Philly Falter in Texas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Best Highlights from National Football League Week 12
Week 12 delivered an epic Cowboys comeback, or was it an epic Eagles implosion?
Playoff Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season as the Bears continue to impress while they continue their victorious streak.
Did Sanders perform enough on his first NFL outing to earn the full-time job in Cleveland?
Let's take a look at the best of the week in the NFL.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?
Dallas were down and out at 21-0 down against the defending Super Bowl winners, so how on earth did they produce their joint-best comeback in history?
The emotions of a first home game since Marshawn Kneeland untimely passing could have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s determination and a defence that pounced on rare errors by the Philadelphia.
Prescott eclipsed Romo’s marks for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an dynamic performance – his diving touchdown embodying his energetic display.
Philly wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the previous being a bad division defeat at the New York.
Along with 14 infractions for 96 yards, the offensive malaise that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was huge. He'd only thrown for over two hundred yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had more than 150 in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.
However from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offence derailed spectacularly – with four straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a fumble giving opportunity after opportunity to the Dallas.
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 huge worry, because the components are all there but it's simply not working.
Sirianni’s approach is all about winning the big moments, the defense maintains them in it and what offense there is does barely sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is failing, there may be trouble in the future.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Prematurely to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn’t quite as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point recovery in the fourth quarter versus a strong Colts team was very impressive – and could have only rescued their season.
How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a 58% chance of making the postseason, when a defeat on Sunday would have dropped that number to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the postseason version of Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the second half alone and leading three scoring possessions in their last 4 series to seal it in extra time.
Some big passes and daring scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the playoffs, but currently the Kansas City are in playoff mode – at 6-5 and just tenth in the AFC rankings.
This was closer to the old Chiefs though, with a initial close win of the season after dropping 5 previously – they secured eleven of them the previous season so, if that confidence returns, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished just yet.
Discussion – Are Chicago Become Kings of the North?
You just can't ignore the Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, kept them top of the NFC North and at 8-3 – sharing the identical record as the Philadelphia.
They look threatening on both sides of the field, with a defence that tops the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging player now used to securing tight games.
He can at times be shaky, surrendering a score after a fumble in his own goal area – but he additionally passed for three scores and, with already five fourth-quarter rallies this year, he understands how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the NFC North after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Gibbs.
The Bears are interestingly the most reliable with eight wins in nine, but as they travel to the championship winners on Thanksgiving we'll discover just how good they really are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Store
It appears among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with every game loaded with playoff consequences.
Detroit host the Green Bay in the classic opener in Detroit, before a rare visit back to Texas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Dallas Texans long ago in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.
The weekend’s rally teams are each holding on to playoff hopes but have very little margin for error – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly victory over the Jets in fact has them leading of the AFC North after beginning one and five and appearing dead and buried.
Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, 28 November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed sufficiently in his first professional start to maintain the starting job when Gabriel comes back.
But the issue will continue to be raised as Shedeur became the first Cleveland signal-caller to win his debut league game after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen additional rookie quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so since.
It was just the Raiders, and with the help of an almost aggressive Browns defense getting ten sacks, but the Browns’ offense needs a director, a figurehead to inspire confidence.
Moreover self-belief is something not missing in Shedeur, who told a network {