The week before Thanksgiving brings us six teams on the bye. But, there was a lot of action in what went down as a pivotal week in the NFL. So, how did the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and the Carolina Panthers (among others) fare in Week 12 of the 2024 NFL season?
The Chaotic Cowboys and Commanders
This season of the NFC East is slightly different from previous years. As normal, the Philadephia Eagles are good, and the New York Giants are terrible (which may be an understatement). However, the normally on-form Dallas Cowboys have struggled this year and come into their game with divisional rivals the seven-win Washington Commanders with a 3-7 record. Could they get the upset here, or will Jayden Daniels’ strong rookie season continue?
The Cowboys had the opening possession of the game and were able to do something with it. Starting from their 35-yard line, the Dallas offense, led by quarterback Cooper Rush, made their way down to the Commanders’ 17-yard line. Here the drive would stall, setting up a 35-yard field goal attempt from Brandon Aubrey, who has been one of the bright spots this season for the Cowboys. His field goal was blocked.
The Commanders would also have a field goal attempt from 41 yards out on the following drive. But unlike the Cowboys, kicker Austin Seibert was able to make it. Aubrey made another attempt on the next drive, which was unsuccessful again.
The mistakes kept coming for the Cowboys, as they fumbled the ball on their next drive, giving possession away. However, Washington was unable to do anything with this.
We then had a half period where neither could get anything going on offense. This was for most of the second quarter, whose highlight was an interception thrown by Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. But the Cowboys could not do anything with this.
Dallas was able to put some points on the board just before halftime when Aubrey was successful from 46 yards out. However, this attempt only happened because Rush’s interception a few plays before was fumbled and recovered by the Cowboys.
This meant that the scores would be tied 3-3 at halftime.
The Commanders would be able to start the second half strong. On a drive that started on their 40-yard line, Daniels and company made their way down to the Cowboys’ 17-yard line. From here, the quarterback found the endzone for the rushing touchdown. However, Seibert missed the PAT.
In response to this, the Cowboys would finally be able to put together something on offense. They made their way down to the Commanders’ six-yard line, and here, Rush found Jalen Tolbert for the touchdown pass. The PAT was successful, giving Dallas a slim lead.
We had another period during which not much happened, but that only prepared us for the following craziness.
The Cowboys increased their lead soon after with a successful field goal from Aubrey. Then, on the reply, Daniels found John Bates for a 13-yard pass. However, Bates fumbled the ball on the Commanders’ 44-yard line, and the Cowboys scooped this up.
They could take full advantage of this, moving down the shortened field to the 22-yard line. Here, Rush found Luke Schoonmaker for the touchdown pass. In response to this, Washington found the endzone on their next drive when Daniels found Zach Ertz for a four-yard touchdown pass. The Commanders then attempted a two-point conversion, which was successful. This cut the Cowobys’ lead to three points.
But, this did not last long as on a bizarre play, KaVontae Turpin muffed the catch on the kickoff. He then recovered the ball, did a spin for some reason, and then ran down the field into the Washington endzone for a 99-yard touchdown. The best the Commanders could do in reply to this was a field goal, putting them seven points behind Dallas.
Soon after, this became a one-point game, as Daniels found Terry McLaurin for an 86-yard touchdown pass. The Commanders then attempted a two-point conversion, which would have given them the lead with 20 seconds left in the game, but this was unsuccessful.
We are not done there. With the game on the line and the team needing possession, Washington attempted an onside kick. This went straight into the arms of the Cowboys, who proceeded to find the endzone on the return, strengthening their lead to eight points with 14 seconds left.
This gave Washington enough time to score a Hail Mary touchdown (which Daniels has already done this season) and a successful two-point conversion. However, the attempt was intercepted on the Cowboy’s five-yard line.
The Dallas Cowboys had defeated the Washington Commanders 34-26.
After a poor showing in the first three quarters, both teams woke up and played a very entertaining fourth quarter, that could have gone either way. The win will help Dallas have some pride this season, and their record improves to 4-7. As for the Commanders, this is a missed opportunity to gain some ground on the Eagles, and they fall to 7-5.
Next week, the Cowboys play their annual Thursday Thanksgiving game, this year against the New York Giants, while the Commanders face the Tennessee Titans.
And, on the subject of the Titans.
A Titan Upset
The Houston Texans have struggled despite their comprehensive win over the Dallas Cowboys last week. But they are still the best team in the AFC South. This week, they faced the long-time struggling Tennessee Titans. Would we see another upset in this game?
The Texans had the opening possession of the game, and they would be able to get the game’s opening points from it. On the first play of the game, the Texans were already into the Titan’s red zone due to a good return on the kicker. Here, quarterback C.J. Stroud found C Stover for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
In response to this, the Titans were also able to get some points on the board. The Will Levis lead offense went down to the Texans’ 33-yard line, where the drive would stall. Here, Nick Folk made a 51-yard field goal.
The Titans were able to take the lead on their next drive. Starting from their 11-yard line, the offense got down to the Texans’ 38-yard line. Then, Levis found Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Tennessee extended their surprise lead on their next drive, which ended in a 10-yard rushing touchdown from Tony Pollard.
The Texans would return to the game on their next drive when Stroud found Nico Collins for a five-yard touchdown pass. Things got better for them soon after, as Levis fumbled the ball on the edge of the Texans’ red zone. The loose ball was recovered by Houston, who converted this into a field goal.
However, things did not end well for them, as before halftime, Stroud’s pass was intercepted by the Tennessee defense, who covered able to turn their new possession into three points, as Folk’s kick found the uprights on the stroke of halftime.
This meant the Titans had a 20-17 lead over the Texans going into the break.
The Titans could extend their lead on the first drive of the second half through a 51-yard field goal from Folk. However, Tennessee was lucky this happened, as Levis fumbled the ball on the play before, but was able to recover the ball.
A few drives later, the Texans made another mistake when Stroud threw another interception. But Levis did the same on his next drive, and this mistake was a lot more costly as the Texans’ defense returned the ball to the endzone for a Pick-six touchdown. This gave Houston a one-point lead going into the fourth Quarter.
The Texans extended this lead soon after when kicker Kai’imi Fairbairn successfully made a 54-yard field goal.
But, this lead did not last long. On the opening play of the next drive, Levis found Chig Okonkwo for a 70-yard touchdown pass. This put them three points ahead, but with two minutes left of the game, Fairbairn could level the scores again.
He missed from 28 yards out, but the Titans quickly punted the ball away, giving the Texans another chance to take the game to overtime or maybe even win it.
However, this drive did not work out. From their eight-yard line, Houston was forced back to their one-yard line. Then, in an error that a player of his quality should not be making, he stepped into the endzone with the ball in possession. This was safety and only confirmed the Titans’ 32-27 win.
There is always some significance when these two teams play. Of course, it was Tennessee where the Houston Oilers moved to and later became the Titans. This game will be another iconic game between these two, not only for the Titans’ surprising victory. The win takes Tennessee to a 3-8 record. For Houston, the minor struggle continues as they fall to 7-5.
Next week, Tennessee faces the Washington Commanders, while the Texans play the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Vikings Leave it Late
In the ultra-competitive NFC North division, every win against your divisional rival is one step closer to winning the division and making the playoffs, even though there may be a strong chance that three teams from the division will make the postseason. One of these is the Minnesota Vikings, who are having a fantastic season with a quarterback they were not expecting to be successful with or even play this season. They faced the Chicago Bears, who are out of the race but can still cause an upset.
While the Vikings did not have the game’s opening possession, they made the first error regarding their opening drive. The offense, led by Sam Darnold, was able to make its way down to the Bears’ one-yard line. A touchdown was inches away. However, Aaron Jones would fumble the ball, which the Bears scooped up. Luckily for Minnesota, the Bears could not do much with this possession.
But Chicago was successful on its next drive. The Bears offense, led by Caleb Williams, quickly made its way down to the Vikings’ one-yard line. From here, Roschon Johnson found the endzone for the game’s opening touchdown.
This lead did not last long, as on the following drive, the Vikings reached the two-yard line in two plays. From here, Darnold found Jordan Addison for the touchdown pass. The Bears did try to retake their lead on the next drive, but this ended with a blocked field attempt by Cairo Santos from 48 yards out.
Minnesota widened their lead on the next drive when Darnold found Jalen Nailor for a five-yard touchdown pass. Then, on the stroke of halftime, Chicago would be able to score a 49-yard field goal.
This meant that as the teams returned to the locker rooms, the Vikings had a 14-10 lead over the Bears.
The Vikings would be able to add to their lead on the opening drive of the second half. Darnold and company moved the offense down to the Bears’ 22-yard line, where the drive would stall. This set up a 40-yard field goal from kicker John Parker Romo (no relation to former Dallas Cowboys and current CBS Commentator Tony Romo). He was successful with this kick.
The lead was increased a few drives later when Jones found the endzone for a two-yard rushing touchdown.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, it looked like the Vikings would win. However, the Bears were able to get themselves back in the game early in the fourth when Caleb Williams found DJ Moore for a ten-yard touchdown pass. Chicago then attempted a two-point conversion, which failed. The Vikings got something in response to keep their lead big, a field goal from 26 yards out.
But, now, the momentum had come over to the Bears, who found the endzone again on their next drive. Williams found Keenan Allen for the touchdown pass from the Vikings’ one-yard line. They again attempted the two-point conversion, and this time it was successful. This made it a three-point game with 22 seconds left on the clock.
The Bears attempted an onside kick to keep hold of possession. This worked, and now they had to get into field goal territory. Chicago made it down to the Vikings’ 30-yard line, and as time ran out, Cairo Santos successfully made a 48-yard field goal. This tied the scores, meaning that the game was going to overtime.
The Bears had the first possession of overtime but could not do anything with it. This meant that all the Vikings had to do was score a field goal and victory would be theirs. Their drive started on their 21-yard line, and Darnold slowly led his offense down the field to the Bears’ 11-yard line. Here, Romo made a 29-yard field goal to give the Minnesota Vikings a 30-27 overtime win over the Chicago Bears.
If it was not for the Bears’ fourth-quarter comeback, they would not have stood a chance. In reality, it felt like they were never going to win the game, with the overtime period just delaying the formality of the Minnesota win. The win improves the Vikings to 9-2 on the season and puts them right on the tails of the Detroit Lions. Defeat gives the Bears a 4-7 record, which all but mathematically takes them out of the race for the divisional title.
Next week, the Vikings face the Arizona Cardinals, while the Bears face the Detroit Lions.
Nearly Another Loss
Last week, the Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first-season defeat against the Buffalo Bills. This week, they faced the Carolina Panthers, who are fully rested after their win in Germany two weeks ago. On paper, this should be an easy test. But the game is not played on paper, and anything can happen.
The Chiefs had the game’s opening drive and would be able to get the game’s opening score from it. In a quick drive, the Chiefs’ offense made their way to the Panthers’ 35-yard line. From here, quarterback Patrick Mahomes found Noah Gray for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
The Panthers were able to get something in response. Carolina’s offense, led by quarterback Bryce Young, would be able to make their way down to the Chiefs’ 12-yard line, where the drive would stall. Here, Eddie Pinerio found the uprights on a 30-yard field goal.
This field goal started a streak of four consecutive drives that ended in a field goal. The Chiefs got two, and so did the Panthers. However, while the Panthers’ drives were fairly quick, Kansas City took their time with these drives, slowly working themselves into or on the edge of the Panthers’ red zone, where their drives would finally stall.
But the Chiefs would break this streak of field goals on their following drive. From their eight-yard line, Mahomes lead offense went down to the Panthers’ 11-yard line. From here, Mahomes found Gray for his second touchdown of the game. Pinerio again scored a field goal, this time from 29 yards out in response.
This meant that at halftime, the Chiefs had a 20-9 lead over the Panthers.
Carolina had the opening possession of the second half and could use this to cut into the Chiefs’ lead massively. On a drive that started on their 25-yard line, Young brought his offense down to the Chiefs’ one-yard line. Here, he found David Moore for the touchdown pass. The Panthers then attempted a two-point conversion, which was unsuccessful. However, there was a penalty on the play, which gave the Panthers another chance. They decided to take PAT.
Kansas City would immediately respond to this shrinking of their lead, as Mahomes found DeAndre Hopkins for a three-yard touchdown pass. This widened the lead, but Carolina kept it a one-possession game going into the fourth quarter with a 33-yard field goal from Pinerio.
Late into the fourth quarter, the Panthers could find the endzone when Chuba Hubbard scored a one-yard rushing touchdown. Add in the successful two-point conversion attempt, and Carolina was only two points behind the Chiefs. With under two minutes left to play, all the Chiefs needed to do was hold onto the ball to win.
They were able to do this and also scored one more field goal to seal the victory.
The Kansas City Chiefs had defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-27.
This was a closer game than many people could have imagined. The Panthers were very close to sealing one of the season’s biggest wins, but they just fell short. With the win, Kansas City improves to 10-1 for the season, while the Panthers fall to 3-8.
Next week, the Chiefs play the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, while the Panthers face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Other Games
This week’s Thursday night game was the first snow game of the year, as the Cleveland Browns faced the Pittsburgh Steelers. In heavy snow, Nick Chubb scored a two-yard rushing touchdown to give the Browns a surprising 24-19 win over their divisional rivals.
The Detroit Lions’ high-scoring season continued this week against the Indianapolis Colts. The Lions scored three rushing touchdowns in their simple 24-6 win over the Colts and took them to a 10-1 record for the season. If the Lions do not make the Super Bowl on this form, who will be the team that will beat them, as there is not a team like them this year?
The Miami Dolphins faced the New England Patriots this week. This was a game that the Dolphins were also going to win, and they did it easily. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovaila threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns in Miami’s 34-15 win over the Patriots, whose poor season continues.
Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos continued their push for an unlikely playoff berth with a win over the struggling Las Vegas Raiders. Nix threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns, breaking the Broncos’ rookie record on his way to recording a 29-19 win over the Raiders, who have still only won two games this year.
The Seattle Seahawks faced the Arizona Cardinals in a game full of defense. The highlight of this game was a 69-yard pick-six touchdown from Coby Bryant to seal the victory for the Seahawks, which Seattle would win 16-6. This ties both teams at the top of the NFC West with 6-5 records, with the other teams in the conference being only one game back.
One of these teams is the San Francisco 49ers, who have gone from Super Bowl runners-up to a team that may not be able to make the playoffs. To add further woes, quarterback Brock Purdy missed their game with the in-form Green Bay Packers with an injury and was replaced by Brandon Allen. Bearing this in mind, the game went as expected. Josh Jacobs scored three touchdowns, and quarterback Jordan Love threw for two more as the Packers dominated the 49ers to record a 38-10 win.
The Sunday Night Football for this week was between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams. As with many games that the Eagles have played this season, this game was all about Saquon Barkley. He rushed for a massive 255 yards (more than Matthew Stafford and Jalen Hurts threw for in the game) and scored two touchdowns, setting an Eagles franchise record. This performance led Philadelphia to victory, as they recorded a 37-20 win over the Rams.
The Baltimore Ravens faced the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night football. This meant we had a Harbaugh bowl for the third time in history, as John’s Ravens faced Jim’s Chargers. Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson was involved in three touchdowns as Baltimore recorded a 30-23 win over the Chargers. This gives John a 3-0 lead in the series.
And finally, let’s dive into what was a chaotic week for the New York Giants. During the last review, I mentioned that the team had finally benched quarterback Daniel Jones and replaced him with Tommy DeVito. A couple of days later, he would request his release from the team, which was granted. He is now a free agent. However, this move has caused the locker room to lose confidence, but things would improve if DeVito could help the Giants defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He couldn’t. It was a different quarterback and the same dismal performance for the Giants, who were easily defeated by the Buccaneers 30-7. After the game, it was then revealed that DeVito may not play on Thursday due to an injury obtained in the game. This may mean the Giants will play Drew Lock against the Cowboys with no backup QB. If only one with experience was available as a free agent (but he’ll never return due to how he was treated last week).
That was Week 12 of the 2024 NFL season. Next week is Thanksgiving, meaning there are three games on Thursday. Also, next week, the Eagles will face the Ravens, and the Houston Texans hope to return to winning ways when they meet the Jacksonville Jaguars.
