Philadelphia Stumble in Dallas & Patrick Saves Kansas City – Top Highlights from NFL Week 12
Week 12 provided an incredible Dallas Cowboys rally, or perhaps an massive Eagles collapse?
Playoff Mahomes arrived to rescue the Kansas City's season while the Bears continue to impress while they continue their victorious run.
And did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his first NFL outing to earn the starting job in Cleveland?
Let's take a look at the pick of the week in the league.
The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?
The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 behind versus the reigning Super Bowl winners, so how on earth did they produce their joint-best recovery in history?
The emotions of a first home game since a teammate’s tragic passing may have played a part, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defence that cashed in on uncommon errors by the Eagles.
Dak surpassed Tony Romo marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (25) with an all-action display – his plunging score personifying his energetic display.
Philadelphia wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with several turnovers this year – the other being a disappointing NFC East defeat at the Giants.
In addition to fourteen infractions for 96 yards, the attacking struggles that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games prior to Sunday, he had more than one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.
Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a failed field goal and then a fumble giving chance after opportunity to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defense is brilliant, it really is, but an offense that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of 7 games (three losses) is now a huge concern, as the components are all there but it's simply not clicking.
Sirianni’s approach is all about winning the key moments, the defense maintains them in it and what offense there is does just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is failing, there could be trouble in the future.
Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Early to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn’t as extreme, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter versus a strong Colts squad was hugely notable – and may have only rescued their season.
How big was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent probability of making the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.
It’s no surprise the playoff form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, throwing for 235 yards in the second half alone and leading 3 scoring possessions in their final 4 possessions to seal it in overtime.
Some huge throws and swashbuckling runs are typical for Patrick in the postseason, but right now the Kansas City are in post-season mode – at six and five and just 10th in the conference rankings.
This was more like the former Kansas City though, with a initial close victory of the year after dropping 5 already – they won eleven of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be finished just yet.
Discussion – Are Chicago Be Kings of the Division?
You just can't overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at eight and three – holding the same standing as the Eagles.
They appear dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defense that tops the NFL in picks and total takeaways and, in Williams, a emerging player now used to securing tight games.
He can at times be inconsistent, surrendering a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s goal area – but he also threw 3 touchdowns and, with already five fourth-quarter comebacks this season, he understands how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in close pursuit in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after beating the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are interestingly 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 truly are.
Look Ahead – Thrilling Holiday in Store
It appears among the best Thanksgiving schedules for years, with every game packed with playoff implications.
The Lions welcome the Packers in the classic curtain-raiser in Detroit, before a rare trip return to Dallas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Texans long ago in the 1960s before moving to Missouri.
The weekend’s rally teams are both holding on to postseason hopes but have minimal room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
What about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly victory over the New York in fact has them top of the AFC North after starting one and five and appearing finished.
Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (20:00)
Can Sanders Retain His Job?
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Sanders had performed sufficiently in his first NFL outing to maintain the starting position when Gabriel comes back.
But the question will keep being asked as Shedeur became the first Cleveland quarterback to secure his debut NFL start since Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen other rookie quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so since.
It came only the Las Vegas, and with the help of an almost feral Cleveland defence recording ten sacks, but Cleveland's offence requires a leader, a presence to build belief.
And self-belief is one thing not missing in Sanders, who told a network {