Philadelphia Stumble in Dallas & Patrick Saves Kansas City – Top Moments from National Football League Week 12
Week 12 provided an epic Cowboys comeback, or perhaps an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?
Playoff Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's campaign as the Chicago Bears keep to surprise as they extend their victorious run.
And did Sanders perform sufficiently on his first professional start to earn the full-time role in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the best of the action in the league.
The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
Dallas found themselves trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind versus the defending championship champions, how exactly did they produce their equal-largest comeback ever?
Sentiment of a first home fixture since Marshawn Kneeland tragic passing may have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s determination and a defence that pounced on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.
Prescott eclipsed Romo’s records for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (25) with an all-action display – his diving touchdown personifying his all-action showing.
Philly wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with several turnovers this season – the previous being another bad division loss at the Giants.
In addition to 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the attacking struggles that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was significant. He'd only thrown for 200-plus yards in four games before the weekend, 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 dramatically – with four straight punts, a failed three-point attempt and then a fumble handing chance after opportunity to the Cowboys.
Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it really is, but an offense that's not eclipsed 21 points in five of 7 games (3 losses) is now a huge worry, because the pieces are all there but it's just not working.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about securing the big moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offense there is manages just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there could be problems ahead.
In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Prematurely to Rescue Chiefs
It wasn’t as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a strong Indianapolis team was very impressive – and may have only saved their season.
How significant was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now assign the Kansas City a 58% probability of reaching the postseason, when a defeat on Sunday would have reduced that number to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the playoff version of Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half by itself and guiding 3 point-scoring drives in their last 4 possessions to win it in overtime.
A few huge passes and swashbuckling scrambles are typical for Patrick in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and just 10th in the conference standings.
That was closer to the old Chiefs though, with a initial close win of the year after dropping 5 previously – they secured 11 of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be done so soon.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the Division?
You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the identical standing as the Eagles.
They look threatening on each side of the ball, with a defence that tops the league in interceptions and total turnovers and, in Williams, a young quarterback now accustomed to winning tight games.
He may still be inconsistent, giving away a touchdown after a turnover in his team’s goal area – but he also passed for three touchdowns and, with already 5 fourth-quarter rallies this season, he understands how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in hot chase in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after beating the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are strangely the most reliable with eight victories in 9, but as they visit the championship champs on the holiday we'll see exactly how good they really are.
Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store
This looks one of the best Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with playoff implications.
Detroit welcome the Green Bay in the traditional opener in Detroit, before a rare trip back to Texas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Dallas Texans way back in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.
The weekend’s comeback teams are both clinging to postseason aspirations but have very little room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets in fact has them top of the division after beginning one and five and appearing finished.
Holiday and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)
Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Starting Role?
Browns head coach Stefanski batted away questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed sufficiently in his debut NFL start to maintain the starting position when Gabriel returns.
But the question will continue to be raised as Shedeur became the first Browns quarterback to secure his first NFL start after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen additional rookie quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so afterward.
It came just the Raiders, and with the help of an almost feral Cleveland defence recording 10 sacks, but Cleveland's offense requires a director, a presence to build belief.
Moreover self-belief is one thing not lacking in Shedeur, who told a network {