Philadelphia Falter in Dallas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Top Highlights from National Football League Week 12

Week 12 provided an epic Cowboys comeback, or perhaps an epic Philadelphia Eagles collapse?

Playoff Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season as the Bears keep to surprise while they extend their winning streak.

Did Sanders perform sufficiently on his first NFL start to earn the starting job in Ohio?

We’ll examine at the best of the week in the NFL.

Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?

The Cowboys were trailing badly at 21-0 behind versus the defending Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they produce their equal-largest comeback in history?

The emotions of a initial home game after a teammate’s untimely passing could have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Dak Prescott resolve and a defence that pounced on uncommon mistakes by the Philadelphia.

Dak surpassed Romo’s records for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an all-action display – his diving score embodying his energetic display.

Philly wasted a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time since 1999, with just their second game with several giveaways this season – the previous being a bad division loss at the Giants.

In addition to 14 infractions for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was significant. He'd only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games prior to Sunday, he had over one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters by himself in Dallas.

However from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offense fell apart dramatically – with four straight punts, a missed field goal and then a turnover giving opportunity after chance to the Dallas.

The Eagles defense is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of 7 games (three losses) is now a huge worry, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Nick Sirianni approach is all about winning the key situations, the defence maintains them in it and what offense there is manages just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the composure and possession security is failing, there could be trouble in the future.

Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Prematurely to Rescue Chiefs

It wasn’t as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ 11-point recovery in the fourth quarter versus a strong Colts squad was very notable – and may have only saved their season.

How significant was it? Indeed, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of making the playoffs, when a defeat on Sunday would have reduced that number to 28%.

It’s no surprise the playoff version of Patrick Mahomes turned up, throwing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and leading 3 scoring drives in their final 4 series to win it in extra time.

Some big passes and swashbuckling runs are commonplace for Mahomes in the postseason, but currently the Kansas City are in post-season form – at six and five and just tenth in the conference standings.

This was more like the old Kansas City though, with a first one-score victory of the season after dropping 5 previously – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that belief returns, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be done so soon.

Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Kings of the Division?

You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears now. A win over the Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them top of the division and at eight and three – holding the same standing as the Philadelphia.

They appear threatening on both sides of the ball, with a defence that leads the league in interceptions and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging quarterback now used to winning tight games.

He can at times be inconsistent, surrendering a score after a turnover in his team’s end zone – but he also passed for three touchdowns and, with already 5 fourth-quarter comebacks this year, he knows how to finish the game.

Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Vikings and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

Chicago are strangely the most consistent with 8 wins in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl champs on Thanksgiving we'll see just how strong they really are.

Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Prospect

This looks among the best holiday schedules for a long time, with every game loaded with postseason implications.

The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the traditional curtain-raiser in Detroit, prior to a unusual trip return to Dallas for the Chiefs, who started out life as the Texans long ago in the 1960s before moving to Missouri.

Sunday's comeback teams are both holding on to playoff hopes but have minimal margin for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

What about the Ravens? An unattractive win over the New York actually has them top of the division after beginning one and five and looking finished.

Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
  • Friday, 28 November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Will Shedeur Sanders Keep His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns coach Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had done sufficiently in his first NFL start to maintain the first-team position when Gabriel comes back.

Yet the question will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to win his first NFL start since Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other first-year quarterbacks failing to do so afterward.

It was only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost feral Browns defence recording 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offense requires a leader, a figurehead to build confidence.

And self-belief is one thing not lacking in Shedeur, who told a CBS {

Katelyn Barnes
Katelyn Barnes

Elena is a literary historian and critic with a passion for uncovering hidden narratives in classic works.