Philadelphia Stumble in Dallas & Mahomes Rescues Kansas City – Best Highlights from NFL the Twelfth Week
Week 12 provided an epic Dallas Cowboys comeback, or perhaps an massive Eagles implosion?
Playoff Patrick Mahomes showed up to salvage the Chiefs' season while the Chicago Bears keep to surprise as they continue their winning run.
And did Sanders perform enough on his debut professional outing to secure the starting role in Ohio?
We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the league.
The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
Dallas were trailing badly at twenty-one to zero down versus the reigning Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best comeback in history?
Sentiment of a first home fixture after a teammate’s untimely passing could have played a part, however it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defensive unit that pounced on rare mistakes by the Eagles.
Dak surpassed Tony Romo records for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch drives (25) with an dynamic display – his plunging score embodying his energetic display.
Philadelphia squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time since 1999, with just their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the other being another disappointing division defeat at the Giants.
Along with 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the offensive struggles that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was huge. He had only thrown for over two hundred yards in four games before the weekend, he had more than 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Dallas.
Yet from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a failed field goal and then a fumble giving opportunity after opportunity to the Dallas.
Philadelphia’s defense is brilliant, it really is, but an offense that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in five of seven games (three losses) is now a major worry, because the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about securing the key situations, the defence keeps them in it and what offense there is manages just about enough – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there may be problems in the future.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Prematurely to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn’t as dramatic, but Kansas City's eleven-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a strong Colts team was very impressive – and could have just rescued their season.
How significant was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of making the playoffs, when a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that number to 28%.
No wonder the playoff form of Mahomes turned up, throwing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the second half by itself and leading three point-scoring possessions in their last four possessions to win it in extra time.
A few big passes and swashbuckling runs are typical for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Kansas City are in playoff mode – at six and five and only 10th in the conference standings.
That was closer to the old Chiefs though, with a first one-score win of the season after dropping 5 previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that confidence returns, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be done so soon.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Kings of the North?
You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears now. A win over the Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them first 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 leads the league in interceptions and total turnovers and, in Williams, a emerging player now used to securing close games.
He may still be shaky, surrendering a score after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he also passed for three scores and, with already five fourth-quarter comebacks this season, he knows how to get the job done.
Green Bay are in close chase in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after beating the New York in extra time with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Bears are strangely the most reliable with eight wins in 9, but as they visit the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll discover exactly how good they truly are.
Preview – Exciting Holiday in Store
This looks one of the best holiday schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with postseason implications.
Detroit host the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a unusual visit back to Texas for the Kansas City, who started out life as the Dallas Texans long ago in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.
The weekend’s rally teams are both holding on to postseason aspirations but have very little margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.
What about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets in fact has them top of the division after starting one and five and appearing finished.
Holiday and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Eagles (20:00)
Will Shedeur Sanders Keep His Job?
Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done enough in his debut NFL outing to keep the starting job when Gabriel comes back.
But the issue will keep being asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to secure his first league start since Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other rookie quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so since.
It came only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an nearly aggressive Cleveland defense recording ten sacks, but the Browns’ offense requires a leader, a presence to build confidence.
And self-belief is one thing not lacking in Shedeur, who told a network {