Philadelphia Stumble in Texas & Mahomes Saves Kansas City – Best Moments from NFL Week 12

Week 12 provided an incredible Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Eagles implosion?

Postseason Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Kansas City's season while the Bears continue to surprise as they extend their victorious run.

And did Sanders do sufficiently on his first professional start to earn the full-time job in Cleveland?

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

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind versus the defending championship champions, how exactly did they produce their joint-best comeback ever?

The emotions of a first home game since Marshawn Kneeland untimely passing could have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare errors by the Philadelphia.

Prescott surpassed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (25) with an all-action display – his diving score personifying his energetic display.

Philadelphia wasted a lead of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with several giveaways this season – the previous being another disappointing NFC East loss at the Giants.

Along with fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive struggles that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He'd only thrown for 200-plus yards in four games prior to the weekend, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half alone in Texas.

Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offence derailed dramatically – with four straight kicks, a failed three-point attempt and then a fumble handing chance after chance to the Dallas.

Philadelphia’s defence is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in five of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major concern, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.

Nick Sirianni approach is all about securing the key situations, the defense maintains them in it and what offence there is manages just about enough – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is breaking down, there may be problems ahead.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Prematurely to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn’t as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point recovery in the fourth quarter against a strong Indianapolis squad was hugely impressive – and could have just saved their campaign.

How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s Next Gen Stats now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of reaching the playoffs, when a defeat on Sunday would have reduced that figure to 28%.

No wonder the postseason version of Mahomes arrived, throwing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half by itself and guiding three point-scoring possessions in their last 4 possessions to win it in overtime.

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

This was more like the former Kansas City though, with a first close win of the year after losing 5 already – they secured 11 of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be finished so soon.

Discussion – Are Chicago Become Kings of the Division?

You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears now. A victory over the Steelers, without Rodgers, maintained them first of the NFC North and at 8-3 – sharing the identical standing as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on each side of the ball, with a defense that leads the league in picks and total turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging player now accustomed to securing tight games.

He may at times be inconsistent, surrendering a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s goal area – but he also threw three touchdowns and, with already five fourth-quarter comebacks this season, he understands how to finish the game.

Green Bay are in hot chase in the NFC North after overpowering the Vikings and the Lions are in contention after beating the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Bears are interestingly the most consistent with eight wins in 9, but as they visit the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they truly are.

Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store

This looks one of the best holiday line-ups for a long time, with each game loaded with postseason implications.

The Lions host the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a rare trip return to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out existence as the Dallas Texans way back in the sixties before relocating to Missouri.

The weekend’s rally teams are both holding on to playoff aspirations but have very little margin for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.

And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly victory over the New York actually has them top of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and appearing dead and buried.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
  • Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Job?

Browns head coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Sanders had performed enough in his debut NFL start to keep the first-team job when Gabriel comes back.

But the issue will continue to be raised as Shedeur became the first Browns signal-caller to win his first NFL start after Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other first-year signal callers failing to do so since.

It came just the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost feral Cleveland defense getting 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offence needs a leader, a figurehead to build confidence.

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

Antonio Graham
Antonio Graham

A tech strategist and writer with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and startup ecosystems.