🔗 Share this article

Week 12 provided an incredible Dallas Cowboys rally, or was it an massive Philadelphia Eagles collapse?

Playoff Patrick Mahomes showed up to salvage the Chiefs' season as the Chicago Bears keep to surprise while they extend their winning run.

Did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his debut NFL outing to earn the starting role in Ohio?

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

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas were trailing badly at 21-0 down against the defending championship winners, so how on earth did they produce their equal-largest comeback in history?

Sentiment of a first home game after Marshawn Kneeland tragic death could have been a factor, however it was a combination of Prescott’s determination and a defence that pounced on rare errors by the Philadelphia.

Prescott surpassed Romo’s records for yards thrown (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning drives (25) with an dynamic performance – his plunging score embodying his energetic showing.

Philadelphia squandered a lead of 21 points or more for the initial time after 1999, with just their second game with several giveaways this year – the other being a bad division defeat at the Giants.

In addition to 14 infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive struggles that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He'd only passed for 200-plus yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had over 150 in the first half by himself in Dallas.

However from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence fell apart dramatically – with four straight punts, a failed field goal and then a fumble handing opportunity after chance to the Cowboys.

The Eagles defense is excellent, it really is, but an offense that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a huge worry, because the pieces are all there but it's just not working.

Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the big moments, the defence maintains them in it and what offense there is does just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is failing, there could be problems ahead.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Early to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn't as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point recovery in the fourth quarter against a powerful Indianapolis team was hugely notable – and may have only saved their campaign.

How big was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now give the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent chance of making the postseason, when a loss on Sunday would have reduced that figure to 28%.

No wonder the playoff form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and leading three scoring drives in their final four series to seal it in overtime.

Some big throws and daring scrambles are commonplace for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season form – at six and five and just 10th in the conference rankings.

This was closer to the former Chiefs however, with a initial one-score victory of the year after dropping five previously – they won 11 of them the previous season so, if that belief comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished just yet.

Discussion – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the North?

You just can't overlook the Bears any longer. A win over the Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, maintained them first of the NFC North and at 8-3 – holding the identical standing as the Philadelphia.

They appear dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defense that leads the NFL in picks and total takeaways and, in Williams, a emerging player now used to winning close games.

He can at times be inconsistent, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s goal area – but he also threw three scores and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he knows how to get the job done.

The Green Bay Packers are in close pursuit in the NFC North after dominating the Vikings and the Lions are in contention after beating the New York in extra time with a huge game from Gibbs.

Chicago are strangely the most consistent with eight victories in 9, but as they visit the Super Bowl champs on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how good they truly are.

Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Prospect

It appears one of the best holiday schedules for a long time, with each game packed with playoff consequences.

Detroit host the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, prior to a unusual visit back to Texas for the Chiefs, who began life as the Dallas Texans long ago in the 1960s before relocating to Missouri.

The weekend’s rally teams are each clinging to playoff hopes but have minimal room for mistakes – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets in fact has them leading of the AFC North after starting one and five and looking dead and buried.

Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)

• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
• Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
• Friday, 28 November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)

Can Sanders Keep His Job?

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski batted away questions on whether Sanders had performed enough in his first professional start to maintain the starting job when Dillon Gabriel comes back.

But the question will continue to be raised as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his first league game since Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 additional rookie signal callers failing to do so since.

It was only the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly aggressive Browns defense recording 10 sacks, but the Browns’ offence requires a director, a figurehead to inspire confidence.

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