🔗 Share this article

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

Playoff Mahomes showed up to salvage the Kansas City's campaign while the Bears keep to surprise as they extend their victorious run.

And did Shedeur Sanders do enough on his debut professional start to secure the full-time role in Cleveland?

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

Analysis – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?

The Cowboys were down and out at twenty-one to zero down versus the defending championship champions, how exactly did they produce their equal-largest comeback ever?

The emotions of a first home fixture since Marshawn Kneeland untimely death could have been a factor, but technically it was a mixture of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that cashed in on rare mistakes by the Eagles.

Prescott surpassed Tony Romo marks for yards thrown (now 34,378) and clutch possessions (25) with an all-action performance – his diving touchdown personifying his all-action display.

Philadelphia squandered a lead of 21 points or more for the first time after 1999, with only their second game with multiple giveaways this season – the other being another bad NFC East defeat at the New York.

In addition to fourteen penalties for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that affected Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games before Sunday, he had more than one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.

However from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four straight kicks, a missed field goal and then a fumble handing chance after chance to the Cowboys.

Philadelphia’s defense is excellent, it truly is, but an offence that's not surpassed twenty-one points in five of 7 games (three losses) is now a huge concern, because the components are all there but it's just not clicking.

Nick Sirianni game is all about securing the key situations, the defence maintains them in it and what offence there is does barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is breaking down, there could be problems ahead.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Appears Early to Save Kansas City

It wasn’t as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point recovery in the final period versus a strong Colts squad was very notable – and may have only saved their season.

How big was it? Indeed, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now assign the Chiefs a 58% chance of reaching the playoffs, whereas a loss on the weekend would have dropped that number to 28%.

It’s no surprise the postseason version of Patrick Mahomes turned up, passing for 235 yards in the latter half by itself and guiding three scoring drives in their final 4 series to seal it in extra time.

A few huge throws and daring scrambles are typical for Patrick in the postseason, but right now the Kansas City are in playoff mode – at 6-5 and just tenth in the AFC standings.

That was closer to the former Chiefs however, with a first close victory of the year after losing five previously – they secured 11 of them last year so, if that belief comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished just yet.

Talking Point – Are Chicago Become Rulers of the North?

You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at eight and three – holding the same record as the Eagles.

They appear dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defence that leads the NFL in picks and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young quarterback now accustomed to securing close games.

He may still be inconsistent, giving away a touchdown after a turnover in his own goal area – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already 5 fourth-quarter rallies this year, he understands how to finish the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in hot chase in the division after overpowering the Minnesota and the Lions are right there after beating the New York in overtime with a huge game from Gibbs.

Chicago are interestingly the most reliable with 8 wins in nine, but as they visit the championship winners on the holiday we'll discover exactly how strong they truly are.

Look Ahead – Exciting Holiday in Prospect

It appears one of the best Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game loaded with playoff implications.

The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the traditional opener in Michigan, before a rare visit back to Texas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Dallas Texans long ago in the 1960s before moving to Missouri.

Sunday's rally kings are each holding on to playoff aspirations but have minimal room for mistakes – so this will have a post-season feel.

What about the Ravens? An ugly victory over the New York actually has them leading of the division after starting 1-5 and appearing dead and buried.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

• Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (18:00)
• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (21:30)
• Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Ravens (1:20 AM)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)

Can Sanders Keep His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski batted away questions on whether Sanders had performed enough in his first professional outing to keep the starting position when Gabriel comes back.

But the issue will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to win his debut league start after Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen other rookie signal callers unsuccessful to do so afterward.

It was just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly aggressive Browns defence getting 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offense requires a leader, a presence to build belief.

And self-belief is something not missing in Shedeur, who told a network {