Philadelphia Stumble in Dallas & Patrick Saves Kansas City – Best Highlights from NFL Week 12

The twelfth week provided an epic Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?

Postseason Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season while the Bears keep to impress while they extend their winning run.

And did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his debut professional outing to secure the full-time job in Cleveland?

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

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

Dallas found themselves trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind against the defending Super Bowl champions, how exactly did they engineer their equal-largest recovery ever?

The emotions of a first home game since a teammate’s untimely death may have been a factor, however it was a combination of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare mistakes by the Eagles.

Dak surpassed Tony Romo marks for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (twenty-five) with an all-action display – his diving touchdown embodying his energetic display.

Philadelphia squandered a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since 1999, with just their second game with multiple turnovers this season – the other being a disappointing division loss at the Giants.

Along with fourteen penalties for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had more than one hundred fifty in the first half alone in Dallas.

Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a fumble giving chance after opportunity to the Dallas.

Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a huge concern, as the components are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Nick Sirianni game is all about winning the key moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offense there is does just about enough – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is breaking down, there could be trouble in the future.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Appears Prematurely to Save Kansas City

It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point recovery in the final period versus a powerful Indianapolis team was hugely notable – and could have only saved their campaign.

How significant was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now give the Kansas City a 58% probability of making the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.

It’s no surprise the playoff version of Patrick Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and leading 3 scoring possessions in their final four possessions to win it in overtime.

A few huge throws and swashbuckling runs are typical for Mahomes in the postseason, but currently the Chiefs are in playoff mode – at six and five and just tenth in the conference standings.

That was more like the old Kansas City however, with a first close victory of the season after losing 5 previously – they secured 11 of them last year so, if that confidence comes back, this Kansas City faithful may not be done just yet.

Talking Point – Can Bears Become Kings of the North?

You just can't overlook the Chicago Bears now. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, maintained them first of the NFC North and at eight and three – sharing the identical standing as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on each side of the field, with a defense that tops the NFL in picks and overall turnovers and, in Williams, a young quarterback now used to securing close games.

He may still be shaky, surrendering a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he additionally passed for three scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter comebacks this year, he understands how to finish the game.

Green Bay are in hot chase in the division after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Gibbs.

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

Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Prospect

This looks among the best holiday line-ups for a long time, with each game loaded with postseason consequences.

Detroit host the Packers in the classic opener in Michigan, prior to a unusual trip back to Dallas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s rally teams are both holding on to playoff aspirations but have very little room for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

And how about the Ravens? An ugly victory over the New York actually has them leading of the division after beginning one and five and appearing dead and buried.

Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
  • Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)

Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his debut NFL outing to maintain the first-team job when Gabriel returns.

But the issue will continue to be raised as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to secure his debut league start since Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 additional rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so since.

It came just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an almost feral Browns defence getting ten sacks, but Cleveland's offence needs a director, a figurehead to build belief.

And self-belief is something not missing in Sanders, who told a network {

George Schroeder
George Schroeder

A seasoned journalist passionate about uncovering stories that bridge cultures and inspire change.