Philadelphia Stumble in Dallas & Mahomes Saves Kansas City – Top Moments from NFL the Twelfth Week

The twelfth week delivered an epic Cowboys rally, or was it an epic Eagles implosion?

Playoff Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season while the Bears keep to impress while they continue their winning run.

And did Sanders perform sufficiently on his debut NFL start to secure the full-time job in Cleveland?

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

Analysis – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 down against the defending Super Bowl winners, so how on earth did they produce their equal-largest comeback in history?

The emotions of a first home fixture since Marshawn Kneeland tragic death may have been a factor, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare errors by the Eagles.

Dak surpassed Tony Romo records for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (25) with an dynamic display – his plunging touchdown personifying his energetic showing.

Philly wasted a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the first time since 1999, with just their second game with several turnovers this season – the previous being a disappointing division defeat at the Giants.

In addition to fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the attacking malaise that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in four games prior to the weekend, he had over 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Texas.

Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence derailed spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a missed field goal and then a turnover giving opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.

Philadelphia’s defence is brilliant, it really is, but an offense that's not surpassed twenty-one points in 5 of seven games (3 losses) is now a huge worry, because the components are all there but it's simply not working.

Nick Sirianni game is all about winning the key moments, the defence keeps them in it and what offense there is does just about enough – if it cannot even do that and now the composure and ball protection is breaking down, there may be problems in the future.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Prematurely to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn’t as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point comeback in the final period against a strong Indianapolis team was hugely impressive – and could have just rescued their season.

How significant was it? Well, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Kansas City 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 form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and guiding 3 scoring drives in their final four series to win it in extra time.

Some huge passes and swashbuckling runs are commonplace for Mahomes in the postseason, but right now the Kansas City are in playoff form – at six and five and just 10th in the AFC standings.

That was closer to the old Kansas City however, with a first one-score win of the year after losing five already – they secured 11 of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be finished just yet.

Discussion – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the Division?

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

They look threatening on both sides of the ball, with a defence that tops the NFL in picks and total turnovers and, in Williams, a young player now used to securing tight games.

He may at times be shaky, giving away a score after a turnover in his team’s end zone – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter rallies this year, he knows how to finish the game.

Green Bay are in close pursuit in the NFC North after dominating the Vikings and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Bears are interestingly the most reliable with 8 wins in 9, but as they travel to the championship champs on the holiday we'll see just how strong they truly are.

Preview – Exciting Holiday in Store

It appears among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with every game packed with playoff consequences.

The Lions host the Packers in the classic opener in Detroit, prior to a unusual visit back to Texas for the Kansas City, who started out life as the Texans way back in the sixties before relocating to Kansas City.

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

What about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets actually has them top of the division after starting 1-5 and looking dead and buried.

Holiday and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
  • Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
  • Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (20:00)

Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed sufficiently in his first NFL start to maintain the first-team job when Dillon Gabriel returns.

Yet the issue will keep being asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to win his first NFL start since Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 additional first-year quarterbacks failing to do so afterward.

It came only the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly aggressive Cleveland defence getting 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offence needs a director, a figurehead to inspire confidence.

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

Nicole Blanchard
Nicole Blanchard

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in slot machine mechanics and casino strategy development.