🔗 Share this article

The twelfth week provided an incredible Dallas Cowboys comeback, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles implosion?

Postseason Patrick Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's season while the Bears continue to surprise while they extend their victorious streak.

Did Shedeur Sanders perform sufficiently on his debut professional outing to secure the starting job in Ohio?

We’ll examine at the best of the week in the league.

The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas found themselves down and out at twenty-one to zero behind against the reigning championship champions, so how on earth did they produce their joint-best comeback in history?

The emotions of a first home game since a teammate’s untimely passing could have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.

Prescott eclipsed Tony Romo marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning possessions (25) with an dynamic performance – his diving score embodying his energetic display.

Philly squandered a advantage of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since 1999, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the other being a disappointing division loss at the New York.

In addition to 14 infractions for 96 yards, the offensive malaise that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He'd only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had more than one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters by himself in Dallas.

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

Philadelphia’s defence is excellent, it truly is, but an offense that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a huge worry, because the pieces are all there but it's simply not working.

Nick Sirianni approach is all about winning the key moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offence there is manages barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is failing, there could be trouble ahead.

Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Early to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn't quite as extreme, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point recovery in the final period against a strong Indianapolis team was very notable – and may have only rescued their season.

How big was it? Well, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a 58% chance of making the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have reduced that figure to 28%.

It’s no surprise the playoff version of Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the second half alone and leading three scoring possessions in their final 4 series to win it in extra time.

Some huge passes and swashbuckling runs are typical for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in playoff mode – at 6-5 and just tenth in the conference rankings.

That was more like the former Kansas City however, with a initial one-score win of the season after dropping five previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Kansas City faithful might not be done just yet.

Talking Point – Can Bears Be Kings of the North?

You just can't ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A win over the Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them first of the NFC North and at eight and three – holding the same record as the Eagles.

They appear dangerous on each side of the field, with a defense that leads the NFL in picks and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging player now used to winning close games.

He can still be inconsistent, surrendering a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he also threw three touchdowns and, with already five fourth-quarter rallies this year, he understands how to get the job done.

Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Vikings and the Lions are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a huge game from Gibbs.

Chicago are interestingly the most consistent with 8 victories in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll discover exactly how good they really are.

Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Prospect

This looks among the most exciting Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with each game packed with playoff implications.

Detroit welcome the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, before a rare trip back to Dallas for the Kansas City, who began existence as the Texans long ago in the sixties before relocating to Missouri.

Sunday's comeback teams are both holding on to postseason aspirations but have very little margin for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

What about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly win over the New York in fact has them leading of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and appearing finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)

• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
• Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
• Friday, 28 November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (01:20)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (20:00)

Will Shedeur Sanders Keep His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Sanders had done enough in his first NFL outing to keep the starting job when Gabriel comes back.

But the question will keep being asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland quarterback to win his debut league start since Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other first-year signal callers unsuccessful to do so since.

It came just the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost feral Browns defense getting ten sacks, but the Browns’ offense requires a leader, a presence to inspire confidence.

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