A week ago, the Kansas City Chiefs lost another game – 21:30 at the Buffalo Bills. Now things continued for the Super Bowl winner at the Carolina Panthers – including a lot of work. There was a lot of excitement in Chicago and Washington.
Thrown well – and in the end took his legs in his hands: Patrick Mahomes.
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Panthers fight back – and still lose to Kansas City
The Buffallo Bills (9-2) had mutated into a spoilsport, had once again defeated the previously unscathed Kansas City Chiefs and at the same time for Once again joy in the Miami Dolphins camp taken care of.
But it wasn’t a broken leg for top quarterback Patrick Mahomes – rather, the 29-year-old put the broken series behind him straight away and looked forward to a new one and the big goal of the third Super Bowl title in a row: “Being undefeated was cool. But that’s not our ultimate goal.”
Week 12’s 7 p.m. games
Task one after the defeat in Buffalo led KC into a duel with the Carolina Panthers (3-8), who had recently become more stable again with Bryce Young, and who also kept up very well in their own Bank of America Stadium.
But in the end it was a bitter 27:30. Bitter especially because the underdog never gave up and always fought back with strong actions. It even went so far that after the break and 9:20 behind, Carolina equalized to make it 27:27 with 1:46 minutes left. But that turned out to be too much time left, especially because the strong Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (269 yards, three touchdowns) ran over 30 yards late into field goal range and thus secured the 30:27 victory through substitute kicker Spencer Shrader (31 yards) made possible. The Chiefs’ record improved to 10-1.
Lions wake up in time and run to their tenth victory
The NFL’s hottest iron for weeks – the Detroit Lions – was also in action this early Sunday of Week 12 – and didn’t let the home Indianapolis Colts (5-7) put them out of step.
Although the towering favorite completely slept through the first quarter (0:3), he then got back on track and ultimately bagged an easy 24:6 victory – including an improvement in the balance to 10:1. Quarterback Jared Goff completed 26 of 36 passes for 269 yards, but the Lions’ running game provided the touchdowns via the feared duo Jahmyr Gibbs (90 yards, two TDs) and David Montgomery (38 yards, one TD). A small downside: Ace receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s recent strong run with at least one score in eight consecutive games ended.
Overtime in Chicago
Played well, but made mistakes in overtime: Chicago’s Caleb Williams. 
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We remain in the NFC North, in which, in addition to the Lions, the Chicago Bears (4-7) and Minnesota Vikings (9-2) also had to play – in a direct comparison. It was supposed to be a very exciting duel that had a lot up its sleeve. Among other things, touchdown passes from Vikes playmaker Sam Darnold (330 yards, two TDs) and strong runs from his partner Aaron Jones (106 yards, one TD), which meant that Minneapolis had pulled away to 24:10 in the third quarter.
But the Bears struck back in a special way in the fourth period: First, Keenan Allen scored a score 22 seconds before the end, before a successful two-point conversion followed and a strangely successful onside kick. Kicker Cairo Santos, who gave up the win in Green Bay a week agothis time scored from 29 yards to make it 27:27.
In overtime, however, Bears rookie Caleb Williams (340 yards, two TDs) made wrong decisions so that the Vikings got the ball, carried it cleanly forward – and kicker John Parker Romo made the hard-earned 30:27 from 29 yards.
A total Giants downfall
The time had come during the week: quarterback Daniel Jones’ overall manageable time with the New York Giants ended – first with being sent to the bench, then even with the amicable and direct separation. Before working with a completely new playmaker in the future, head coach Brian Daboll decided on Tommy DeVito.
However, the professional of Italian descent and his strangely acting agent Sean Stellato did not achieve more than 189 passing yards – just like the “G-Men”, apart from a touchdown run in the fourth quarter by running back Devin Singletary, failed to achieve anything. The New Yorkers, who were 2-9, suffered a complete loss with 7:30 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6) in their own MetLife Stadium. For the Bucs, QB Baker Mayfield (294 yards) also impressed with a strong touchdown run – the Florida men’s running game produced four scores. Ultimately, there was no need for a TD pass for the dominant victory.
Commanders vs. Cowboys: Dream TD and missed extra point
It was supposed to be wild on this match day in the US capital, where the favored Washington Commanders (7-5) also lost, quite strangely, against the Dallas Cowboys (4-7). First of all, things got off to a manageable start and the Texans went into the final quarter with a 10:9 lead.
Five (!) touchdowns and much more were to follow: Commanders kicker Austin Seibert, who had already missed an extra point including a field goal, missed the 86-yard score from teammate Terry McLaurin in the middle of the celebration in the stands next extra point to make it 27:27. The defense had previously allowed a kickoff return from KaVontae Turpin over 99 yards before Juanyeh Thomas made it 34:26 with another return.
The quarterback comparison went to Cooper Rush (247 yards, two TDs) and not to Washington’s rookie Jayden Daniels (275 yards, 74 rushing yards, three total TDs, two interceptions).
What else was going on?
The Miami Dolphins (5-6) are heading back toward the playoffs with renewed strength with returning quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who recorded an impressive 317 yards and four touchdowns. The 34:15 within the AFC East against the New England Patriots (3-9) was already the third win in a row.
The Houston Texans (7-5) around CJ Stroud (247 yards, two TDs, two int.), who started the race as the clear favorite, conceded in front of their home crowd against the Tennessee Titans (3-8), whose playmaker Will Levis had 278 yards plus two Scores reached 27:32. Bitter: The Texans’ incredibly confident kicker, Ka’imi Fairbairn, miserably missed the possible equalizer from 28 yards in the fourth quarter.
