NFL Week 12 Takeaways: Contenders push forward while Barkley enters MVP race

From crazy endings to near upsets and actual upsets, plus a couple of blowouts sprinkled in between, Week 12 in the NFL provided a bit of everything.

This is the time of year when the top teams start separating themselves in the playoff picture and the battles for wild-card positioning start to emerge.

Top contenders like the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings all picked up wins that helped solidify their position atop their respective conferences.

Fortunately for the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers, who suffered tough losses, they remain in control of their playoff fate.

Unfortunately for some other teams, a couple of costly losses put a bit of a dent in their playoff hopes and, in some cases, allowed an open window for other teams to make a push.

Eagles can thank Giants for MVP-calibre addition

At a time when the New York Giants season has hit its low point, Saquon Barkley is likely counting his blessings that general manager Joe Schoen left the door open for him to leave.

The Eagles’ big free-agent acquisition continues to prove his worth after rushing for 255 yards and a pair of touchdowns in their win over the Los Angeles Rams. Safe to say, the 27-year-old is emerging as an MVP candidate after his recent performance bumped him up to third on the latest betting odds, according to BetMGM.

History isn’t on Barkley’s side when it comes to earning an MVP nod, considering the last running back to win MVP was Adrian Peterson in 2012. In 2020, Derrick Henry finished as a finalist behind Aaron Rodgers despite putting up over 2,000 yards on the ground.

Commanders trending in wrong direction after collapse vs. Cowboys

Going into the fourth quarter, the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders had scored a combined 19 points.

Then came the fourth quarter where both teams combined to score 31 points in the final four minutes, the most two teams have scored in the last four minutes of a game since 2013.

Dallas would pull ahead after Cooper Rush found Luke Schoonmaker wide-open in the endzone to go up by 11 points. The Commanders would cut the deficit to three points with around three minutes left and that’s when the craziness would begin.

In the final three minutes, Dallas returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. The Commanders responded with an 86-yard pass to the endzone but missed the extra-point attempt that would have tied the game. The Cowboys then returned the onside for another score and intercepted a Hail Mary pass at the five-yard line to clinch an unlikely victory.

To say this was a missed opportunity for Washington is an understatement. Dallas came into the game on a five-game losing streak and $100 million in salary cap space on the injury report, with Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Zack Martin, Trevon Diggs, Tyler Smith and Brandin Cooks not playing.

Washington has dropped its last three games after being off to its best start in almost 30 years. Not only has it lost some ground on the Eagles in the NFC East, but its wild-card spot is not secured either.

Fortunately, the Cardinals, Rams and 49ers’ losses keep them in the driver’s seat in the NFC playoff picture, but they’ll need to turn things around soon. Otherwise, they could be in a late fight to reach the post-season.

After suffering their first loss of the season, the Chiefs were provided with a great opportunity to rebound.

It appears the Carolina Panthers were prepared to make life difficult for Kansas City, making the reigning champions play to the final seconds of the game. Spencer Shrader kicked a 31-yeard field goal as time expired to help the Chiefs secure their 10th win but, more importantly, another sigh of relief.

This was the 13th consecutive game the Chiefs have played in that was decided by one possession, tying for the longest in NFL history. Fortunately for Patrick Mahomes and co., Kansas City is 8-0 in these close games and 5-1 against teams with a winning record.

It is tough to sound any alarms for a team that is aiming for a third straight championship, but the Chiefs definitely don’t want this trend to continue much longer.

“You want to have some blowouts,” Mahomes told ESPN after the game. “You want to be a little calmer in the fourth quarter. I’ve always said it can be a good thing as you get to the playoffs and later in the season, just knowing that you’ve been in those moments before and knowing how to kind of attack it.

“But I would love to win a game [before] the very last play.”

NFC West remains most unpredictable division

It feels like the four teams in the NFC West are playing hot potato right now.

The Seattle Seahawks defence picked a great time to step up with its best effort of the season, registering five sacks on Kyler Murray, led by Leonard Williams’ 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. Kevin Macdonald’s unit also held the Cardinals out of the endzone, and their run game was just 49 rushing yards.

This type of defensive form certainly puts the Seahawks in a prime position to take control of the division, considering they have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona. Losses by the 49ers and Rams also helped Seattle, but they can’t feel too secure at the moment.

The Seahawks still have games against the Green Bay Packers and Vikings coming up, plus two games left against the Cardinals and Rams, which will prove to be the ultimate test.

Can Dolphins make push for playoffs?

It’s interesting to see what a three-game winning streak can do to a team’s hopes of making the playoffs.

After going 1-3 without Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins put those hopes on the backburner, but their recent stretch has them believing again.

However, Miami has a lot of work to do and some tough games on its schedule. The first test comes on American Thanksgiving against the Packers who are dealing with some injuries on offence but will have cold weather on their side.

A win over the Packers would get the Dolphins to .500 on the season but the real challenge is hoping a wild-card team provides an opening. The Broncos currently own the final playoff spot but have a tough schedule that could keep things interesting in the AFC playoff picture.