Philly Falter in Dallas & Patrick Saves Chiefs – Top Highlights from NFL Week 12

Week 12 provided an incredible Dallas Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Eagles collapse?

Playoff Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' campaign while the Chicago Bears continue to impress as they extend their victorious streak.

Did Sanders perform enough on his debut professional start to earn the starting job in Ohio?

Let's take a look at the pick of the week in the league.

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys were down and out at twenty-one to zero behind against the reigning Super Bowl winners, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest comeback in history?

Sentiment of a first home fixture after a teammate’s tragic passing may have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that pounced on rare errors by the Philadelphia.

Prescott eclipsed Romo’s records for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning drives (twenty-five) with an dynamic display – his diving touchdown embodying his all-action display.

Philly wasted a advantage of 21 points or more for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple turnovers this year – the other being another disappointing division loss at the New York.

In addition to 14 penalties for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had over one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters alone in Dallas.

Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a missed three-point attempt and then a turnover giving opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.

The Eagles defense is brilliant, it really is, but an offense that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a huge concern, as the pieces are all there but it's just not working.

Nick Sirianni game is all about securing the key moments, the defense keeps them in it and what offence there is manages just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the composure and ball protection is breaking down, there may be problems in the future.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Appears Prematurely to Rescue Chiefs

It wasn’t as extreme, but Kansas City's 11-point recovery in the fourth quarter against a strong Indianapolis squad was hugely impressive – and could have just saved their campaign.

How big was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Kansas City a 58% chance of making the postseason, whereas a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that number to twenty-eight percent.

No wonder the postseason form of Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the second half alone and guiding three point-scoring drives in their final 4 possessions to win it in overtime.

A few huge throws and daring scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference standings.

That was more like the former Kansas City however, with a initial one-score victory of the season after dropping 5 previously – they secured eleven of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Kansas City faithful may not be done just yet.

Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the Division?

You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them top of the division and at eight and three – holding the identical standing as the Eagles.

They appear dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defence that leads the NFL in interceptions and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to securing close games.

He may still be shaky, giving away a score after a turnover in his team’s end zone – but he also threw 3 touchdowns and, with already five final period rallies this year, he understands how to get the job done.

Green Bay are in close pursuit in the division after overpowering the Vikings and the Lions are right there after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Gibbs.

Chicago are strangely the most reliable with eight victories in nine, but as they travel to the Super Bowl champs on Thanksgiving we'll see just how strong they really are.

Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store

It appears among the best Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with postseason consequences.

Detroit host the Green Bay in the traditional opener in Michigan, before a rare trip back to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out existence as the Texans long ago in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s comeback teams are both holding on to postseason hopes but have minimal margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.

And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly victory over the Jets in fact has them leading of the division after beginning 1-5 and looking dead and buried.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

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

Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done enough in his debut NFL start to keep the starting position when Gabriel comes back.

But the question will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win his first NFL game since Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other first-year quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so afterward.

It came just the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost aggressive Cleveland defence getting 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offense requires a director, a presence to build confidence.

Moreover self-belief is something not lacking in Sanders, who told a network {

Michael Valenzuela
Michael Valenzuela

Elara Vance is a software engineer and tech journalist passionate about open source ecosystems and developer advocacy.

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