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

Playoff Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' campaign as the Chicago Bears keep to surprise as they extend their victorious run.

Did Shedeur Sanders perform enough on his debut professional start to earn the starting role in Ohio?

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

The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Philly Fail?

The Cowboys found themselves trailing badly at twenty-one to zero behind against the defending Super Bowl winners, how exactly did they engineer their joint-best recovery in history?

The emotions of a first home game since a teammate’s tragic death could have been a factor, however it was a combination of Prescott’s determination and a defence that cashed in on uncommon errors by the Eagles.

Dak surpassed Romo’s marks for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an dynamic display – his plunging touchdown personifying his all-action display.

Philadelphia wasted a lead of twenty-one points or more for the initial time after 1999, with only their second game with multiple turnovers this season – the other being a disappointing division defeat at the Giants.

In addition to 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the attacking malaise that hit Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was significant. He had only passed for 200-plus yards in four games before the weekend, he had more than 150 in the first half alone in Texas.

Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offense derailed dramatically – with four straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a fumble giving opportunity after opportunity to the Dallas.

The Eagles defence is excellent, it truly is, but an offense that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of seven games (3 losses) is now a major worry, because the components are all there but it's just not clicking.

Nick Sirianni approach is all about winning the big situations, the defense keeps them in it and what offence there is does just about enough – if it can't even do that and now the composure and ball protection is breaking down, there may be problems ahead.

Spotlight – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Prematurely to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn’t quite as extreme, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the final period versus a powerful Colts squad was hugely impressive – and could have only saved their campaign.

How significant was it? Indeed, the league’s advanced analytics now assign the Kansas City a 58% probability of reaching the postseason, when a defeat on Sunday would have dropped that figure to twenty-eight percent.

It’s no surprise the playoff form of Mahomes arrived, throwing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and guiding 3 scoring drives in their last 4 series to seal it in extra time.

A few big throws and swashbuckling scrambles are commonplace for Patrick in the playoffs, but currently the Chiefs are in playoff form – at 6-5 and only tenth in the conference standings.

That was closer to the old Chiefs though, with a first one-score win of the year after dropping 5 already – they won 11 of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Chiefs Kingdom might not be finished just yet.

Talking Point – Can Bears Be Rulers of the Division?

You can no longer overlook the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, minus Rodgers, maintained them first of the NFC North and at 8-3 – sharing the same standing as the Eagles.

They appear dangerous on both sides of the field, with a defence that tops the league in interceptions and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a emerging quarterback now accustomed to winning close games.

He may at times be shaky, surrendering a score after a fumble in his team’s goal area – but he also passed for 3 scores and, with already five final period rallies this year, he knows how to finish the game.

Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the division after dominating the Vikings and Detroit are right there after beating the New York in overtime with a huge game from Gibbs.

Chicago are interestingly the most consistent with eight wins in nine, but as they travel to the championship champs on the holiday we'll discover exactly how strong they really are.

Preview – Thrilling Thanksgiving in Prospect

It appears one of the best holiday line-ups for a long time, with every game packed with postseason consequences.

The Lions welcome the Green Bay in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, before a unusual trip return to Dallas for the Kansas City, who started out life as the Dallas Texans long ago in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.

Sunday's comeback kings are both clinging to playoff hopes but have very little room for mistakes – so this will have a playoff atmosphere.

What about the Ravens? An unattractive win over the New York in fact has them leading of the division after beginning one and five and looking finished.

Holiday and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Packers @ Detroit Lions (6:00 PM)
• Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Cincinnati Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
• Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Keep His Job?

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Shedeur Sanders had done sufficiently in his first professional outing to keep the starting position when Dillon Gabriel comes back.

But the question will keep being raised as Sanders became the first Browns signal-caller to win his first league game after Zeier in 1999 – with seventeen other rookie signal callers failing to do so since.

It came just the Raiders, and with the help of an nearly feral Cleveland defence recording 10 sacks, but the Browns’ offense needs a director, a presence to inspire belief.

Moreover self-belief is something not missing in Shedeur, who informed a CBS {