Week 12 of the NFL season gave fans an absolutely wild Sunday of action to follow up a crazy Thursday night victory for the Houston Texans over the Buffalo Bills.
Sunday featured a pair of overtime games in the early window, with the Lions and Chiefs coming away with big wins in the playoff picture. In the afternoon, the Cowboys came back from down 21-0 to beat the Eagles and stay in the hunt in the NFC.
Who won the week, and who is left licking their wounds going into Thanksgiving weekend? Let's get into the list.
Winner: Cowboys are still in the hunt, with a revitalized defense
The Cowboys looked like the same old Cowboys for much of the first half on Sunday, falling into a 21-0 hole against the Philadelphia Eagles just six days after playing well enough in prime time to get fans excited for the NFC East battle. Dallas was plagued by simple mistakes for nearly the whole half, and a loss would have dropped them to 4-6-1, effectively ending their playoff hopes.
The Cowboys got back to their feet just in time, scoring 24 unanswered points to get a 24-21 win on a Brandon Aubrey field goal as time expired. With the win, the Cowboys are back to 5-5-1 and are still on the fringes of the playoff picture in the loaded NFC.
Dak Prescott has been leading one of the best offenses in the NFL all season long, and George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb have become the best wide receiver duo in football. Pickens continues to make his case for a new contract this offseason, finishing this game with nine catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.
The key for this Dallas team is the defense, which is starting to play a lot better after adding Quinnen Williams and getting DeMarvion Overshown back from injury. That will be tested once again on Thanksgiving against the Chiefs.
Loser: The JJ McCarthy experiment is going south quickly
The Vikings chose to let Sam Darnold go this offseason and usher in the JJ McCarthy era. McCarthy missed all of last season with a knee injury after the Vikings drafted him in the first round in 2024, and things have not gone to plan so far.
After two subpar starts, McCarthy missed five games with an ankle injury that lingered around. Since coming back, he has only gone downhill since a promising start against the Detroit Lions.
On Sunday, things hit a new low. McCarthy finished a 23-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers 12-for-19 with 87 yards and two interceptions. His EPA per dropback, minus-0.75 for the game, is the fifth-worst single game by a starting quarterback this season. Now, McCarthy is in concussion protocol again and may miss Week 13 as his injury history continues to pile up.
McCarthy will almost certainly get more chances this season to prove he can be the guy in Minnesota, but if things don't improve, it's been bad enough where he may not get another year.
Winner: The Titans have a franchise QB in Cam Ward
Cam Ward has had some of the worst stats among quarterbacks in the NFL all season. The Titans have been dysfunctional and are the worst team in football at the moment, seeing little improvement after firing head coach Brian Callahan midseason.
However, anyone who watches Tennessee play frequently will tell you that Ward looks like a potential franchise guy. The 2025 No. 1 overall pick is playing behind a shoddy offensive line with a hopeless skill group and still flashing elite traits weekly.
That was never as true as it was on Sunday. Playing against one of the best defenses in the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks, Ward kept the Titans competitive with one of the best games of his young career. The rookie signal caller finished 28-for-42 with 256 yards and a touchdown while leading the team with 37 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
Ward continues to be willing to push the ball into tight windows, and he does it with accuracy on a consistent basis. On top of that, he uses his feet to create yards on the ground as well as passing opportunities late in the down. Despite their 1-10 record, Titans fans should be thrilled about the future.
Loser: Bryce Young (and his agent)
Bryce Young has been one of the more polarizing players in the NFL this season. The third-year QB is extension-eligible this offseason, and everyone is curious what the Panthers will decide to do with their former No. 1 overall pick at quarterback.
Young has been a bit of a mixed bag for his entire career, and that has been especially true this season. Young has had plenty of rough outings, but he also has had some promising ones, such as when he broke the Panthers' single-game passing yards record in a Week 11 win over the Falcons.
On Monday night, however, Young played one of his worst games. The 24-year old finished 18-for-29 with 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, including an ugly turnover in the end zone on first down.
The Carolina offense was mostly dormant against a very banged-up and gettable 49ers defense, and the 20-9 loss feels like it puts Carolina far away from the playoff picture in the NFC, despite a respectable 6-6 record. Now, all eyes are on what happens with Young when the spring rolls around.
Winner: The Texans have a defense that can beat anybody
The Texans have been a middling ballclub this season, in part thanks to one of the most unwatchable offenses you'll see for much of the year. However, this defense is still elite, and not both sides of the ball seem to be ascending at the right time.
On Thursday night, Houston sacked Josh Allen a career-high eight times in a 23-19 win to get to 6-5 on the season. The Texans are making hay by rushing four, getting to the quarterback and playing a ton of man coverage, and not many teams have answers for them at the moment.
On the other side of the ball, CJ Stroud should be coming back to a unit that was starting to click a little bit before he suffered a concussion. The offensive line is playing serviceable ball, and this could be a scary group down the final stretch of the season. A win against the Colts on Sunday would move Houston within just one game of the AFC South lead.
Loser: The good vibes Buccaneers are nowhere to be found
The Buccaneers were one of the most fun teams to watch over the first two months of the season, but those good vibes are long gone coming out of Week 12. Baker Mayfield, once an MVP candidate, is now beaten and battered and is likely going to be battling through a shoulder injury for the foreseeable future.
On Sunday night, the Bucs got trounced on both sides of the ball in a 34-7 loss to the Rams that turned more into a showcase for Matthew Stafford's MVP campaign than a game between NFC contenders. Even with the injuries in Tampa Bay at the moment, that game showed off the gulf between the Bucs and the elite teams in the NFL, and that doesn't look like it's getting fixed anytime soon.
The Bucs should still have enough to win the weak NFC South, but a playoff run is feeling more and more far-fetched after Sunday night's demolition.
