Philadelphia Stumble in Dallas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Top Highlights from NFL Week 12

The twelfth week delivered an epic Cowboys comeback, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?

Playoff Patrick Mahomes showed up to rescue the Kansas City's season while the Bears keep to surprise while they continue their winning streak.

And did Sanders do enough on his debut NFL outing to earn the starting job in Cleveland?

We’ll examine at the pick of the week in the league.

The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys were down and out at twenty-one to zero behind against the defending Super Bowl champions, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest comeback in history?

The emotions of a initial home game after a teammate’s tragic passing may have been a factor, but technically it was a mixture of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that cashed in on uncommon errors by the Philadelphia.

Prescott surpassed Tony Romo marks for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his diving score embodying his all-action display.

Philly wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple giveaways this season – the other being a bad division loss at the Giants.

In addition to 14 penalties for 96 yards, the attacking malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He had only passed for over two hundred 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 twenty-one to zero up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four straight punts, a missed field goal and then a turnover giving chance after chance to the Dallas.

Philadelphia’s defense is brilliant, it truly is, but an offense that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a huge worry, as the components are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Sirianni’s approach is all about winning the key moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offence there is does just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is failing, there could be trouble in the future.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Save Chiefs

It wasn't as extreme, but Kansas City's 11-point recovery in the fourth quarter against a powerful Colts team was hugely notable – and may have only saved their campaign.

How big was it? Well, the league’s Next Gen Stats now assign the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent chance of reaching the postseason, whereas a loss on the weekend would have reduced that figure to twenty-eight percent.

No wonder the playoff version of Mahomes turned up, throwing 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.

A few big throws and swashbuckling scrambles are commonplace for Patrick in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in playoff mode – at six and five and only tenth in the AFC rankings.

This was more like the old Chiefs however, with a first one-score win of the season after losing 5 previously – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence comes back, this Kansas City faithful may not be finished so soon.

Discussion – Can Bears Become Kings of the Division?

You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them top of the NFC North and at 8-3 – holding the same record as the Philadelphia.

They look threatening on both sides of the ball, with a defence that tops the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging quarterback now accustomed to winning tight games.

He can still be shaky, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s goal area – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he understands how to finish the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in hot pursuit in the NFC North after overpowering the Vikings and Detroit are right there after beating the Giants in extra time with a huge game from Gibbs.

Chicago are interestingly the most consistent with eight wins in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl champs on the holiday we'll discover exactly how strong they truly are.

Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store

This looks among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for a long time, with each game packed with playoff implications.

Detroit host the Green Bay in the traditional curtain-raiser in Detroit, before a rare trip return to Texas for the Kansas City, who started out existence as the Dallas Texans way back in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.

Sunday's rally teams are each holding on to playoff aspirations but have very little margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.

What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets actually has them leading of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and appearing finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (20:00)

Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his first NFL start to keep the first-team position when Gabriel returns.

But the issue will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland quarterback to secure his first league start since Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen other rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.

It came only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost aggressive Cleveland defence recording 10 sacks, but Cleveland's offence needs a leader, a figurehead to inspire confidence.

Moreover self-belief is one thing not missing in Sanders, who told a network {

Jessica Smith
Jessica Smith

A tech enthusiast and writer passionate about exploring how innovation impacts society and drives progress.