Philadelphia Stumble in Texas & Mahomes Rescues Kansas City – Best Moments from National Football League the Twelfth Week
Week 12 provided an epic Dallas Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Eagles collapse?
Playoff Mahomes arrived to rescue the Kansas City's season as the Chicago Bears continue to surprise as they extend their victorious streak.
Did Sanders do enough on his first NFL outing to secure the starting role in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the league.
Analysis – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?
Dallas found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero down against the defending championship champions, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest comeback ever?
The emotions of a first home fixture after a teammate’s tragic passing could have played a part, however it was a mixture of Dak Prescott resolve and a defensive unit that pounced on rare mistakes by the Eagles.
Prescott eclipsed Romo’s records for yards thrown (now 34,378) and clutch drives (25) with an all-action display – his diving score personifying his all-action display.
Philadelphia squandered a lead of 21 points or more for the first time since 1999, with just their second game with several giveaways this year – the other being another bad NFC East defeat at the Giants.
In addition to 14 infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was significant. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in four games prior to Sunday, he had over 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Texas.
However from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence derailed dramatically – with four consecutive kicks, a missed field goal and then a fumble giving chance after opportunity to the Dallas.
The Eagles defense is brilliant, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a major worry, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.
Nick Sirianni game is all about securing the key situations, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is manages just about enough – if it cannot even do that and now the composure and ball protection is failing, there could be problems in the future.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Save Chiefs
It wasn't quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's eleven-point recovery in the final period versus a powerful Indianapolis squad was hugely notable – and could have just rescued their campaign.
How big was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of reaching the playoffs, when a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.
It’s no surprise the playoff version of Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and guiding three scoring drives in their last 4 possessions to win it in overtime.
A few huge throws and daring scrambles are commonplace for Mahomes in the postseason, but currently the Kansas City are in playoff form – at six and five and only tenth in the conference standings.
This was closer to the old Chiefs however, with a first one-score win of the year after losing 5 previously – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence comes back, this Kansas City faithful might not be finished so soon.
Discussion – Can Bears Be Rulers of the North?
You just can't ignore the Chicago Bears now. A win over the Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, kept them top of the division and at eight and three – holding the same standing as the Philadelphia.
They appear threatening on each side of the field, with a defense that leads the NFL in picks and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young quarterback now accustomed to winning close games.
He may at times be shaky, giving away a score after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he additionally threw 3 touchdowns and, with already five final period rallies this season, he knows how to finish the game.
The Green Bay Packers are in close chase in the NFC North after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after overcoming the Giants in extra time with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are interestingly the most reliable with 8 wins in 9, but as they visit the championship winners on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Prospect
This looks one of the best 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, prior to a unusual trip back to Dallas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Dallas Texans way back in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.
Sunday's comeback kings are each clinging to playoff aspirations but have minimal margin for mistakes – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.
What about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly win over the New York in fact has them top of the division after beginning one and five and appearing finished.
Holiday and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Eagles (20:00)
Can Sanders Keep His Starting Role?
Browns coach Stefanski batted away questions on whether Sanders had done sufficiently in his debut professional outing to maintain the starting position when Dillon Gabriel returns.
But the issue will keep being asked as Shedeur became the first Browns signal-caller to win his first NFL game after Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen additional rookie quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so afterward.
It was only the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Browns defense getting 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offense needs a leader, a figurehead to inspire confidence.
And confidence is one thing not missing in Shedeur, who informed a network {