Philly Stumble in Dallas & Patrick Saves Kansas City – Best Moments from NFL Week 12

Week 12 provided an epic Dallas Cowboys comeback, or was it an epic Philadelphia Eagles implosion?

Playoff Patrick Mahomes arrived to rescue the Chiefs' campaign while the Chicago Bears keep to impress while they continue their winning streak.

Did Sanders do sufficiently on his first NFL outing to secure the full-time role in Ohio?

Let's take a look at the best of the week in the NFL.

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?

The Cowboys found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero down against the reigning Super Bowl winners, so how on earth did they engineer their joint-best recovery in history?

The emotions of a first home game since Marshawn Kneeland untimely passing could have been a factor, but technically it was a mixture of Dak Prescott resolve and a defensive unit that pounced on rare errors by the Eagles.

Prescott surpassed Tony Romo marks for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an dynamic performance – his diving score embodying his energetic display.

Philadelphia squandered a advantage of 21 points or more for the first time after nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with multiple turnovers this year – the other being a disappointing NFC East loss at the Giants.

Along with 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the offensive struggles that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He had only thrown for 200-plus yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had more than 150 in the first half alone in Dallas.

Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offense derailed spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a failed three-point attempt and then a fumble giving opportunity after chance to the Dallas.

Philadelphia’s defense is brilliant, it truly is, but an offence that's not surpassed twenty-one points in five of 7 games (three losses) is now a major worry, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Nick Sirianni approach is all about winning the key situations, the defense maintains them in it and what offense there is manages barely sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there may be problems ahead.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Early to Save Chiefs

It wasn't quite as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point recovery in the fourth quarter against a strong Colts squad was hugely notable – and may have just rescued their season.

How significant was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now assign the Kansas City a 58% chance of making the playoffs, when a defeat on Sunday would have reduced that number to twenty-eight percent.

No wonder the playoff form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and guiding three point-scoring drives in their final 4 series to seal it in overtime.

Some big throws and daring scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the postseason, but right now the Kansas City are in playoff form – at six and five and only tenth in the conference standings.

That was closer to the former Chiefs though, with a first one-score victory of the season after losing five previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Kansas City faithful may not be done just yet.

Discussion – Can Bears Become Kings of the North?

You can no longer ignore the Bears now. A win over the Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, maintained them top of the NFC North and at eight and three – holding the identical record as the Eagles.

They appear dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defense that tops the NFL in picks and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to winning tight games.

He may still be inconsistent, surrendering a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he additionally passed for three touchdowns and, with already five final period rallies this year, he understands how to get the job done.

Green Bay are in hot chase in the division after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after beating the Giants in extra time with a huge game from Gibbs.

The Bears are strangely the most reliable with 8 wins in nine, but as they visit the championship champs on Thanksgiving we'll see just how good they truly are.

Preview – Exciting Holiday in Store

This looks one of the best holiday line-ups for years, with each game packed with postseason consequences.

Detroit welcome the Packers in the traditional opener in Detroit, before a unusual visit return to Dallas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Dallas Texans long ago in the 1960s before relocating to Kansas City.

The weekend’s rally teams are each holding on to playoff aspirations but have minimal margin for error – so this will have a post-season feel.

And how about the Ravens? An unattractive victory over the Jets actually has them top of the division after starting 1-5 and looking finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)

Can Sanders Keep His Starting Role?

Browns head coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Sanders had performed sufficiently in his debut professional start to maintain the starting job when Gabriel returns.

But the question will keep being raised as Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win his first league start since Eric Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen other rookie signal callers failing to do so since.

It came just the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly feral Browns defense getting 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offense requires a director, a figurehead to inspire confidence.

Moreover confidence is something not lacking in Sanders, who told a network {

John Hudson
John Hudson

A digital strategist with over 8 years of experience in web development and content marketing, passionate about simplifying tech for businesses.