🔗 Share this article

Week 12 provided an incredible Cowboys rally, or was it an epic Philadelphia Eagles implosion?

Playoff Mahomes arrived to rescue the Chiefs' season as the Chicago Bears continue to impress as they extend their victorious streak.

And did Sanders do sufficiently on his first NFL start to secure the starting role in Cleveland?

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

Analysis – Dallas Rally or Philly Fail?

Dallas were trailing badly at twenty-one to zero down against the defending Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they produce their joint-best comeback ever?

Sentiment of a first home game since a teammate’s tragic death could have been a factor, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s resolve and a defence that pounced on rare errors by the Philadelphia.

Prescott eclipsed Tony Romo marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch possessions (25) with an dynamic performance – his diving touchdown personifying his energetic showing.

Philly squandered a advantage of 21 points or more for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this season – the other being a bad division defeat at the Giants.

In addition to fourteen penalties for 96 yards, the attacking malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was significant. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in four games before the weekend, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half alone in Dallas.

However from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offense fell apart spectacularly – with four straight kicks, a failed three-point attempt and then a fumble giving opportunity after chance to the Dallas.

The Eagles defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in five of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major worry, because the pieces are all there but it's just not clicking.

Sirianni’s game is all about winning the key situations, the defense keeps them in it and what offense there is manages barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there could be trouble in the future.

Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Appears Early to Rescue Chiefs

It wasn’t as dramatic, but the Chiefs’ eleven-point recovery in the final period versus a powerful Colts squad was hugely impressive – and may have only saved their season.

How big was it? Indeed, the league’s Next Gen Stats now assign the Chiefs a fifty-eight percent probability of reaching the playoffs, whereas a loss on Sunday would have dropped that figure to 28%.

It’s no surprise the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and guiding three scoring possessions in their last 4 possessions to win it in overtime.

Some huge throws and daring runs are typical for Patrick in the postseason, but currently the Kansas City are in post-season form – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference standings.

This was closer to the former Kansas City though, with a initial one-score victory of the year after dropping 5 previously – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that belief comes back, this Kansas City faithful may not be finished just yet.

Discussion – Can Bears Become Rulers of the Division?

You just can't ignore the Bears now. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Aaron Rodgers, maintained them top of the division and at eight and three – sharing the identical standing as the Eagles.

They look threatening on both sides of the ball, with a defense that leads the league in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Williams, a emerging player now accustomed to securing tight games.

He can at times be shaky, surrendering a score after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he also threw three touchdowns and, with already 5 final period comebacks this year, he knows how to get the job done.

The Green Bay Packers are in hot chase in the NFC North after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Bears are strangely the most reliable with eight victories in nine, but as they travel to the Super Bowl champs on the holiday we'll discover just how good they truly are.

Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Prospect

This looks one of the most exciting Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with postseason implications.

The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Detroit, prior to a unusual visit back to Dallas for the Kansas City, who began life as the Dallas Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Missouri.

The weekend’s rally kings are both holding on to playoff aspirations but have minimal margin for error – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.

And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive victory over the Jets in fact has them leading of the division after starting one and five and looking finished.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
• Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Job?

Browns head coach Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done enough in his debut professional start to keep the first-team position when Gabriel returns.

Yet the question will continue to be asked as Shedeur became the first Browns signal-caller to win his debut league start after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 other rookie signal callers failing to do so since.

It was only the Raiders, and with the help of an almost aggressive Cleveland defense recording 10 sacks, but Cleveland's offense requires a leader, a figurehead to inspire confidence.

Moreover self-belief is one thing not missing in Shedeur, who told a CBS {