Philadelphia Stumble in Dallas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Best Moments from NFL Week 12

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

Playoff Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's campaign as the Bears keep to impress while they continue their victorious streak.

And did Sanders perform enough on his first NFL start to secure the full-time role in Cleveland?

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

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys were trailing badly at 21-0 down versus the defending Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they produce their equal-largest comeback ever?

The emotions of a initial home game after Marshawn Kneeland tragic passing could have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Dak Prescott resolve and a defence that pounced on uncommon mistakes by the Eagles.

Dak surpassed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his diving touchdown personifying his energetic showing.

Philly wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the first time since 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 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in four games prior to the weekend, he had over 150 in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.

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

Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it really is, but an offense that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in five of 7 games (three losses) is now a huge worry, as the pieces are all there but it's just not clicking.

Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the key moments, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is does barely enough – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there could be trouble ahead.

Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Appears Early to Rescue Chiefs

It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter versus a powerful Colts squad was very notable – and may have just rescued their campaign.

How big was it? Well, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent probability of making the playoffs, when a defeat on Sunday would have dropped that number to twenty-eight percent.

It’s no surprise the playoff version of Mahomes turned up, passing for 235 yards in the latter half alone and guiding three scoring possessions in their last 4 series to seal it in overtime.

Some huge throws and swashbuckling runs are typical for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in playoff form – at 6-5 and just 10th in the AFC rankings.

This was more like the old Kansas City however, with a first close victory of the season after dropping five previously – they secured 11 of them last year so, if that confidence returns, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be done just yet.

Discussion – Are Chicago Be Kings of the Division?

You just can't overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, minus Rodgers, kept them top of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the same standing as the Eagles.

They look dangerous on each side of the field, with a defence that leads the league in picks and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to winning close games.

He may at times be shaky, surrendering a touchdown after a turnover in his own goal area – but he additionally passed for three touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this season, he understands how to finish the game.

Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the NFC North after overpowering the Vikings and Detroit are right there after overcoming the New York in extra time with a monster game from Gibbs.

The Bears are interestingly the most consistent with 8 wins in nine, but as they travel to the Super Bowl champs on Thanksgiving we'll discover just how good they really are.

Preview – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store

It appears among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with every game loaded with playoff implications.

The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a unusual trip back to Texas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Texans long ago in the 1960s before relocating to Kansas City.

Sunday's rally kings are each clinging to playoff hopes but have very little margin for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

What about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive victory over the Jets actually has them leading of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and appearing finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Lions (18:00)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
  • Friday, 28 November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)

Can Sanders Keep His Job?

Cleveland Browns coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Sanders had done sufficiently in his debut NFL start to keep the starting job when Dillon Gabriel returns.

But the issue will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland quarterback to win his first league start since Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 other first-year signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.

It was only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Browns defense recording ten tackles, but Cleveland's offence requires a director, a presence to inspire belief.

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

Brian Rose
Brian Rose

A tech strategist with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and enterprise solutions, passionate about simplifying complex tech concepts.