Philadelphia Stumble in Texas & Patrick Saves Chiefs – Best Highlights from NFL Week 12

Week 12 provided an incredible Cowboys rally, or was it an epic Philadelphia Eagles implosion?

Playoff Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's campaign while the Chicago Bears keep to impress while they extend their winning streak.

And did Sanders do sufficiently on his first professional start to secure the starting job in Ohio?

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

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys were down and out at 21-0 down against the defending Super Bowl champions, how exactly did they produce their joint-best comeback in history?

The emotions of a initial home game after a teammate’s untimely passing could have played a part, however it was a combination of Dak Prescott resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare errors by the Eagles.

Dak eclipsed Tony Romo records for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning possessions (25) with an all-action performance – his plunging score personifying his energetic showing.

Philly wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the other being a disappointing NFC East loss at the New York.

In addition to fourteen infractions for 96 yards, the attacking struggles that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He had only thrown for over two hundred yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had more than one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.

However from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offense fell apart dramatically – with four consecutive punts, a missed field goal and then a fumble handing opportunity after opportunity to the Cowboys.

Philadelphia’s defense is brilliant, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in five of seven games (three losses) is now a major worry, because the components are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the key situations, the defense maintains them in it and what offense there is does just about enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is failing, there could be trouble ahead.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Appears Early to Save Kansas City

It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point recovery in the final period against a strong Indianapolis squad was hugely notable – and may have only saved their season.

How big was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of making the playoffs, when a defeat on the weekend would have reduced that figure to 28%.

It’s no surprise the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and leading 3 point-scoring possessions in their final 4 series to win it in extra time.

A few big passes and daring scrambles are commonplace for Patrick in the postseason, but right now the Kansas City are in post-season form – at six and five and only 10th in the AFC standings.

This was more like the old Chiefs however, with a first one-score win of the year after dropping five already – they secured eleven of them the previous season so, if that belief comes back, this Kansas City faithful may not be finished so soon.

Talking Point – Are Chicago Become Kings of the North?

You can no longer overlook the Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them first of the NFC North and at eight and three – sharing the same standing as the Eagles.

They look threatening on both sides of the ball, with a defense that leads the league in interceptions and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to securing tight games.

He can still be inconsistent, giving away a score after a fumble in his own goal area – but he also threw 3 touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this season, he understands how to get the job done.

The Green Bay Packers are in hot pursuit in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after beating the New York in overtime with a monster game from Gibbs.

Chicago are strangely the most reliable with eight wins in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl champs on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they truly are.

Preview – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store

It appears one of the best Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game packed with playoff implications.

The Lions welcome the Packers in the traditional opener in Michigan, before a unusual trip back to Texas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Dallas Texans long ago in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s rally kings are each clinging to postseason hopes but have minimal margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.

What about the Ravens? An unattractive victory over the New York in fact has them leading of the division after starting 1-5 and looking dead and buried.

Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)

Will Shedeur Sanders Keep His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Sanders had performed sufficiently in his debut NFL outing to maintain the first-team job when Dillon Gabriel returns.

Yet the question will keep being raised as Shedeur became the first Cleveland signal-caller to win his first league game since Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen additional first-year signal callers unsuccessful to do so since.

It came just the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly aggressive Cleveland defense recording 10 sacks, but the Browns’ offence requires a director, a presence to build belief.

Moreover self-belief is something not missing in Shedeur, who told a network {

Karen Rojas
Karen Rojas

A tech enthusiast and writer passionate about exploring emerging technologies and sharing actionable insights with readers.