Philadelphia Falter in Texas & Patrick Saves Kansas City – Top Highlights from NFL the Twelfth Week
Week 12 provided an incredible Dallas Cowboys rally, or was it an epic Eagles collapse?
Playoff Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season as the Bears continue to surprise while they continue their victorious run.
Did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his first professional 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 Eagles Collapse?
The Cowboys were down and out at twenty-one to zero down against the defending Super Bowl champions, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest recovery ever?
Sentiment of a first home game since Marshawn Kneeland tragic passing could have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare errors by the Philadelphia.
Prescott eclipsed Romo’s records for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an all-action display – his diving touchdown personifying his energetic showing.
Philly squandered a advantage of 21 points or more for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the other being a disappointing NFC East loss at the Giants.
Along with 14 penalties for 96 yards, the attacking struggles that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He'd only passed for 200-plus yards in four games prior to Sunday, he had over one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters alone in Dallas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four straight kicks, a missed field goal and then a turnover giving opportunity after opportunity to the Dallas.
The Eagles defence is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not surpassed 21 points in five of seven games (three losses) is now a huge worry, as the pieces are all there but it's just not working.
Sirianni’s approach is all about winning the key moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offense 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.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Prematurely to Rescue Chiefs
It wasn't quite as extreme, but Kansas City's 11-point recovery in the final period versus a strong Indianapolis squad was very notable – and may have just saved their campaign.
How big was it? Indeed, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now assign the Kansas City a 58% chance of reaching the playoffs, when a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that number to 28%.
It’s no surprise the playoff form of Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and guiding 3 scoring possessions in their last four series to seal it in overtime.
Some huge passes and swashbuckling scrambles are commonplace for Mahomes in the postseason, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at six and five and just tenth in the AFC standings.
That was more like the former Kansas City however, with a initial close victory of the season after dropping 5 previously – they won 11 of them last year so, if that confidence comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished so soon.
Talking Point – Can Bears Become Rulers of the Division?
You just can't ignore the Chicago Bears now. A victory over the Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the same record as the Eagles.
They appear dangerous on each side of the field, with a defense that leads the NFL in picks and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to winning close games.
He can at times be inconsistent, giving away a score after a turnover in his team’s goal area – but he also passed for three touchdowns and, with already 5 final period rallies this year, he knows how to get the job done.
Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are in contention after beating the New York in extra time with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are strangely the most consistent with eight wins in nine, but as they visit the championship champs on Thanksgiving we'll see just how good they really are.
Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store
It appears among the most exciting holiday line-ups for years, with every game packed with playoff implications.
The Lions welcome the Packers in the classic curtain-raiser in Detroit, prior to a rare trip return to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out existence as the Dallas Texans long ago in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.
Sunday's rally teams are each clinging to playoff hopes but have very little margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly win over the New York in fact has them leading of the division after starting 1-5 and looking dead and buried.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Retain His Job?
Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski batted away questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his first professional start to keep the first-team position when Dillon Gabriel comes back.
Yet the issue will continue to be asked as Shedeur became the first Cleveland signal-caller to secure his debut NFL start after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other rookie signal callers failing to do so since.
It came just the Las Vegas, and with the help of an almost aggressive Cleveland defence recording 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offense needs a leader, a presence to inspire confidence.
Moreover confidence is something not missing in Shedeur, who told a CBS {