Philly Stumble in Texas & Patrick Rescues Kansas City – Best Moments from National Football League Week 12

The twelfth week delivered an incredible Dallas Cowboys comeback, or perhaps an massive Philadelphia Eagles implosion?

Playoff Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's campaign while the Chicago Bears keep to surprise while they extend their victorious streak.

Did Shedeur Sanders perform sufficiently on his first NFL start to secure the starting job in Ohio?

Let's take a look at the best of the week in the NFL.

Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas were trailing badly at 21-0 behind against the defending championship champions, how exactly did they engineer their equal-largest comeback ever?

The emotions of a first home fixture since a teammate’s untimely death could have played a part, but technically it was a combination of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that pounced on uncommon errors by the Eagles.

Dak eclipsed Tony Romo records for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch possessions (25) with an dynamic performance – his plunging score embodying his all-action showing.

Philly squandered a lead of 21 points or more for the initial time after 1999, with only their second game with several giveaways this season – the other being another disappointing division defeat at the Giants.

Along with 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He'd only thrown for 200-plus yards in 4 games before Sunday, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half alone in Texas.

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

The Eagles defence is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a major concern, because the pieces are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Sirianni’s game is all about winning the key moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offense there is does barely sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is breaking down, there could be problems in the future.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Appears Early to Rescue Chiefs

It wasn't as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ 11-point recovery in the final period versus a strong Indianapolis squad was hugely notable – and could have only rescued their campaign.

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

No wonder the postseason version of Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the second half alone and leading 3 scoring possessions in their last 4 series to seal it in overtime.

A few big passes and daring runs are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Kansas City are in post-season mode – at six and five and just tenth in the AFC standings.

This was closer to the old Kansas City though, with a first close victory of the year after dropping 5 already – they won 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence comes back, this Kansas City faithful might not be finished so soon.

Discussion – Can Bears Be Kings of the North?

You just can't ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Rodgers, maintained them top of the division and at 8-3 – holding the same standing as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defense that tops the NFL in picks and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging player now used to winning tight games.

He may still be shaky, giving away a touchdown after a turnover 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.

Green Bay are in close chase in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and the Lions are in contention after beating the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Bears are interestingly the most consistent with 8 wins in nine, but as they travel to the Super Bowl champs on Thanksgiving we'll discover just how strong they really are.

Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Prospect

This looks among the most exciting holiday schedules for a long time, with each game packed with postseason implications.

The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the traditional opener in Detroit, before a unusual trip back to Texas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s comeback teams are each clinging to playoff aspirations but have minimal margin for error – so this will have a post-season feel.

What about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly victory over the New York in fact has them top of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and appearing finished.

Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Job?

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done sufficiently in his debut NFL start to keep the starting job when Dillon Gabriel comes back.

But the issue will keep being raised as Shedeur became the first Cleveland signal-caller to win his debut league start after Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 additional rookie signal callers failing to do so since.

It was just the Las Vegas, and with the help of an almost feral Cleveland defence getting ten tackles, but the Browns’ offence needs a director, a figurehead to inspire belief.

Moreover confidence is something not lacking in Sanders, who informed a CBS {

Angela Munoz
Angela Munoz

A passionate gamer and tech writer with over a decade of experience covering esports and game development trends.