Philadelphia Falter in Texas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Best Highlights from NFL the Twelfth Week
Week 12 provided an epic Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?
Postseason Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's campaign as the Bears keep to impress while they extend their winning run.
And did Shedeur Sanders do enough on his first professional start to secure the full-time role in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the league.
The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?
Dallas found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 behind against the defending championship champions, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best recovery ever?
The emotions of a first home game after Marshawn Kneeland untimely death may have played a part, however it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defensive unit that pounced on uncommon mistakes by the Philadelphia.
Prescott surpassed Tony Romo marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his diving score embodying his energetic display.
Philadelphia wasted a lead of 21 points or more for the initial time after 1999, with just their second game with several giveaways this season – the other being a disappointing division defeat at the Giants.
Along with 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the attacking malaise that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He had only thrown for 200-plus yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had over one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters by himself in Dallas.
However from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence derailed dramatically – with four consecutive punts, a missed field goal and then a fumble handing opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offense that's not surpassed 21 points in five of seven games (3 losses) is now a major concern, because the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.
Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the key situations, the defence maintains them in it and what offence there is does barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is breaking down, there may be problems in the future.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Prematurely to Save Chiefs
It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a powerful Indianapolis squad was very notable – and may have only saved their campaign.
How big was it? Indeed, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of reaching the postseason, when a defeat on Sunday would have dropped that figure to 28%.
It’s no surprise the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the second half by itself and guiding three scoring possessions in their final 4 possessions to seal it in overtime.
Some huge passes and daring runs are commonplace for Patrick in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in playoff form – at six and five and only tenth in the conference rankings.
This was closer to the former Kansas City though, with a first one-score win of the season after dropping five previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that confidence comes back, this Kansas City faithful might not be done so soon.
Talking Point – Can Bears Be Kings of the Division?
You can no longer overlook the Bears now. A victory over the Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them top of the division and at 8-3 – holding the same record as the Eagles.
They look threatening on each side of the field, with a defence that tops the league in picks and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging player now accustomed to winning close games.
He may still be shaky, surrendering a touchdown after a turnover in his own goal area – but he additionally threw 3 scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter comebacks this season, he knows how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in close chase in the NFC North after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after beating the New York in extra time with a monster game from Gibbs.
Chicago are interestingly the most reliable with eight victories in nine, but as they travel to the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Store
It appears among the most exciting holiday schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with playoff implications.
The Lions host the Green Bay in the traditional curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a rare visit back to Dallas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Texans way back in the 1960s before relocating to Kansas City.
The weekend’s rally teams are both holding on to playoff hopes but have very little room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets actually has them top of the division after beginning one and five and appearing dead and buried.
Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Eagles (20:00)
Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Job?
Browns head coach Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his debut professional outing to maintain the starting position when Dillon Gabriel returns.
But the issue will keep being asked as Shedeur became the first Cleveland quarterback to secure his debut league start after Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 additional rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so since.
It came just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly aggressive Cleveland defense recording 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offence needs a director, a presence to build confidence.
Moreover confidence is something not missing in Sanders, who told a CBS {