🔗 Share this article

Week 12 delivered an epic Dallas Cowboys comeback, or was it an epic Eagles collapse?

Postseason Patrick Mahomes showed up to salvage the Chiefs' season while the Bears keep to impress while they continue their victorious streak.

Did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his first NFL outing to secure the starting role in Cleveland?

We’ll examine at the best of the action in the NFL.

Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind versus the defending championship champions, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest comeback ever?

The emotions of a first home game since a teammate’s tragic passing could have played a part, however it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defensive unit that pounced on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.

Dak eclipsed Tony Romo records for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an dynamic display – his diving touchdown embodying his energetic showing.

Philly squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple turnovers this season – the other being a bad division loss at the Giants.

Along with fourteen infractions for 96 yards, the attacking malaise that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was significant. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had more than one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.

Yet from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offense derailed spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a failed three-point attempt and then a fumble handing opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.

Philadelphia’s defense is brilliant, it truly is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a major worry, as the pieces are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the key moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offence there is manages barely sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and possession security is breaking down, there may be problems in the future.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Appears Prematurely to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn't quite as extreme, but the Chiefs’ 11-point recovery in the final period against a strong Indianapolis squad was very impressive – and could have only rescued their campaign.

How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a 58% probability of reaching the postseason, whereas a defeat on Sunday would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.

It’s no surprise the postseason version of Patrick Mahomes turned up, throwing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and leading three scoring drives in their last 4 series to win it in extra time.

Some big passes and daring scrambles are commonplace for Mahomes in the playoffs, but currently the Kansas City are in post-season mode – at six and five and just tenth in the conference rankings.

This was more like the former Chiefs however, with a initial close victory of the year after dropping five already – they won eleven of them last year so, if that confidence returns, this Kansas City faithful might not be finished just yet.

Discussion – Can Bears Be Rulers of the Division?

You can no longer overlook the Bears any longer. A win over the Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, kept them first of the NFC North and at eight and three – sharing the same record as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defence that tops the league in interceptions and total turnovers and, in Williams, a young quarterback now used to winning close games.

He can still be inconsistent, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s goal area – but he additionally passed for three touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he knows how to finish the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in hot chase in the division after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are in contention after beating the New York in extra time with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

Chicago are interestingly the most consistent with 8 victories in 9, but as they travel to the Super Bowl winners on Thanksgiving we'll discover exactly how strong they really are.

Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store

This looks one of the best Thanksgiving schedules for years, with each game packed with postseason consequences.

Detroit welcome the Packers in the traditional opener in Detroit, prior to a rare trip back to Dallas for the Chiefs, who started out existence as the Texans way back in the 1960s before relocating to Kansas City.

Sunday's rally kings are both clinging to postseason hopes but have minimal room for error – so this will have a post-season feel.

And how about the Ravens? An unattractive win over the New York in fact has them top of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and looking finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Games (all times GMT)

• Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (9:30 PM)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Browns coach Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his first professional outing to keep the first-team position when Gabriel comes back.

Yet the question will continue to be asked as Shedeur became the first Browns quarterback to win his first league game after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other first-year signal callers failing to do so afterward.

It came only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost feral Browns defense recording 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offense requires a director, a presence to build belief.

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