Philadelphia Falter in Texas & Mahomes Saves Chiefs – Best Moments from National Football League Week 12
Week 12 delivered an epic Cowboys rally, or was it an epic Eagles collapse?
Postseason Patrick Mahomes showed up to rescue the Kansas City's season as the Chicago Bears keep to surprise as they extend their victorious streak.
Did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his first professional start to earn the full-time job in Ohio?
We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the NFL.
Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?
The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 behind against the defending championship winners, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best recovery ever?
Sentiment of a first home game since a teammate’s untimely death could have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defence that cashed in on uncommon errors by the Eagles.
Prescott surpassed Romo’s records for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (twenty-five) with an dynamic performance – his plunging touchdown embodying his energetic showing.
Philly wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after 1999, with only their second game with multiple turnovers this season – the other being another bad division loss at the Giants.
Along with 14 infractions for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games before Sunday, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half alone in Texas.
However from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offence derailed spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a failed field goal and then a turnover handing chance after opportunity to the Dallas.
The Eagles defense is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of seven games (3 losses) is now a major concern, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not clicking.
Sirianni’s approach is all about winning the big moments, the defence keeps them in it and what offence there is does barely sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there may be trouble in the future.
Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Appears Prematurely to Save Kansas City
It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's eleven-point recovery in the fourth quarter against a strong Indianapolis squad was hugely impressive – and could have only rescued their campaign.
How big was it? Well, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a 58% chance of reaching the postseason, when a loss on the weekend would have reduced that figure to 28%.
It’s no surprise the playoff form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half by itself and leading three point-scoring possessions in their final 4 possessions to win it in overtime.
Some huge throws and swashbuckling scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the postseason, but right now the Kansas City are in playoff mode – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference standings.
That was closer to the old Chiefs though, with a initial one-score victory of the year after dropping five already – they won eleven of them the previous season so, if that confidence comes back, this Kansas City faithful might not be done so soon.
Talking Point – Can Bears Be Kings of the North?
You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the same record as the Philadelphia.
They look threatening on each side of the ball, with a defence that tops the NFL in picks and total turnovers and, in Williams, a emerging player now accustomed to securing tight games.
He can still be shaky, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he also passed for three scores and, with already 5 final period rallies this season, he understands how to get the job done.
Green Bay are in hot chase in the division after overpowering the Vikings and the Lions are in contention after beating the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Gibbs.
Chicago are interestingly the most reliable with 8 victories in nine, but as they travel to the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll see just how strong they truly are.
Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Prospect
It appears among the best Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with each game loaded with playoff consequences.
The Lions host the Green Bay in the traditional curtain-raiser in Detroit, prior to a rare visit back to Texas for the Kansas City, who began existence as the Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Missouri.
Sunday's rally kings are each clinging to postseason aspirations but have minimal room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff feel.
What about the Ravens? An unattractive victory over the New York in fact has them leading of the AFC North after starting one and five and appearing finished.
Holiday and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
- Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)
Can Sanders Retain His Job?
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had done enough in his debut NFL start to keep the starting job when Gabriel comes back.
But the question will keep being raised as Shedeur became the first Browns quarterback to secure his debut league start since Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other first-year quarterbacks failing to do so afterward.
It was only the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Browns defence getting ten sacks, but the Browns’ offence requires a leader, a presence to build confidence.
Moreover self-belief is one thing not missing in Sanders, who informed a CBS {