Philly Stumble in Texas & Mahomes Rescues Kansas City – Top Moments from National Football League Week 12
Week 12 provided an epic Dallas Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Eagles collapse?
Playoff Patrick Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's season as the Bears keep to impress as they extend their winning run.
Did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his debut NFL outing to earn the starting job in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the best of the week in the NFL.
Analysis – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?
Dallas were trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind versus the defending Super Bowl winners, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest recovery ever?
Sentiment of a initial home game after Marshawn Kneeland tragic death could have been a factor, but technically it was a mixture of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that cashed in on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.
Dak surpassed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning possessions (25) with an dynamic performance – his plunging score embodying his energetic showing.
Philadelphia wasted a advantage of 21 points or more for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with multiple turnovers this season – the previous being another disappointing division loss at the New York.
Along with 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the attacking struggles that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was significant. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in four games prior to Sunday, he had over 150 in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.
However from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a fumble handing opportunity after opportunity to the Cowboys.
Philadelphia’s defence is brilliant, it really is, but an offence that's not surpassed 21 points in five of 7 games (three losses) is now a huge concern, because the components are all there but it's just not working.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about winning the key moments, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is does barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is failing, there may be trouble ahead.
In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn't as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a strong Colts squad was very notable – and could have only saved their season.
How significant was it? Well, the NFL's advanced analytics now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of making the playoffs, when a defeat on Sunday would have reduced that figure to 28%.
No wonder the playoff version of Patrick Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and guiding three scoring drives in their final 4 series to seal it in overtime.
Some big passes and swashbuckling runs are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but currently the Kansas City are in playoff mode – at 6-5 and just tenth in the conference rankings.
This was more like the old Chiefs though, with a first close victory of the year after losing five previously – they won 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished so soon.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Kings of the Division?
You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears now. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, kept them top of the division and at eight and three – sharing the identical record as the Eagles.
They look dangerous on each side of the field, with a defence that leads the NFL in picks and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging player now accustomed to winning close games.
He may at times be inconsistent, giving away a score after a fumble in his own end zone – but he also threw three touchdowns and, with already 5 fourth-quarter rallies this season, he knows how to get the job done.
Green Bay are in hot chase in the division after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after beating the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are strangely the most reliable with 8 wins in nine, but as they visit the championship champs on the holiday we'll see just how good they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Prospect
It appears one of the most exciting holiday schedules for a long time, with every game loaded with playoff consequences.
The Lions host the Green Bay in the traditional curtain-raiser in Michigan, before a rare visit back to Texas for the Kansas City, who started out existence as the Dallas Texans way back in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.
The weekend’s comeback teams are each clinging to playoff aspirations but have minimal margin for error – so this will have a post-season feel.
What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the New York actually has them top of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and looking finished.
Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Keep His Starting Role?
Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed sufficiently in his first professional start to maintain the first-team job when Gabriel returns.
But the issue will keep being asked as Shedeur became the first Cleveland signal-caller to secure his first NFL start after Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other rookie signal callers failing to do so since.
It was just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an almost feral Cleveland defence getting 10 sacks, but the Browns’ offense needs a leader, a figurehead to build confidence.
And self-belief is one thing not lacking in Sanders, who informed a network {