Philadelphia Falter in Dallas & Patrick Saves Kansas City – Best Moments from National Football League the Twelfth Week

The twelfth week provided an epic Dallas Cowboys rally, or perhaps an massive Eagles collapse?

Postseason Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' campaign as the Bears continue to surprise as they continue their victorious run.

And did Shedeur Sanders perform sufficiently on his debut NFL start to earn the starting job in Ohio?

We’ll examine at the best of the week in the league.

Analysis – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas were trailing badly at 21-0 down against the reigning championship winners, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest comeback ever?

Sentiment of a first home game since a teammate’s untimely death could have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.

Prescott surpassed Romo’s marks for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch possessions (twenty-five) with an dynamic performance – his diving touchdown personifying his all-action display.

Philadelphia wasted a advantage of 21 points or more for the initial time after 1999, with only their second game with several giveaways this year – the previous being a bad NFC East defeat at the Giants.

In addition to fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was significant. He had only thrown for over two hundred yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, 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 dramatically – with four consecutive punts, a failed field goal and then a fumble giving opportunity after opportunity to the Cowboys.

The Eagles defence is excellent, it really is, but an offense that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a major worry, because the pieces are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Nick Sirianni approach is all about securing the big situations, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is does just about enough – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is failing, there may be trouble in the future.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Appears Prematurely to Rescue Chiefs

It wasn’t quite as extreme, but Kansas City's 11-point recovery in the fourth quarter versus a strong Colts team was hugely impressive – and could have only rescued their campaign.

How big was it? Well, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a 58% chance of reaching the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have dropped that number to 28%.

It’s no surprise the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the second half by itself and guiding three scoring possessions in their final four possessions to win it in extra time.

Some big passes and daring scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the postseason, but right now the Chiefs are in playoff mode – at six and five and just 10th in the AFC rankings.

That was more like the former Chiefs however, with a first one-score victory of the season after dropping five previously – they secured eleven of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Kansas City faithful might not be done just yet.

Discussion – Can Bears Become Rulers of the Division?

You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at 8-3 – holding the same standing as the Philadelphia.

They appear dangerous on each side of the field, with a defence that tops the league in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Williams, a emerging quarterback now used to securing close games.

He can at times be inconsistent, surrendering a touchdown after a turnover in his team’s end zone – but he also passed for three scores and, with already five final period rallies this year, he knows how to finish the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in hot chase in the division after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after beating the New York in extra time with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

Chicago are interestingly the most consistent with eight wins in 9, but as they visit the Super Bowl champs on the holiday we'll discover exactly how good they really are.

Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store

This looks one of the best Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with each game loaded with playoff implications.

The Lions host the Packers in the classic curtain-raiser in Detroit, prior to a unusual trip back to Texas for the Kansas City, who started out existence as the Dallas Texans way back in the 1960s before relocating to Missouri.

The weekend’s comeback kings are both holding on to postseason aspirations but have very little margin for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

What about the Ravens? An ugly victory over the Jets actually has them top of the AFC North after beginning one and five and looking dead and buried.

Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
  • Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done enough in his debut NFL outing 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 after Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other first-year quarterbacks failing to do so since.

It came only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Cleveland defense recording 10 sacks, but Cleveland's offense needs a leader, a figurehead to inspire belief.

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

John Rivera
John Rivera

A passionate game strategist and writer, sharing insights from years of competitive play and game design.