Philly Falter in Texas & Mahomes Saves Chiefs – Top Moments from National Football League the Twelfth Week
Week 12 provided an incredible Dallas Cowboys comeback, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles implosion?
Postseason Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season as the Bears continue to impress as they extend their victorious run.
And did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his first professional start to earn the starting job in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the pick of the week in the NFL.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?
The Cowboys found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero behind against the reigning championship champions, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best comeback ever?
The emotions of a first home game after Marshawn Kneeland tragic death could have played a part, however it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that pounced on uncommon errors by the Philadelphia.
Dak surpassed Tony Romo marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an all-action display – his plunging touchdown embodying his energetic showing.
Philadelphia squandered a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since 1999, with only their second game with several giveaways this season – the previous being another bad division defeat at the New York.
In addition to fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive struggles that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in four games before Sunday, he had more than 150 in the opening two quarters by himself in Dallas.
Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four straight kicks, a failed field goal and then a fumble handing chance after opportunity to the Dallas.
The Eagles defence is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in five of seven games (3 losses) is now a huge worry, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about winning the big situations, the defence maintains them in it and what offense there is manages barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is failing, there could be problems in the future.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Rescue Chiefs
It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point comeback in the final period against a powerful Indianapolis team was very impressive – and could have just saved their campaign.
How big was it? Indeed, the league’s Next Gen Stats now assign the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent probability of making the postseason, whereas a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the playoff version of Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and leading three point-scoring drives in their last 4 possessions to seal it in extra time.
A few huge passes and daring runs are typical for Mahomes in the postseason, but currently the Kansas City are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference rankings.
That was more like the former Kansas City however, with a first one-score victory of the season after dropping five previously – they won 11 of them last year so, if that confidence returns, this Kansas City faithful might not be done just yet.
Talking Point – Are Chicago Become Kings of the Division?
You can no longer ignore the Bears now. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, maintained them top of the division and at 8-3 – holding the identical standing as the Philadelphia.
They appear dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defence that leads the NFL in picks and total turnovers and, in Williams, a emerging quarterback now used to winning close games.
He may at times be shaky, surrendering a score after a fumble in his own end zone – but he also passed for three scores and, with already five fourth-quarter rallies this year, he knows how to finish the game.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after beating the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Gibbs.
The Bears are strangely the most consistent with 8 wins in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl champs on Thanksgiving we'll see just how strong they truly are.
Preview – Exciting Holiday in Prospect
This looks among the most exciting holiday line-ups for years, with each game packed with postseason consequences.
The Lions host the Green Bay in the traditional curtain-raiser in Michigan, before a unusual visit back to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out life as the Texans long ago in the sixties before moving to Missouri.
The weekend’s comeback teams are both holding on to playoff hopes but have very little room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.
And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive victory over the New York actually has them leading of the AFC North after beginning one and five and appearing dead and buried.
Holiday and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Keep His Starting Role?
Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski batted away questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had done sufficiently in his debut NFL outing to maintain the starting position when Dillon Gabriel comes back.
Yet the issue will keep being raised as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his debut NFL game after Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 additional first-year signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.
It came just the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost aggressive Cleveland defense recording ten tackles, but the Browns’ offence needs a director, a presence to inspire belief.
And confidence is one thing not lacking in Sanders, who told a network {