Philly Falter in Dallas & Patrick Saves Chiefs – Best Highlights from NFL Week 12

Week 12 delivered an incredible Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Eagles collapse?

Playoff Patrick Mahomes showed up to rescue the Kansas City's season while the Bears continue to surprise while they continue their winning streak.

Did Sanders perform enough on his debut professional start to earn the full-time role in Cleveland?

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

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

Dallas were trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind versus the reigning Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they produce their equal-largest recovery ever?

Sentiment of a initial home fixture after Marshawn Kneeland tragic death could have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Dak Prescott determination and a defensive unit that pounced on uncommon mistakes by the Philadelphia.

Dak eclipsed Romo’s records for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning possessions (25) with an all-action performance – his plunging touchdown personifying his all-action showing.

Philly squandered a lead of 21 points or more for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with several giveaways this year – the previous being a bad NFC East defeat at the New York.

In addition to fourteen infractions for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was huge. He'd only thrown for over two hundred yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half by himself in Dallas.

Yet from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offence derailed dramatically – with four straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a turnover giving opportunity after opportunity to the Dallas.

Philadelphia’s defence is brilliant, it truly is, but an offense that's not surpassed twenty-one points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major concern, because the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.

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 can't even do that and now the composure and possession security is breaking down, there could be problems ahead.

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 impressive – and could have only rescued their season.

How big was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now assign the Kansas City a 58% probability of reaching the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have reduced that figure to twenty-eight percent.

It’s no surprise the playoff version of Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the second half alone and leading three scoring possessions in their final 4 series to win it in extra time.

A few big throws and swashbuckling scrambles are typical for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and only 10th in the conference rankings.

This was closer to the former Chiefs however, with a first close victory of the season after losing five already – they won 11 of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be done just yet.

Discussion – Are Chicago Become Rulers of the Division?

You just can't overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, maintained them top of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the same standing as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defence that leads the league in interceptions and total turnovers and, in Williams, a emerging player now used to securing tight games.

He can still be inconsistent, surrendering a score after a fumble in his own goal area – but he also threw 3 touchdowns and, with already 5 fourth-quarter comebacks this year, he understands how to finish the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in close chase in the division after overpowering the Vikings and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the Giants in extra time with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Bears are interestingly the most consistent with eight victories in nine, but as they visit the championship winners on Thanksgiving we'll see just how good they truly are.

Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store

It appears among the best Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with every game packed with playoff implications.

Detroit welcome the Packers in the classic curtain-raiser in Detroit, prior to a unusual trip return to Texas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.

Sunday's rally teams are both holding on to postseason aspirations but have minimal margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.

And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly victory over the New York in fact has them leading of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and looking dead and buried.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
  • Friday, 28 November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Job?

Cleveland Browns coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Sanders had performed enough in his debut NFL outing to keep the first-team position when Dillon Gabriel returns.

But the issue will keep being asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to win his first NFL game since Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other rookie quarterbacks failing to do so since.

It came just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly aggressive Cleveland defence getting ten sacks, but Cleveland's offence needs a leader, a figurehead to build belief.

And self-belief is something not lacking in Sanders, who informed a CBS {

Terri Howell
Terri Howell

Lena is a digital strategist with over 8 years of experience in web development and content marketing, passionate about creating user-centric designs.