Philadelphia Falter in Dallas & Mahomes Saves Chiefs – Top Highlights from National Football League Week 12

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

Playoff Mahomes arrived to rescue the Chiefs' season as the Bears keep to impress while they continue their victorious run.

Did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his first professional outing to secure the starting role in Cleveland?

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

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas were down and out at 21-0 behind against the reigning championship winners, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest comeback in history?

Sentiment of a first home fixture after a teammate’s untimely death may have played a part, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s determination and a defence that cashed in on uncommon errors by the Eagles.

Prescott surpassed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch possessions (twenty-five) with an all-action display – his plunging score personifying his energetic display.

Philadelphia wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with several turnovers this year – the other being another disappointing NFC East defeat at the New York.

In addition to fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive struggles that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was significant. He had only thrown for over two hundred yards in 4 games before Sunday, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half by himself in Texas.

Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a turnover handing chance after chance to the Cowboys.

The Eagles defence is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one 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.

Nick Sirianni approach is all about winning the key situations, the defense keeps them in it and what offence there is does barely sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there could be trouble ahead.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Prematurely to Save Chiefs

It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ 11-point comeback in the final period against a powerful Indianapolis squad was very impressive – and may have only saved their campaign.

How big was it? Indeed, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a 58% probability of reaching the playoffs, when a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that number to twenty-eight percent.

No wonder the postseason version of Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half alone and guiding 3 scoring drives in their final four series to win it in overtime.

A few big passes and swashbuckling scrambles are typical for Mahomes in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in playoff form – at six and five and only tenth in the conference standings.

This was closer to the former Chiefs however, with a first one-score victory of the season after losing 5 previously – they secured eleven of them the previous season so, if that confidence comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished just yet.

Talking Point – Can Bears Become Kings of the Division?

You can no longer ignore the Bears any longer. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at eight and three – sharing the same standing as the Philadelphia.

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

He can at times be shaky, giving away a score after a fumble in his own end zone – but he also passed for three touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he knows how to finish the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in close pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are right there after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Gibbs.

Chicago are strangely the most reliable with eight wins in 9, but as they travel to the championship champs on Thanksgiving we'll discover exactly how strong they truly are.

Preview – Thrilling Holiday in Store

This looks among the best holiday line-ups for a long time, with each game packed with playoff implications.

Detroit host the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a rare trip return 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 playoff aspirations but have very little margin for mistakes – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

And how about the Ravens? An ugly win over the New York actually has them top of the AFC North after beginning one and five and appearing dead and buried.

Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)

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

Will Shedeur Sanders Retain His Job?

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski batted away questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his first professional start to keep the first-team job when Gabriel comes back.

Yet the question will continue to be raised as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to win his first league game after Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen additional first-year quarterbacks failing to do so since.

It came only the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Browns defence recording 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offense needs a director, a figurehead to build confidence.

And confidence is one thing not missing in Sanders, who told a CBS {

Kelly Bennett
Kelly Bennett

A passionate gamer and tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in writing about video games and digital trends.