🔗 Share this article

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

Postseason Mahomes arrived to rescue the Kansas City's season while the Bears continue to impress while they continue their victorious streak.

And did Sanders perform enough on his first NFL outing to earn the starting role in Cleveland?

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

Analysis – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?

The Cowboys found themselves down and out at 21-0 behind versus the reigning championship winners, so how on earth did they engineer their joint-best comeback ever?

Sentiment of a initial home fixture since a teammate’s untimely passing could have played a part, but technically it was a mixture of Prescott’s determination and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare errors by the Eagles.

Prescott surpassed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and game-winning drives (twenty-five) with an dynamic display – his diving score personifying his energetic showing.

Philadelphia wasted a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time after 1999, with just their second game with multiple giveaways this year – the previous being another bad NFC East loss at the Giants.

Along with 14 infractions for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was significant. He'd only thrown for 200-plus yards in four games before Sunday, he had more than 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Dallas.

Yet from the time the Eagles went 21-0 up their offence fell apart dramatically – with four consecutive punts, a missed field goal and then a fumble giving opportunity after opportunity to the Cowboys.

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

Sirianni’s game is all about winning the key situations, the defense keeps them in it and what offense there is manages just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and possession security 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 fourth quarter against a strong Indianapolis squad was hugely impressive – and could have only saved their season.

How big was it? Well, the league’s Next Gen Stats now assign the Kansas City a fifty-eight percent chance of making the postseason, whereas a defeat on Sunday would have reduced that number to twenty-eight percent.

It’s no surprise the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the latter half alone and leading three point-scoring possessions in their last four series to win it in overtime.

Some big passes and swashbuckling scrambles are commonplace for Patrick in the postseason, but right now the Chiefs are in playoff form – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference standings.

This was closer to the old Kansas City however, with a first one-score win of the year after dropping 5 previously – they won eleven of them last year so, if that confidence returns, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be finished just yet.

Discussion – Can Bears Be Kings of the North?

You just can't ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at 8-3 – holding the identical standing as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on both sides of the ball, with a defense that leads the league in picks and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging quarterback now accustomed to winning close games.

He can still be shaky, surrendering a score after a turnover in his own goal area – but he additionally threw 3 scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter comebacks this season, he knows how to finish the game.

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

The Bears are strangely the most reliable with 8 victories in nine, but as they travel to the championship winners on Thanksgiving we'll see exactly how strong they really are.

Look Ahead – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Store

This looks one of the best Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with playoff consequences.

Detroit welcome the Packers in the traditional opener in Detroit, prior to a rare trip back to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out life as the Texans long ago in the 1960s before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s rally kings are each holding on to playoff hopes but have minimal margin for mistakes – so this will have a post-season feel.

What about the Baltimore Ravens? An ugly win over the Jets actually has them top of the AFC North after starting 1-5 and appearing finished.

Thanksgiving and Shopping Day Fixtures (all times GMT)

• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cowboys (21:30)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Sanders had done sufficiently in his first NFL start to maintain the first-team job when Gabriel comes back.

But the question will keep being asked as Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to secure his debut NFL game since Eric Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen other rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.

It came only the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Cleveland defense getting 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offence requires a leader, a presence to build confidence.

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