🔗 Share this article

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

Playoff Mahomes arrived to rescue the Kansas City's season while the Bears keep to impress as they extend their winning streak.

And did Shedeur Sanders do enough on his first professional outing to secure the starting job in Cleveland?

We’ll examine at the pick of the week in the NFL.

The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at 21-0 down against the defending championship champions, so how on earth did they engineer their joint-best recovery ever?

The emotions of a initial home game after a teammate’s tragic passing may have been a factor, however it was a combination of Prescott’s determination and a defensive unit that pounced on rare errors by the Eagles.

Dak surpassed Tony Romo marks for yards thrown (now 34,378) and clutch drives (25) with an dynamic performance – his diving touchdown personifying his all-action display.

Philly squandered a lead of 21 points or more for the initial time after 1999, with just their second game with several giveaways this season – the other being a disappointing division loss at the Giants.

In addition to fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the attacking struggles that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He had only thrown for over two hundred yards in four games before Sunday, he had more than one hundred fifty in the first half alone in Dallas.

Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offense derailed dramatically – with four straight kicks, a failed field goal and then a turnover handing chance after opportunity to the Dallas.

The Eagles defence is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not surpassed 21 points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a major concern, because the components are all there but it's just not working.

Sirianni’s game is all about securing the key situations, the defense maintains them in it and what offence there is manages just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the composure and possession security is breaking down, there could be problems in the future.

Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Early to Save Kansas City

It wasn't as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter versus a powerful Colts team was hugely notable – and could have just saved their campaign.

How big was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now give the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent chance of reaching the playoffs, whereas a loss on the weekend would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.

It’s no surprise the postseason version of Patrick Mahomes arrived, throwing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the second half by itself and leading 3 scoring possessions in their last 4 possessions to win it in extra time.

Some huge throws and daring runs are commonplace for Patrick in the postseason, but right now the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and only 10th in the AFC standings.

That was closer to the former Chiefs though, with a initial one-score win of the season after losing 5 already – they won eleven of them the previous season so, if that belief returns, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished just yet.

Discussion – Can Bears Become Rulers of the Division?

You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears now. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, kept them first of the NFC North and at 8-3 – holding the identical standing as the Eagles.

They appear dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defence that tops the NFL in picks and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to securing tight games.

He can still be shaky, giving away a score after a fumble in his own goal area – but he additionally threw 3 scores and, with already five final period rallies this year, he understands how to finish the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in hot pursuit in the division after overpowering the Minnesota and the Lions are right there after beating 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 winners on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how strong they really are.

Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Store

It appears among the best holiday line-ups for years, with every game packed with postseason consequences.

The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the classic opener in Michigan, before a rare trip return to Dallas for the Kansas City, who started out existence as the Dallas Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Missouri.

The weekend’s rally teams are each holding on to postseason hopes but have minimal room for error – so this will have a playoff feel.

And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive victory over the Jets actually has them top of the division after starting one and five and appearing finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)

• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Lions (18:00)
• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Job?

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed sufficiently in his first NFL outing to keep the starting position when Dillon Gabriel comes back.

Yet the question will keep being raised as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his first NFL game after Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 additional rookie quarterbacks failing to do so afterward.

It came only the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly aggressive Browns defence recording ten sacks, but the Browns’ offence requires a leader, a presence to inspire belief.

Moreover self-belief is something not missing in Shedeur, who told a network {