Philly Stumble in Texas & Patrick Saves Chiefs – Top Moments from NFL the Twelfth Week
Week 12 provided an epic Dallas Cowboys rally, or perhaps an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?
Postseason Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's season as the Chicago Bears keep to impress as they continue their victorious run.
And did Sanders do enough on his first professional outing to secure the full-time role in Cleveland?
Let's take a look at the pick of the action in the NFL.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
Dallas found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 behind against the reigning championship champions, how exactly did they produce their joint-best comeback ever?
Sentiment of a first home game since a teammate’s tragic passing may have played a part, however it was a mixture of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that cashed in on uncommon mistakes by the Eagles.
Prescott surpassed Tony Romo records for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning possessions (25) with an dynamic display – his diving score embodying his all-action showing.
Philly wasted a lead of 21 points or more for the first time after nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this season – the previous being another bad division loss at the Giants.
In addition to 14 infractions for 96 yards, the attacking malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was huge. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, 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 straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a fumble handing chance after chance to the Dallas.
The Eagles defence is excellent, it really is, but an offense that's not surpassed twenty-one points in five of seven games (3 losses) is now a major worry, as the components are all there but it's simply not clicking.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about securing the big moments, the defense maintains them in it and what offense there is manages barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the composure and possession security is breaking down, there could be problems in the future.
In Focus – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Early to Save Chiefs
It wasn't as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point recovery in the fourth quarter versus a strong Indianapolis squad was very impressive – and could have just rescued their season.
How big was it? Well, the league’s Next Gen Stats now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of making the postseason, whereas a defeat on Sunday would have dropped that number to 28%.
No wonder the playoff version of Patrick Mahomes turned up, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and leading three point-scoring drives in their final 4 series to seal it in extra time.
Some huge passes and daring scrambles are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but currently the Kansas City are in playoff mode – at six and five and only 10th in the AFC rankings.
This was closer to the old Kansas City however, with a first close victory of the season after dropping 5 previously – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence returns, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be done just yet.
Talking Point – Can Bears Be Rulers of the North?
You just can't overlook the Chicago Bears now. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at eight and three – sharing the same standing as the Philadelphia.
They appear dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defense that leads the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Williams, a emerging quarterback now accustomed to securing tight games.
He can at times be shaky, surrendering a touchdown after a turnover in his own goal area – but he additionally threw three scores and, with already five fourth-quarter rallies this season, he knows how to finish the game.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot pursuit in the NFC North after overpowering the Vikings and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the Giants in extra time with a monster game from Gibbs.
Chicago are strangely the most consistent with 8 victories in 9, but as they visit the championship champs on Thanksgiving we'll see just how strong they truly are.
Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store
This looks among the most exciting holiday line-ups for a long time, with every game packed with postseason implications.
Detroit host the Packers in the traditional opener in Michigan, prior to a rare visit back to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out existence as the Texans long ago in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.
Sunday's comeback kings are each clinging to playoff aspirations but have minimal margin for error – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
What about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive win over the New York actually has them leading of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and appearing dead and buried.
Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)
Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Job?
Cleveland Browns coach Stefanski batted away questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his first professional outing to maintain the first-team job when Gabriel comes back.
But the question will keep being raised as Shedeur became the first Browns signal-caller to win his first league start after Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 additional rookie quarterbacks failing to do so since.
It was just the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly aggressive Cleveland defense recording 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offence requires a director, a figurehead to inspire belief.
And self-belief is something not missing in Sanders, who informed a CBS {