Philly Falter in Texas & Mahomes Rescues Kansas City – Best Moments from NFL Week 12
The twelfth week provided an epic Cowboys comeback, or was it an massive Eagles implosion?
Postseason Patrick Mahomes showed up to salvage the Chiefs' season as the Chicago Bears keep to surprise while they continue their victorious run.
Did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his first NFL outing to earn the starting role in Ohio?
Let's take a look at the best of the week in the NFL.
The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?
The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 down versus the defending Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they engineer their equal-largest recovery ever?
Sentiment of a first home game since Marshawn Kneeland tragic passing could have been a factor, however it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defensive unit that pounced on rare errors by the Eagles.
Dak eclipsed Romo’s marks for yards thrown (now 34,378) and clutch possessions (25) with an dynamic display – his plunging touchdown personifying his all-action showing.
Philadelphia squandered a advantage of 21 points or more for the initial time after nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with several giveaways this year – the previous being a bad NFC East defeat at the New York.
In addition to 14 infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in four games prior to the weekend, he had more than 150 in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.
Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence derailed dramatically – with four straight punts, a missed field goal and then a turnover giving opportunity after opportunity to the Cowboys.
The Eagles defence is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major concern, because the pieces are all there but it's simply not clicking.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about winning the key moments, the defense keeps them in it and what offence there is manages barely enough – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is breaking down, there could be trouble in the future.
Spotlight – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Rescue Kansas City
It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ 11-point comeback in the final period versus a strong Indianapolis team was hugely impressive – and could have just saved their campaign.
How big was it? Well, the league’s Next Gen Stats now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of making the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.
It’s no surprise the postseason form of Mahomes turned up, passing for 235 yards in the second half alone and guiding three scoring possessions in their final four possessions to seal it in extra time.
Some huge passes and swashbuckling runs are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference rankings.
This was more like the old Kansas City though, with a initial one-score victory of the season after dropping 5 previously – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that belief returns, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be done just yet.
Talking Point – Can Bears Become Rulers of the North?
You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears now. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, maintained them first of the NFC North and at eight and three – holding the same record as the Eagles.
They look threatening on each side of the field, with a defence that leads the NFL in picks and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a young quarterback now used to securing close games.
He can still be inconsistent, giving away a score after a turnover in his own end zone – but he additionally threw 3 touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he understands how to get the job done.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot chase in the NFC North after overpowering the Vikings and the Lions are in contention after overcoming the New York in extra time with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Chicago are interestingly the most consistent with 8 wins in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl champs on the holiday we'll discover exactly how good they really are.
Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store
It appears among the best Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with postseason implications.
The Lions host the Green Bay in the traditional opener in Michigan, prior to a rare visit back to Dallas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Texans long ago in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.
The weekend’s rally kings are each clinging 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 win over the New York actually has them leading of the division after beginning 1-5 and appearing finished.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)
Will Shedeur Sanders Keep His Job?
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Sanders had performed enough in his first professional start to keep the first-team position when Gabriel comes back.
Yet the question will keep being asked as Shedeur became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his debut league start after Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 additional rookie signal callers failing to do so afterward.
It was only the Las Vegas, and with the help of an nearly feral Browns defense recording ten tackles, but Cleveland's offence needs a leader, a figurehead to inspire confidence.
Moreover self-belief is one thing not missing in Shedeur, who told a network {