Philly Falter in Dallas & Patrick Saves Kansas City – Best Highlights from NFL the Twelfth Week
Week 12 provided an incredible Cowboys rally, or was it an epic Eagles implosion?
Postseason Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's season while the Chicago Bears continue to impress while they extend their victorious streak.
And did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his debut professional start to earn the full-time job in Ohio?
We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the NFL.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
Dallas found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 behind against the reigning Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best comeback in history?
The emotions of a first home game after Marshawn Kneeland tragic death may have been a factor, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s determination and a defence that pounced on rare errors by the Eagles.
Dak surpassed Tony Romo records for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an dynamic display – his plunging touchdown embodying his all-action showing.
Philadelphia squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time after nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with several turnovers this year – the previous being another bad NFC East defeat at the New York.
In addition to 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the attacking malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He had only thrown for over two hundred yards in four games before the weekend, he had over 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Texas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a failed field goal and then a fumble handing opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not surpassed twenty-one points in five of seven games (3 losses) is now a major concern, because the pieces are all there but it's just not clicking.
Sirianni’s approach is all about winning the key situations, the defence keeps them in it and what offense there is manages barely sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the composure and ball protection is breaking down, there may be trouble ahead.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn't quite as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ 11-point recovery in the fourth quarter versus a powerful Colts team was very impressive – and could have only rescued their campaign.
How significant was it? Well, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of reaching the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have reduced that figure to twenty-eight percent.
It’s no surprise the postseason form of Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and leading 3 scoring possessions in their final 4 possessions to seal it in overtime.
A few big passes and swashbuckling scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in playoff form – at six and five and just 10th in the conference rankings.
That was closer to the old Chiefs however, with a first close win of the season after dropping 5 previously – they won 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence returns, this Kansas City faithful might not be done just yet.
Discussion – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the North?
You can no longer ignore the Bears any longer. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, maintained them top of the division and at eight and three – holding the identical record as the Eagles.
They appear dangerous on each side of the ball, with a defence that leads the league in picks and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging quarterback now accustomed to securing close games.
He can still be inconsistent, surrendering a score after a turnover in his own end zone – but he also passed for three touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this season, he understands how to get the job done.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Gibbs.
The Bears are interestingly the most reliable with eight victories in nine, but as they travel to the championship winners on Thanksgiving we'll discover exactly how strong they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Prospect
It appears one of the best Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with every game packed with playoff consequences.
Detroit host the Green Bay in the traditional curtain-raiser in Detroit, prior to a rare visit back to Texas for the Kansas City, who began existence as the Dallas Texans long ago in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.
The weekend’s comeback teams are both clinging to postseason aspirations but have very little margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.
What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the New York in fact has them top of the AFC North after starting one and five and appearing finished.
Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (20:00)
Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done sufficiently in his first professional outing to maintain the first-team job when Gabriel returns.
Yet the issue will keep being asked as Shedeur became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his debut NFL game since Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen additional rookie quarterbacks failing to do so since.
It was just the Las Vegas, and with the help of an nearly aggressive Cleveland defense recording 10 sacks, but Cleveland's offense needs a leader, a presence to build belief.
Moreover self-belief is something not missing in Shedeur, who informed a network {