Philly Stumble in Texas & Mahomes Rescues Kansas City – Best Highlights from NFL Week 12
Week 12 delivered an epic Cowboys rally, or perhaps an epic Eagles implosion?
Postseason Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's campaign as the Chicago Bears keep to impress as they continue their winning streak.
Did Sanders do enough on his first professional outing to secure the starting job in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the NFL.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 behind versus the defending championship winners, so how on earth did they engineer their joint-best recovery in history?
Sentiment of a first home fixture since a teammate’s tragic passing may have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Dak Prescott resolve and a defence that pounced on rare errors by the Eagles.
Dak eclipsed Tony Romo records for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his plunging score embodying his energetic display.
Philly squandered a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the first time after 1999, with just their second game with several giveaways this season – the other being another bad NFC East loss at the New York.
In addition to fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive struggles that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He'd only thrown for over two hundred yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had more than 150 in the first half by himself in Texas.
Yet from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a missed field goal and then a turnover giving opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.
Philadelphia’s defence is brilliant, it truly is, but an offense that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of seven games (3 losses) is now a major concern, as the components are all there but it's simply not clicking.
Sirianni’s game is all about winning the key moments, the defence keeps them in it and what offense there is manages just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the composure and possession security is failing, there may be trouble in the future.
Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Appears Prematurely to Save Chiefs
It wasn’t as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a strong Indianapolis squad was very notable – and may have just saved their campaign.
How big was it? Indeed, the league’s Next Gen Stats now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of making the postseason, whereas a loss on the weekend would have reduced that figure to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the playoff form of Mahomes arrived, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and guiding three scoring drives in their last 4 series to seal it in overtime.
A few huge throws and daring runs are typical for Mahomes in the postseason, but right now the Chiefs are in playoff mode – at six and five and only 10th in the conference rankings.
That was closer to the former Kansas City however, with a first close win of the year after dropping five previously – they secured eleven of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Kansas City faithful might not be done just yet.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Become Kings of the North?
You can no longer overlook the Bears any longer. A win over the Steelers, minus Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at eight and three – sharing the same record as the Philadelphia.
They appear dangerous on each side of the field, with a defense that leads the NFL in picks and total takeaways and, in Williams, a young player now used to securing close games.
He can at times be shaky, giving away a score after a turnover in his team’s goal area – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter comebacks this year, he knows how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in close pursuit in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and the Lions are right there after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are interestingly the most reliable with 8 wins in 9, but as they travel to the Super Bowl winners on the holiday we'll see exactly how good they really are.
Look Ahead – Thrilling Holiday in Prospect
It appears one of the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for a long time, with every game loaded with postseason implications.
Detroit welcome the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, before a unusual visit return to Dallas for the Kansas City, who began existence as the Texans way back in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.
Sunday's rally teams are each holding on to postseason aspirations but have minimal margin for error – so this will have a playoff feel.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly win over the New York actually has them leading of the division after beginning 1-5 and looking dead and buried.
Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
- 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 (20:00)
Can Sanders Keep His Starting Role?
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done sufficiently in his first professional outing to keep the first-team job when Gabriel comes back.
But the question will keep being raised as Sanders became the first Cleveland quarterback to secure his debut league start since Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other rookie signal callers failing to do so afterward.
It was only the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Cleveland defence recording ten sacks, but the Browns’ offence requires a leader, a presence to inspire confidence.
And confidence is something not lacking in Shedeur, who informed a network {