Philly Stumble in Texas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Top Highlights from NFL the Twelfth Week
Week 12 delivered an incredible Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Eagles collapse?
Playoff Patrick Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's season while the Chicago Bears keep to impress as they extend their winning run.
Did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his debut professional outing to secure the starting job in Cleveland?
Let's take a look at the pick of the week in the league.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
The Cowboys were trailing badly at twenty-one to zero down versus the reigning championship winners, how exactly did they produce their joint-best recovery in history?
The emotions of a first home game after a teammate’s tragic death may have been a factor, but technically it was a combination of Prescott’s determination and a defence that cashed in on rare errors by the Eagles.
Dak eclipsed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his plunging score personifying his energetic display.
Philadelphia squandered a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple turnovers this year – the other being a disappointing NFC East defeat at the New York.
Along with 14 penalties for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He had only thrown for over two hundred yards in 4 games prior to Sunday, he had over 150 in the first half by himself in Dallas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a missed three-point attempt and then a turnover giving opportunity after opportunity to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defence is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not surpassed twenty-one points in five of seven games (3 losses) is now a major concern, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about securing the key moments, the defense keeps them in it and what offence there is does just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there could be trouble in the future.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Prematurely to Save Chiefs
It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the final period against a strong Colts squad was very notable – and may have just saved their campaign.
How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s Next Gen Stats now give the Kansas City a 58% chance of making the playoffs, whereas a defeat on Sunday would have reduced that figure to 28%.
No wonder the playoff form of Mahomes turned up, throwing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and guiding three scoring possessions in their final 4 possessions to win it in overtime.
A few big throws and daring runs are typical for Patrick in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in playoff form – at six and five and just tenth in the conference rankings.
This was closer to the former Chiefs though, with a first one-score victory of the year after dropping five already – they won eleven of them the previous season so, if that confidence returns, this Kansas City faithful may not be done just yet.
Talking Point – Can Bears Be Kings of the Division?
You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears now. A victory over the Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them top of the division and at eight and three – sharing the same standing as the Philadelphia.
They look threatening on both sides of the field, with a defence that leads the league in interceptions and total turnovers and, in Williams, a emerging player now used to securing close games.
He may at times be inconsistent, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he additionally threw three scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter rallies this year, he knows how to get the job done.
The Green Bay Packers are in close pursuit in the division after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after overcoming the Giants in extra time with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are interestingly the most consistent with 8 victories in 9, but as they travel to the Super Bowl winners on the holiday we'll see just how strong they truly are.
Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store
It appears one of the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with every game packed with postseason implications.
Detroit host the Packers in the traditional opener in Detroit, prior to a rare visit back to Texas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Dallas Texans long ago in the sixties before relocating to Missouri.
The weekend’s comeback teams are both clinging to postseason hopes but have very little margin for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets in fact has them top of the division after beginning 1-5 and appearing finished.
Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)
Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Job?
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski batted away questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had done sufficiently in his debut professional outing to keep the starting position when Dillon Gabriel returns.
Yet the issue will continue to be raised as Shedeur became the first Cleveland signal-caller to secure his first league game since Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so since.
It was only the Las Vegas, and with the help of an almost aggressive Browns defence getting 10 sacks, but the Browns’ offense requires a director, a figurehead to build confidence.
And self-belief is something not missing in Sanders, who told a network {