Philadelphia Stumble in Texas & Mahomes Rescues Kansas City – Best Highlights from National Football League the Twelfth Week

Week 12 provided an incredible Cowboys rally, or perhaps an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?

Playoff Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's season as the Chicago Bears continue to impress while they extend their victorious streak.

And did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his debut professional outing to secure the full-time job in Ohio?

Let's take a look at the pick of the week in the league.

The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys were trailing badly at twenty-one to zero down versus the defending Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best comeback ever?

The emotions of a first home fixture since a teammate’s tragic passing may have been a factor, but technically it was a combination of Prescott’s determination and a defence that pounced on uncommon errors by the Eagles.

Prescott eclipsed Tony Romo records for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and clutch possessions (twenty-five) with an dynamic display – his plunging score embodying his all-action display.

Philadelphia wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after 1999, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the previous being a bad division loss at the New York.

Along with 14 infractions for 96 yards, the attacking struggles that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was huge. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games before Sunday, he had over 150 in the first half by himself in Dallas.

Yet from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a turnover handing opportunity after opportunity to the Dallas.

Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a huge concern, because the components are all there but it's simply not working.

Sirianni’s game is all about securing the big moments, the defense keeps them in it and what offence there is does just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there could be problems ahead.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Appears Prematurely to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn’t as extreme, but Kansas City's 11-point recovery in the fourth quarter against a strong Colts team was hugely notable – and may have just saved their campaign.

How big was it? Well, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of making the postseason, whereas a defeat on the weekend would have reduced that number to twenty-eight percent.

No wonder the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and leading three point-scoring drives in their last 4 possessions to win it in extra time.

Some huge passes and swashbuckling runs are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at six and five and only tenth in the AFC standings.

That was closer to the old Kansas City however, with a initial one-score victory of the season after losing five already – they secured eleven of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be finished so soon.

Talking Point – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the North?

You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, kept them top of the division and at 8-3 – holding the same standing as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defence that tops the NFL in interceptions and total takeaways and, in Williams, a young quarterback now used to securing tight games.

He may still be shaky, surrendering a score after a fumble in his own goal area – but he also passed for three touchdowns and, with already 5 fourth-quarter rallies this year, he knows how to get the job done.

Green Bay are in close pursuit 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 strangely the most reliable with 8 victories in 9, but as they visit the championship champs on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they really are.

Preview – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store

This looks one of the most exciting Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with playoff implications.

The Lions host the Packers in the traditional opener in Detroit, prior to a unusual trip back to Dallas for the Chiefs, who started out life as the Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s rally kings are each holding on to postseason aspirations but have minimal room for error – so this will have a post-season feel.

And how about the Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets in fact has them top of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and looking finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday 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 @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)

Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski batted away questions on whether Sanders had done sufficiently in his first professional outing to maintain the first-team position when Dillon Gabriel returns.

But the question will keep being raised as Shedeur became the first Browns quarterback to win his first league game after Zeier in 1999 – with 17 additional rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.

It came just the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly feral Browns defence getting 10 sacks, but Cleveland's offence needs a leader, a figurehead to inspire belief.

And self-belief is something not missing in Shedeur, who informed a network {

John Davis
John Davis

A rewards strategist with over a decade of experience in loyalty programs and personal finance optimization.