🔗 Share this article

Week 12 delivered an epic Cowboys comeback, or perhaps an massive Eagles implosion?

Playoff Mahomes showed up to rescue the Kansas City's season while the Bears continue to surprise while they extend their victorious streak.

And did Sanders do enough on his first NFL outing to earn the full-time job in Cleveland?

Let's take a look at the pick of the week in the league.

The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas were trailing badly at 21-0 down versus the defending championship champions, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest recovery in history?

Sentiment of a first home game after a teammate’s untimely passing may have been a factor, however it was a combination of Dak Prescott resolve and a defence that cashed in on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.

Dak eclipsed Romo’s marks for passing yards (now 34,378) and clutch drives (25) with an all-action performance – his plunging touchdown embodying his all-action display.

Philly wasted a advantage of 21 points or more for the initial time since 1999, with only their second game with several giveaways this year – the other being another bad division defeat at the New York.

In addition to 14 infractions for ninety-six yards, the offensive malaise that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an fast beginning was huge. He'd only passed for over two hundred yards in four games prior to Sunday, he had more than 150 in the opening two quarters by himself in Texas.

Yet from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offense derailed spectacularly – with four consecutive kicks, a failed three-point attempt and then a fumble handing chance after opportunity to the Cowboys.

The Eagles defence is brilliant, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed twenty-one points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major worry, because the pieces are all there but it's just not working.

Sirianni’s approach is all about securing the big moments, the defense keeps them in it and what offence there is manages just about enough – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there could be problems ahead.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Shows Up Early to Save Chiefs

It wasn't quite as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a strong Colts team was very impressive – and may have only rescued their season.

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

No wonder the postseason form of Mahomes turned up, passing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and guiding 3 point-scoring possessions in their last four possessions to seal it in extra time.

A few big passes and daring runs are typical for Mahomes in the playoffs, but right now the Chiefs are in playoff form – at 6-5 and just 10th in the conference rankings.

That was more like the old Chiefs however, with a first one-score victory of the season after losing 5 already – they won 11 of them the previous season so, if that belief comes back, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be done so soon.

Discussion – Are Chicago Be Rulers of the North?

You can no longer ignore the Chicago Bears now. A victory over the Steelers, minus Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at eight and three – sharing the identical standing as the Eagles.

They appear dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defence that leads the league in picks and overall turnovers and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging quarterback now accustomed to winning tight games.

He may still be inconsistent, giving away a score after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he also passed for three touchdowns and, with already 5 fourth-quarter comebacks this year, he knows how to get the job done.

Green Bay are in close pursuit in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are right there after overcoming the New York in overtime with a monster game from Gibbs.

Chicago are interestingly the most reliable with eight wins in nine, but as they visit the championship winners on the holiday we'll see just how good they truly are.

Look Ahead – Exciting Thanksgiving in Store

This looks among the most exciting Thanksgiving schedules for a long time, with each game packed with postseason consequences.

The Lions host the Packers in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, before a rare trip return to Texas for the Chiefs, who started out life as the Dallas Texans way back in the 1960s before relocating to Missouri.

The weekend’s comeback kings are each holding on to playoff hopes but have very little margin for error – so this will have a post-season atmosphere.

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

Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)

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

Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Browns head coach Stefanski batted away inquiries on whether Shedeur Sanders had done sufficiently in his debut NFL outing to maintain the starting position when Dillon Gabriel returns.

But the question will continue to be raised as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to secure his debut league start after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 additional first-year quarterbacks failing to do so since.

It was just the Raiders, and with the assistance of an nearly feral Browns defence recording ten tackles, but Cleveland's offence needs a leader, a presence to build confidence.

And confidence is something not missing in Sanders, who informed a network {