Philly Falter in Texas & Patrick Rescues Chiefs – Best Highlights from National Football League Week 12

The twelfth week delivered an epic Dallas Cowboys comeback, or was it an epic Philadelphia Eagles implosion?

Playoff Patrick Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's campaign as the Bears continue to surprise as they extend their victorious streak.

Did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his debut professional start to secure the full-time job in Ohio?

Let's take a look at the pick of the action in the league.

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

Dallas were trailing badly 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 initial home game after a teammate’s untimely death may have been a factor, but technically it was a mixture of Dak Prescott resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare mistakes by the Eagles.

Dak eclipsed Tony Romo marks for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his diving score personifying his all-action showing.

Philadelphia squandered a lead of 21 points or more for the initial time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple turnovers this year – the other being another bad NFC East defeat at the New York.

Along with fourteen infractions for 96 yards, the attacking struggles that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was significant. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had more than one hundred fifty in the first half by himself in Dallas.

Yet from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offence derailed spectacularly – with four straight kicks, a missed field goal and then a turnover handing chance after opportunity to the Cowboys.

The Eagles defence is brilliant, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a huge worry, because the pieces are all there but it's just not working.

Sirianni’s game is all about winning the key moments, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is manages just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there could be trouble in the future.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Early to Rescue Chiefs

It wasn't quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's eleven-point comeback in the final period against a powerful Colts team was hugely impressive – and could have only saved their campaign.

How significant was it? Well, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a 58% probability of reaching the postseason, whereas a loss on Sunday would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.

No wonder the postseason version of Mahomes turned up, passing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and leading 3 point-scoring drives in their last four possessions to win it in overtime.

Some huge passes and daring scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the playoffs, but currently the Kansas City are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and just 10th in the AFC rankings.

This was closer to the old Chiefs however, with a first one-score win of the season after dropping five previously – they won 11 of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Kansas City faithful might not be finished so soon.

Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Kings of the North?

You just can't ignore the Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them first of the NFC North and at 8-3 – sharing the identical standing as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on each side of the ball, with a defence that leads the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Williams, a young player now accustomed to securing tight games.

He can at times be shaky, giving away a touchdown after a turnover in his team’s end zone – but he additionally passed for three scores and, with already five fourth-quarter rallies this year, he knows how to finish the game.

Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the NFC North after overpowering the Vikings and the Lions are in contention after beating the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Gibbs.

Chicago are strangely the most reliable with 8 wins in nine, but as they visit the championship champs on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they really are.

Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Prospect

It appears among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for a long time, with every game packed with postseason consequences.

The Lions host the Packers in the traditional opener in Michigan, prior to a rare visit return to Dallas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Texans way back in the sixties before relocating to Missouri.

Sunday's comeback teams are both clinging to playoff aspirations but have very little room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.

What about the Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets in fact has them leading of the AFC North after beginning one and five and looking finished.

Holiday and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)

Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski batted away questions on whether Sanders had performed enough in his first professional start to maintain the starting position when Gabriel comes back.

But the question will keep being asked as Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to secure his first NFL start since Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 additional first-year quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so since.

It was only the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly aggressive Cleveland defense getting ten sacks, but Cleveland's offence requires a director, a presence to inspire confidence.

And self-belief is one thing not lacking in Shedeur, who informed a CBS {

Leslie Kirby
Leslie Kirby

A passionate mountaineer and landscape photographer who documents high-altitude expeditions and shares insights on sustainable outdoor exploration.