Philadelphia Stumble in Texas & Mahomes Rescues Chiefs – Best Highlights from NFL the Twelfth Week
The twelfth week provided an incredible Cowboys comeback, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?
Postseason Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's season while the Bears keep to surprise as they continue their victorious streak.
And did Sanders do enough on his debut NFL outing to earn the starting role in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the best of the week in the league.
The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
The Cowboys were down and out at 21-0 down against the defending championship winners, so how on earth did they engineer their joint-best recovery ever?
Sentiment of a first home fixture since a teammate’s untimely death could have played a part, but technically it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defensive unit that pounced on uncommon mistakes by the Eagles.
Dak eclipsed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (25) with an all-action display – his plunging touchdown embodying his all-action display.
Philly squandered a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since 1999, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this season – the other being another disappointing division defeat at the Giants.
Along with fourteen penalties for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He had 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 Dallas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offence derailed dramatically – with four straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a turnover giving opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defence is brilliant, it really is, but an offense that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a major worry, because the components are all there but it's just not clicking.
Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the key moments, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is manages just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there may be trouble in the future.
In Focus – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Early to Save Kansas City
It wasn't quite as extreme, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point recovery in the fourth quarter versus a strong Colts team was very notable – and could have only saved their season.
How big was it? Well, the NFL's advanced analytics now give the Kansas City a 58% probability of making the postseason, when a loss on Sunday would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.
It’s no surprise the playoff version of Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the second half alone and leading three point-scoring drives in their last four possessions to seal it in overtime.
A few big passes and swashbuckling scrambles are typical for Patrick in the postseason, but currently the Chiefs are in playoff mode – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference rankings.
That was closer to the old Chiefs however, with a initial close win of the year after losing five previously – they won 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence returns, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be done so soon.
Discussion – Can Bears Become Kings of the North?
You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, kept them top of the NFC North and at eight and three – holding the identical record as the Eagles.
They appear threatening on each side of the field, with a defence that tops the NFL in interceptions and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now used to securing tight games.
He may still be shaky, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he additionally threw three scores and, with already five final period comebacks this season, he knows how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in hot chase in the division after dominating the Vikings and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Bears are interestingly the most consistent with 8 wins in 9, but as they travel to the championship winners on Thanksgiving we'll see just how strong they really are.
Preview – Exciting Holiday in Prospect
This looks among the most exciting Thanksgiving schedules for years, with each game loaded with postseason implications.
The Lions host the Green Bay in the traditional opener in Detroit, before a rare visit return to Dallas for the Chiefs, who started out existence as the Dallas Texans long ago in the 1960s before relocating to Missouri.
Sunday's comeback kings are each clinging to playoff aspirations but have minimal room for error – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets actually has them top of the AFC North after starting one and five and looking dead and buried.
Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Retain His Job?
Browns coach Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his first NFL outing to maintain the first-team position when Gabriel returns.
But the question will keep being asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to win his debut league game after Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other rookie quarterbacks failing to do so since.
It was just the Raiders, and with the help of an almost aggressive Browns defense getting 10 sacks, but the Browns’ offence requires a director, a figurehead to build confidence.
Moreover self-belief is something not lacking in Shedeur, who told a network {