Philadelphia Stumble in Texas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Best Moments from National Football League the Twelfth Week
The twelfth week delivered an incredible Dallas Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Eagles collapse?
Playoff Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season while the Bears continue to surprise as they extend their victorious streak.
Did Sanders perform enough on his debut NFL outing to earn the starting job in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the best of the action in the league.
The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?
Dallas found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero down against the defending Super Bowl winners, so how on earth did they produce their joint-best comeback ever?
The emotions of a initial home fixture since a teammate’s untimely death could have been a factor, but technically it was a combination of Prescott’s determination and a defensive unit that pounced on uncommon mistakes by the Eagles.
Dak surpassed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning possessions (25) with an all-action performance – his diving score embodying his energetic showing.
Philly wasted a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time after 1999, with only their second game with multiple turnovers this season – the other being a bad NFC East defeat at the Giants.
In addition to 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was significant. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in four games before the weekend, he had more than 150 in the first half by himself in Texas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense fell apart dramatically – with four consecutive kicks, a missed field goal and then a fumble giving chance after chance to the Cowboys.
Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major concern, as the components are all there but it's just not working.
Sirianni’s approach is all about winning the big situations, the defense maintains them in it and what offense there is manages just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there could be problems ahead.
In Focus – Playoff Patrick Appears Prematurely to Rescue Chiefs
It wasn’t quite as extreme, but the Chiefs’ 11-point recovery in the final period versus a powerful Colts squad was very impressive – and could have just rescued their season.
How big was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now assign the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent chance of reaching the postseason, when a loss on the weekend would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.
It’s no surprise the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the second half alone and leading three scoring possessions in their last 4 series to seal it in extra time.
A few big passes and swashbuckling scrambles are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Kansas City are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and just 10th in the AFC rankings.
That was closer to the old Chiefs though, with a first close victory of the year after losing five previously – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence comes back, this Kansas City faithful might not be done just yet.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Become Kings of the Division?
You just can't ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at 8-3 – holding the same record as the Eagles.
They appear threatening on both sides of the field, with a defence that tops the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to securing tight games.
He may at times be inconsistent, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his own goal area – but he additionally threw 3 scores and, with already 5 final period comebacks this year, he knows how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in close pursuit in the division after dominating the Vikings and Detroit are in contention 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 visit the championship champs on the holiday we'll discover just how strong they truly are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Prospect
This looks among the best holiday schedules for a long time, with each game packed with playoff consequences.
Detroit welcome the Packers in the traditional curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a unusual trip back to Dallas for the Chiefs, who started out life as the Texans way back in the 1960s before moving to Missouri.
The weekend’s comeback teams are both clinging to postseason aspirations but have very little margin for mistakes – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive victory over the New York in fact has them leading of the AFC North after starting one and five and looking dead and buried.
Holiday and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Keep His Job?
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his debut professional outing to maintain the first-team job when Dillon Gabriel returns.
Yet the question will continue to be raised as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his debut league start since Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen additional rookie quarterbacks failing to do so since.
It came just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Cleveland defence getting 10 sacks, but the Browns’ offense requires a leader, a figurehead to inspire belief.
And confidence is something not missing in Shedeur, who informed a network {