The twelfth week delivered an epic Dallas Cowboys comeback, or was it an epic Philadelphia Eagles collapse?
Playoff Mahomes arrived to rescue the Chiefs' campaign while the Chicago Bears keep to impress as they extend their victorious run.
And did Shedeur Sanders perform sufficiently on his first NFL start to secure the starting role in Cleveland?
We’ll examine at the best of the action in the league.
Dallas were trailing badly at 21-0 down against the reigning championship winners, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best recovery in history?
The emotions of a initial home game after Marshawn Kneeland untimely death may have been a factor, however it was a mixture of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that pounced on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.
Dak eclipsed Romo’s records for passing yards (now thirty-four thousand three hundred seventy-eight) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an all-action performance – his plunging touchdown personifying his all-action showing.
Philly wasted a lead of 21 points or more for the first time after nineteen ninety-nine, with just their second game with multiple giveaways this season – the other being another disappointing division loss at the New York.
Along with fourteen infractions for 96 yards, the offensive struggles that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive beginning was huge. He'd only thrown for 200-plus yards in 4 games before the weekend, he had over 150 in the opening two quarters alone in Texas.
Yet from the time the Eagles went twenty-one to zero up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a failed field goal and then a turnover handing opportunity after opportunity to the Dallas.
Philadelphia’s defence is brilliant, it truly is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of seven games (3 losses) is now a huge concern, as the components are all there but it's simply not working.
Nick Sirianni approach is all about securing the big situations, the defense maintains them in it and what offence there is manages just about sufficient – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is failing, there may be problems in the future.
It wasn’t as extreme, but the Chiefs’ 11-point comeback in the final period against a powerful Colts squad was hugely impressive – and may have just rescued their season.
How big was it? Well, the NFL's Next Gen Stats now assign the Chiefs a 58% chance of reaching the playoffs, when a loss on the weekend would have dropped that number to twenty-eight percent.
It’s no surprise the postseason form of Patrick Mahomes arrived, passing for 235 yards in the latter half alone and guiding 3 point-scoring drives in their final 4 series to win it in extra time.
A few big passes and swashbuckling scrambles are commonplace for Patrick in the postseason, but right now the Kansas City are in post-season mode – at six and five and only tenth in the AFC standings.
This was more like the former Chiefs however, with a first one-score victory of the season after losing 5 previously – they secured eleven of them last year so, if that confidence comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be finished so soon.
You just can't overlook the Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, without Rodgers, maintained them top of the NFC North and at eight and three – sharing the identical record as the Eagles.
They look dangerous on each side of the field, with a defense that tops the league in interceptions and overall takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young quarterback now used to winning close games.
He can at times be shaky, giving away a score after a turnover in his team’s goal area – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already 5 final period rallies this season, he knows how to get the job done.
The Green Bay Packers are in hot chase in the division after dominating the Minnesota and the Lions are right there after beating the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Gibbs.
Chicago are strangely the most consistent with 8 wins in 9, but as they travel to the championship champs on the holiday we'll discover just how good they really are.
It appears one of the best Thanksgiving line-ups for years, with every game loaded with postseason implications.
Detroit host the Packers in the traditional opener in Detroit, prior to a unusual trip back to Texas for the Chiefs, who began life as the Dallas Texans long ago in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.
The weekend’s comeback teams are each holding on to playoff aspirations but have very little margin for error – so this will have a post-season feel.
And how about the Ravens? An ugly win over the New York in fact has them top of the AFC North after beginning 1-5 and looking dead and buried.
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Cleveland Browns head coach Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had performed enough in his debut professional outing to maintain the starting position when Gabriel comes back.
But the issue will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to secure his first league game after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 additional rookie signal callers failing to do so since.
It was only the Raiders, and with the help of an almost feral Browns defence getting 10 tackles, but the Browns’ offense requires a director, a presence to build confidence.
Moreover confidence is one thing not missing in Sanders, who informed a CBS {
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