🔗 Share this article

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

Postseason Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season as the Bears continue to impress while they extend their winning run.

Did Sanders perform enough on his first professional outing to secure the full-time job in Cleveland?

We’ll examine at the pick of the action in the league.

Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero behind against the reigning Super Bowl champions, how exactly did they engineer their equal-largest comeback in history?

Sentiment of a first home game after Marshawn Kneeland tragic death may have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that pounced on rare errors by the Philadelphia.

Prescott surpassed Romo’s marks for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning possessions (25) with an all-action performance – his plunging score embodying his all-action display.

Philadelphia squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after 1999, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this season – the other being another bad NFC East loss at the New York.

In addition to fourteen penalties for 96 yards, the attacking struggles that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was significant. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in four games prior to the weekend, he had more than 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Dallas.

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

The Eagles defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in five of seven games (3 losses) is now a huge concern, because the components are all there but it's simply not working.

Nick Sirianni game is all about securing the big situations, the defence keeps them in it and what offense there is manages just about enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there could be problems in the future.

Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Prematurely to Rescue Chiefs

It wasn’t as dramatic, but Kansas City's eleven-point comeback in the final period against a strong Indianapolis team was very impressive – and could have just rescued their campaign.

How significant was it? Indeed, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent chance of reaching the postseason, when a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.

No wonder the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, throwing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and leading three point-scoring drives in their final 4 series to seal it in extra time.

Some big passes and daring runs are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in post-season form – at six and five and only tenth in the AFC standings.

This was closer to the old Kansas City though, with a first one-score victory of the year after dropping 5 previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Kansas City faithful might not be done just yet.

Discussion – Can Bears Be Rulers of the Division?

You just can't overlook the Bears now. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the same record as the Eagles.

They look dangerous on each side of the field, with a defense that tops the NFL in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young quarterback now accustomed to winning tight games.

He can at times be shaky, surrendering a touchdown after a turnover in his own end zone – but he also passed for three scores and, with already five fourth-quarter rallies this season, he knows how to finish the game.

Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after overcoming the New York in overtime with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Bears are interestingly the most consistent with 8 victories in 9, but as they visit the Super Bowl winners on the holiday we'll see just how strong they really are.

Preview – Thrilling Holiday in Store

It appears one of the best holiday line-ups for years, with each game packed with postseason implications.

Detroit host the Packers in the classic opener in Michigan, before a rare trip return to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out existence as the Texans way back in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s rally teams are both holding on to playoff aspirations but have very little room for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

What about the Ravens? An ugly win over the New York actually has them top of the division after starting 1-5 and looking finished.

Holiday and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)

• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (18:00)
• Thursday, 27 November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
• Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Job?

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Sanders had performed sufficiently in his debut professional start to maintain the starting job when Dillon Gabriel comes back.

Yet the question will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland quarterback to secure his debut NFL game since Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with seventeen other rookie quarterbacks failing to do so since.

It was just the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost feral Cleveland defence getting ten tackles, but the Browns’ offense requires a leader, a presence to inspire confidence.

And confidence is something not missing in Shedeur, who informed a network {