Philadelphia Stumble in Dallas & Mahomes Rescues Chiefs – Best Highlights from National Football League Week 12
The twelfth week delivered an epic Cowboys rally, or perhaps an epic Philadelphia Eagles implosion?
Postseason Mahomes showed up to rescue the Chiefs' campaign while the Bears keep to impress as they extend their victorious streak.
And did Sanders perform sufficiently on his debut NFL start to earn the starting job in Ohio?
Let's take a look at the pick of the action in the league.
The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?
The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind versus the defending championship champions, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest comeback ever?
Sentiment of a initial home fixture since a teammate’s tragic death could have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s determination and a defensive unit that pounced on uncommon mistakes 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 showing.
Philly wasted a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time after nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple turnovers this year – the previous being a bad NFC East loss at the Giants.
In addition to 14 infractions for 96 yards, the offensive malaise that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He had only thrown for 200-plus yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had more than one hundred fifty in the first half alone in Dallas.
Yet from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four straight punts, a failed three-point attempt and then a fumble giving chance after chance to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defense is excellent, it really is, but an offense that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of seven games (3 losses) is now a major worry, because the pieces are all there but it's just not clicking.
Sirianni’s approach is all about securing 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 failing, there may be trouble in the future.
In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn't quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the final period versus a strong Indianapolis squad was hugely impressive – and could have just saved their campaign.
How big was it? Indeed, the league’s Next Gen Stats now assign the Chiefs a 58% probability of reaching the postseason, whereas a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the playoff form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, passing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and guiding three scoring drives in their final 4 possessions to win it in extra time.
Some big throws and daring scrambles are typical for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Kansas City are in post-season form – at 6-5 and just 10th in the conference standings.
That was closer to the former Kansas City though, with a initial close win of the year after dropping five already – they secured 11 of them last year so, if that confidence returns, this Kansas City faithful might not be done so soon.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Become Kings of the Division?
You can no longer ignore the Bears now. A win over the Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the same record as the Philadelphia.
They appear threatening on each side of the ball, with a defence that tops the league in picks and total turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging player now accustomed to winning tight games.
He can at times be shaky, surrendering a score after a fumble in his team’s goal area – but he also threw three touchdowns and, with already 5 fourth-quarter rallies this year, he knows how to finish the game.
The Green Bay Packers are in close pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are right there after overcoming the New York in extra time with a monster game from Gibbs.
The Bears are interestingly the most reliable with 8 victories in 9, but as they travel to the Super Bowl winners on the holiday we'll discover just how good they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store
This looks among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for a long time, with each game loaded with playoff consequences.
Detroit host the Green Bay in the traditional curtain-raiser in Michigan, before a rare visit return to Dallas for the Chiefs, who started out life as the Texans way back in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.
The weekend’s comeback kings are both holding on to playoff hopes but have minimal margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.
What about the Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets actually has them leading of the division after beginning one and five and looking finished.
Holiday and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (20:00)
Will Shedeur Sanders Keep His Starting Role?
Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Sanders had performed enough in his first NFL outing to keep the first-team job when Gabriel comes back.
Yet the question will continue to be asked as Shedeur became the first Browns signal-caller to win his first league start since Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 other first-year signal callers failing to do so afterward.
It came only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Browns defense recording ten tackles, but Cleveland's offence requires a director, a figurehead to build belief.
And self-belief is one thing not lacking in Sanders, who informed a network {