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The twelfth week provided an epic Cowboys rally, or was it an epic Eagles implosion?

Playoff Patrick Mahomes arrived to salvage the Chiefs' season while the Chicago Bears continue to impress while they extend their victorious run.

Did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his debut professional outing to secure the starting role in Ohio?

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

The Breakdown – Cowboys Comeback or Eagles Collapse?

Dallas were down and out at twenty-one to zero behind against the reigning championship champions, so how on earth did they engineer their equal-largest recovery in history?

The emotions of a first home game after a teammate’s untimely death could have been a factor, however it was a combination of Dak Prescott resolve and a defensive unit that cashed in on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.

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

Philly squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the initial time since nineteen ninety-nine, with only their second game with several giveaways this year – the other being a disappointing division loss at the Giants.

In addition to 14 penalties for ninety-six yards, the attacking struggles that affected Jalen Hurts after what – for him – was an explosive start was huge. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in 4 games prior to the weekend, he had over one hundred fifty in the first half alone in Texas.

Yet from the time Philadelphia went twenty-one to zero up their offence fell apart spectacularly – with four consecutive punts, a missed field goal and then a fumble giving opportunity after opportunity to the Cowboys.

The Eagles defense is brilliant, it really is, but an offence that's not eclipsed 21 points in 5 of seven games (three losses) is now a huge worry, as the pieces are all there but it's just not working.

Sirianni’s game is all about winning the key moments, the defence keeps them in it and what offense there is does barely enough – if it can't even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there could be trouble in the future.

In Focus – Playoff Patrick Shows Up Early to Rescue Kansas City

It wasn’t as dramatic, but Kansas City's 11-point comeback in the final period versus a strong Indianapolis squad was hugely notable – and could have only rescued their season.

How significant was it? Well, the league’s advanced analytics now give the Chiefs a 58% probability of reaching the playoffs, when a loss on the weekend would have reduced that figure to 28%.

No wonder the playoff form of Mahomes turned up, throwing for 235 yards in the second half by itself and guiding three point-scoring drives in their last four series to seal it in overtime.

A few big throws and swashbuckling scrambles are typical for Patrick in the postseason, but currently the Kansas City are in post-season form – at 6-5 and just tenth in the conference standings.

This was closer to the old Chiefs though, with a first close win of the season after dropping five previously – they secured 11 of them the previous season so, if that confidence returns, this Chiefs Kingdom may not be done just yet.

Discussion – Are Chicago Become Kings of the North?

You just can't ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A victory over the Steelers, minus Rodgers, maintained them first of the division and at eight and three – sharing the same record as the Philadelphia.

They look dangerous on each side of the field, with a defense that leads the NFL in picks and overall takeaways and, in Williams, a emerging quarterback now used to winning tight games.

He may still be inconsistent, giving away a touchdown after a fumble in his own goal area – but he additionally threw three touchdowns and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he knows how to get the job done.

Green Bay are in hot chase in the NFC North after overpowering the Minnesota and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the Giants in overtime with a monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

Chicago are interestingly the most reliable with 8 victories in nine, but as they visit the Super Bowl champs on the holiday we'll discover exactly how strong they really are.

Preview – Exciting Holiday in Prospect

This looks one of the best holiday line-ups for years, with every game packed with postseason implications.

The Lions host the Packers in the classic curtain-raiser in Michigan, before a rare visit return to Dallas for the Kansas City, who began existence as the Texans long ago in the sixties before relocating to Missouri.

Sunday's comeback kings are both holding on to postseason aspirations but have minimal room for error – so this will have a post-season feel.

And how about the Baltimore Ravens? An unattractive win over the Jets actually has them leading of the AFC North after beginning 1-5 and appearing dead and buried.

Holiday and Shopping Day Games (all times GMT)

• Thursday, 27 November: Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
• Thursday, 27 November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
• Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Ravens (01:20)
• Friday, twenty-eight November: Chicago Bears @ Philadelphia Eagles (20:00)

Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Cleveland Browns coach Stefanski dismissed inquiries on whether Sanders had done enough in his debut NFL start to maintain the starting position when Gabriel comes back.

Yet the question will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Cleveland signal-caller to secure his first NFL game since Eric Zeier in nineteen ninety-nine – with 17 other rookie quarterbacks unsuccessful to do so since.

It came just the Las Vegas, and with the assistance of an almost feral Browns defense recording 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offense needs a director, a presence to build confidence.

Moreover self-belief is one thing not lacking in Sanders, who informed a network {