Philly Falter in Dallas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Top Moments from National Football League the Twelfth Week

Week 12 provided an incredible Cowboys comeback, or perhaps an epic Philadelphia Eagles collapse?

Postseason Mahomes arrived to rescue the Chiefs' campaign while the Bears continue to impress as they extend their winning run.

Did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his first NFL start to earn the starting job in Cleveland?

Let's take a look at the pick of the action in the league.

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

Dallas found themselves trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind against the defending championship winners, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best comeback in history?

The emotions of a initial home fixture after Marshawn Kneeland untimely passing may have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s determination and a defensive unit that pounced on rare mistakes by the Eagles.

Dak surpassed Tony Romo marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch possessions (twenty-five) with an all-action display – his plunging touchdown embodying his energetic showing.

Philly wasted a lead of 21 points or more for the initial time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the previous being a bad NFC East defeat at the Giants.

Along with fourteen penalties for ninety-six yards, the attacking malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He'd only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had more than 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Dallas.

Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense derailed dramatically – with four consecutive punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a turnover handing chance after chance to the Cowboys.

The Eagles defence is excellent, it truly 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 pieces are all there but it's simply not working.

Nick Sirianni game is all about securing the key moments, the defense keeps them in it and what offense there is does barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is failing, there could be trouble ahead.

Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Early to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn't quite as extreme, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the final period versus a powerful Colts team was very notable – and may have only rescued their campaign.

How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of reaching the playoffs, when a defeat on Sunday would have reduced that figure to 28%.

No wonder the playoff form of Mahomes turned up, passing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and leading 3 scoring drives in their last four series to win it in extra time.

Some big throws and daring scrambles are typical for Patrick in the postseason, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season form – at 6-5 and just 10th in the conference rankings.

This was more like the former Kansas City though, with a first close victory of the year after dropping five previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Kansas City faithful may not be finished so soon.

Discussion – Can Bears Become Rulers of the Division?

You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears now. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them top of the division and at eight and three – holding the same record as the Eagles.

They look threatening on both sides of the field, with a defence that leads the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to winning tight games.

He may at times be inconsistent, surrendering a touchdown after a turnover in his team’s end zone – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already five final period 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 the Lions are right there after overcoming the New York in extra time with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Bears are interestingly the most reliable with eight victories in 9, but as they travel to the championship champs on the holiday we'll see exactly how strong they really are.

Preview – Thrilling Holiday in Store

This looks one of the best holiday line-ups for a long time, with every game packed with playoff consequences.

The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a rare trip back to Dallas for the Chiefs, who began life as the Texans long ago in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.

Sunday's comeback teams are both clinging to playoff aspirations but have very little room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.

What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the New York in fact has them leading of the AFC North after beginning 1-5 and appearing finished.

Holiday and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Will Shedeur Sanders Keep His Job?

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his first professional start to maintain the starting position when Gabriel comes back.

But the issue will continue to be asked as Shedeur became the first Cleveland quarterback to secure his debut league start since Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other first-year quarterbacks failing to do so since.

It was just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an almost aggressive Cleveland defence recording 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offense requires a director, a presence to build belief.

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

James Schmidt
James Schmidt

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in casino strategy development and player psychology.