that belief returns, this Kansas City faithful may not be finished so soon.
Discussion – Are Chicago Become Rulers of the North?
You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears now. A victory over the Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at eight and three – sharing the same standing as the Eagles.
They look dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defence that leads the league in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to winning close games.
He can at times be shaky, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his own end zone – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already five fourth-quarter rallies this season, he understands how to finish the game.
The Green Bay Packers are in close chase in the division after dominating the Vikings and Detroit are right there after overcoming the New York in extra time with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Bears are strangely the most consistent with 8 victories in nine, but as they travel to the championship champs on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they really are.
Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Prospect
It appears one of the best holiday schedules for years, with each game packed with postseason implications.
The Lions welcome the Packers in the classic opener in Michigan, prior to a unusual visit back to Dallas for the Kansas City, who started out life as the Texans way back in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.
The weekend’s rally teams are both clinging to playoff hopes but have minimal margin for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.
What about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets in fact has them top of the division after beginning 1-5 and appearing finished.
Holiday and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, 28 November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)
Will Shedeur Sanders Keep His Starting Role?
Browns coach Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his debut professional start to keep the starting position when Dillon Gabriel comes back.
But the question will continue to be raised as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his debut league game since Eric Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen additional first-year signal callers failing to do so since.
It came just the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost aggressive Browns defense recording ten tackles, but the Browns’ offence requires a leader, a presence to build belief.
And self-belief is one thing not lacking in Shedeur, who informed a network {