Philadelphia Falter in Dallas & Mahomes Saves Kansas City – Best Highlights from National Football League the Twelfth Week

The twelfth week delivered an epic Dallas Cowboys rally, or perhaps an epic Eagles implosion?

Postseason Mahomes showed up to rescue the Chiefs' campaign as the Bears keep to surprise as they extend their victorious run.

Did Shedeur Sanders do enough on his debut NFL outing to earn the full-time job in Ohio?

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

The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback 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 produce their joint-best recovery ever?

The emotions of a first home fixture since a teammate’s tragic passing could have played a part, however it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that pounced on uncommon mistakes by the Eagles.

Prescott eclipsed Romo’s records for yards thrown (now 34,378) and clutch drives (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his diving score embodying his energetic showing.

Philadelphia squandered a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with several turnovers this year – the previous being a disappointing division loss at the New York.

In addition to 14 infractions for ninety-six yards, the attacking struggles that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was significant. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had more than one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters alone in Dallas.

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

The Eagles defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offense that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of 7 games (three losses) is now a huge worry, as the components are all there but it's simply not working.

Sirianni’s game is all about securing the key situations, the defence maintains them in it and what offence there is manages just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there may be problems in the future.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Early to Save Kansas City

It wasn't as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point recovery in the final period against a strong Colts squad was hugely notable – and may have only saved their season.

How big was it? Well, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of making the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have dropped that number to 28%.

No wonder the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the second half alone and leading 3 point-scoring drives in their final four series to seal it in extra time.

Some big passes and daring scrambles are commonplace for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at six and five and only tenth in the conference standings.

That was closer to the old Chiefs however, with a first one-score victory of the season after losing 5 previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that confidence comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be finished just yet.

Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the Division?

You can no longer ignore the Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them top of the NFC North and at eight and three – sharing the identical record as the Eagles.

They appear dangerous on each side of the ball, with a defense that leads the NFL in picks and total turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging player now used to winning close games.

He may at times be inconsistent, giving away a score after a fumble in his team’s goal area – but he also threw three scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter comebacks this season, he knows how to finish the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in close pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the New York in overtime with a monster game from Gibbs.

Chicago are strangely the most consistent with 8 victories in nine, but as they travel to the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they really are.

Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store

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

Detroit welcome the Packers in the traditional opener in Detroit, before a rare trip return to Dallas for the Chiefs, who began life as the Texans long ago in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s rally kings are both clinging to playoff aspirations but have very little room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.

What about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive win over the New York actually has them top of the division after starting 1-5 and looking finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
  • Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
  • Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Job?

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski batted away questions on whether Sanders had performed enough in his first professional outing to keep the starting job when Gabriel comes back.

Yet the issue will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland quarterback to secure his first NFL start after Zeier in 1999 – with 17 additional first-year quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so since.

It was just the Raiders, and with the help of an almost aggressive Cleveland defense recording 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offense requires a leader, a presence to inspire confidence.

Moreover self-belief is something not missing in Sanders, who told a network {

Eric Mitchell
Eric Mitchell

A former casino dealer turned gaming analyst, specializing in slot machine mechanics and player psychology.