Week 12 provided an epic Cowboys comeback, or was it an massive Eagles implosion?
Postseason Patrick Mahomes arrived to rescue the Kansas City's campaign while the Chicago Bears continue to impress as they extend their victorious streak.
And did Shedeur Sanders perform sufficiently on his debut professional outing to earn the full-time job in Ohio?
Let's take a look at the pick of the action in the league.
The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?
The Cowboys were down and out at twenty-one to zero down against the defending championship winners, so how on earth did they produce their equal-largest recovery ever?
Sentiment of a first home game after a teammate’s untimely death may have played a part, but technically it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that pounced on rare errors by the Eagles.
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 all-action showing.
Philadelphia wasted a advantage of 21 points or more for the initial time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with several giveaways this season – the previous being another bad division loss at the New York.
In addition to fourteen penalties for 96 yards, the offensive malaise that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was huge. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games before Sunday, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half by himself in Dallas.
Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence derailed dramatically – with four consecutive punts, a missed field goal and then a fumble giving chance after opportunity to the Cowboys.
Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it really is, but an offense that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major concern, as the pieces are all there but it's just not clicking.
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 discipline and possession security is failing, there may be problems ahead.
In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Prematurely to Save Chiefs
It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's eleven-point comeback in the final period against a strong Indianapolis team was very impressive – and may have only rescued their season.
How big was it? Well, the league’s Next Gen Stats now assign the Chiefs a 58% probability of making the playoffs, when a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that figure to 28%.
It’s no surprise the playoff form of Mahomes arrived, throwing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half by itself and leading 3 scoring drives in their final 4 possessions to win it in overtime.
Some big passes and daring scrambles are commonplace for Mahomes in the postseason, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season mode – at 6-5 and just 10th in the conference rankings.
That was more like the former Chiefs though, with a initial close victory of the year after dropping 5 previously – they won 11 of them last year so, if that confidence returns, this Kansas City faithful may not be finished just yet.
Discussion – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the Division?
You just can't ignore the Bears now. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Rodgers, kept them first of the NFC North and at 8-3 – holding the identical record as the Philadelphia.
They appear dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defense that tops the NFL in interceptions and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now used to winning close games.
He may at times be inconsistent, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he additionally threw three touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he understands how to finish the game.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot chase in the division after dominating the Vikings and Detroit are right there after overcoming the Giants in extra time with a huge game from Gibbs.
The Bears are strangely the most consistent with 8 victories in 9, but as they visit the championship winners on the holiday we'll discover just how strong they really are.
Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Prospect
It appears among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with each game packed with postseason implications.
Detroit welcome the Packers in the classic opener in Michigan, prior to a unusual trip return to Texas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.
Sunday's comeback kings are each holding on to playoff hopes but have very little margin for mistakes – so this will have a post-season feel.
And how about the Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets in fact has them leading of the division after starting 1-5 and appearing finished.
Holiday and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)
- Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
- Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
- Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
- Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (20:00)
Can Sanders Keep His Job?
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed sufficiently in his first professional outing to maintain the starting position when Dillon Gabriel comes back.
But the issue will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his first league start after Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other first-year quarterbacks failing to do so afterward.
It was just the Las Vegas, and with the help of an nearly feral Browns defense getting ten tackles, but the Browns’ offence requires a leader, a figurehead to inspire belief.
And confidence is one thing not missing in Sanders, who informed a CBS {
