Philadelphia Falter in Texas & Mahomes Saves Kansas City – Top Moments from NFL the Twelfth Week
The twelfth week provided an incredible Dallas Cowboys comeback, or was it an massive Eagles collapse?
Playoff Mahomes showed up to salvage the Chiefs' season as the Bears continue to surprise while they extend their winning streak.
Did Sanders do sufficiently on his debut NFL start to earn 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?
The Cowboys found themselves down and out at 21-0 behind against the reigning Super Bowl winners, so how on earth did they engineer their joint-best comeback in history?
The emotions of a initial home fixture since a teammate’s untimely death could have been a factor, however it was a combination of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that pounced on uncommon mistakes by the Philadelphia.
Prescott eclipsed Tony Romo records for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an all-action display – his diving score personifying his energetic display.
Philadelphia wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple turnovers this season – the other being another disappointing NFC East loss at the Giants.
In addition to 14 infractions for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was significant. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had over 150 in the first half alone in Dallas.
Yet from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offense fell apart dramatically – with four consecutive kicks, a failed field goal and then a fumble handing opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defence is excellent, it truly is, but an offense that's not surpassed twenty-one points in five of seven games (3 losses) is now a huge concern, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.
Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the big moments, the defense maintains them in it and what offence there is manages barely sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is failing, there could be trouble in the future.
In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Prematurely to Save Kansas City
It wasn't quite as extreme, but the Chiefs’ 11-point recovery in the fourth quarter against a powerful Colts team was very notable – and may have only rescued their season.
How big was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of making the playoffs, when a loss on the weekend would have reduced that number to twenty-eight percent.
No wonder the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half alone and guiding 3 scoring possessions in their final 4 series to seal it in overtime.
A few huge throws and daring runs are typical for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference standings.
This was more like the old Kansas City though, with a first close victory of the season after dropping 5 previously – they won eleven of them the previous season so, if that belief returns, this Kansas City faithful might not be done so soon.
Talking Point – Can Bears Be Rulers of the North?
You just can't ignore the Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the same standing as the Eagles.
They appear threatening on each side of the ball, with a defence that tops the NFL in interceptions and total takeaways and, in Williams, a young quarterback now used to winning tight games.
He may at times be inconsistent, surrendering a touchdown after a fumble in his own end zone – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter rallies this year, he knows how to finish the game.
Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after overcoming the New York in extra time with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are interestingly the most consistent with 8 wins in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll discover just how strong they really are.
Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Prospect
It appears among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for a long time, with each game packed with playoff consequences.
The Lions welcome the Packers in the traditional curtain-raiser in Detroit, before a rare visit back to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out life as the Texans long ago in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.
Sunday's rally kings are both clinging to postseason aspirations but have very little room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.
What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the New York in fact has them top of the division after beginning 1-5 and appearing dead and buried.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)
Can Sanders Retain His Job?
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Sanders had performed sufficiently in his debut professional outing to keep the starting position when Gabriel returns.
Yet the issue will continue to be raised as Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win his debut league start since Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen other first-year signal callers unsuccessful to do so since.
It came only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost aggressive Cleveland defence getting 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offense requires a director, a figurehead to build belief.
And self-belief is one thing not lacking in Shedeur, who told a network {