Whenever football coaches notice that players aren’t buying the speeches from “a certain Sunday,” they can simply point to the NFL Week 12 scoreboard.

This is why we play the games, because one day the Dallas Cowboys embarrass themselves at home in a primetime game and six days later go crazy against the Washington Commanders.

The Houston Texans embarrassed the Cowboys last Monday night, but the dominant win was quickly forgotten after the Tennessee Titans beat them on Sunday for just their third win of the season. Not many expected Will Levis to beat C.J. Stroud in the battle of second-year quarterbacks.

The Carolina Panthers nearly suffered one of the biggest upsets in recent memory before the Kansas City Chiefs put together a game-winning battle to avoid overtime against Bryce Young & Co. The Minnesota Vikings couldn’t avoid overtime against the Chicago Bears, but they were saved by Sam Darnold, who earned a lot of respect.

The San Francisco 49ers aren’t used to being underdogs, but they certainly looked good in an ugly upset against the Green Bay Packers. It’s starting to look like there won’t be a second-half turnaround for the defending NFC champions. The Seattle Seahawks regained first place in the NFC West after a handy win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Here’s what we learned about the Vikings, Commanders, Seahawks, Panthers and 49ers during a chaotic Sunday in the NFL.

Darnold appears to have staying power this season

The Vikings don’t get enough credit as Super Bowl contenders, a silly drawback to Darnold being the starting quarterback. But the Vikings couldn’t care less about the Darnold haters as they improved to 9-2 after a sensational performance from the oft-questionable QB in Sunday’s 30-27 overtime win against the Bears.

The week started with the internet is pushing for Aaron Rodgers to play in Minnesota next year, forgetting that Darnold is in the midst of a tremendous comeback season and could very well be in the Vikings’ plans for 2025, even with the first-round selection of rookie JJ McCarthy.

Darnold (22 of 34 for 330 yards, two touchdowns) helped the Vikings build a 24-10 lead through three quarters in Chicago and it certainly wasn’t his fault the game went into overtime after the defense allowed two touchdowns in the fourth. and special teams failed to recover the Bears’ onside kick. But Darnold saved the Vikings with clutch throws to spark the overtime drive, which included completions of 13 yards and 20 yards to Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson, respectively.

Darnold leaned on Addison (eight catches, 162 yards, one touchdown) and TJ Hockenson (seven catches, 114 yards) during a rare slow day for Jefferson (two catches, 27 yards), another sign of why this isn’t a fluke for the No. 3 pick of the New York Jets 2018. Many were ready to write off Darnold again due to consecutive sluggish performances against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.

It turns out that Darnold won’t return to his old self, as the Vikings actually have plenty of weapons for him to lean on, unlike his three seasons with the Jets. As the Vikings take care of business over the next month, there will be opportunities for Darnold to gain more respect, especially if they steal the NFC North from the Detroit Lions, who improved to 10-1 on Sunday by beating the Indianapolis Colts.

The Commanders’ laundry list of problems could cost them a playoff spot

We’ve reached the point where we can discuss the possibility of the Commanders’ surprise season not including a postseason appearance because of what they showed in the 34-26 loss to the Cowboys and during their three-game losing streak.

First, coach Dan Quinn deserves a lot of criticism for trusting kicker Austin Seibert after missing multiple kicks, but this was repaid with a brutal shaft for the potential tying extra point after Jayden Daniels’s 86-yard connection with Terry McLaurin in the final minute of regulation. But there were mistakes in all three phases, which was the case during this three-game slide.

The Commanders (7-5) have major issues on the defensive end and have been without help from rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore due to a lingering hamstring injury that has prevented him from making his Washington debut since being traded from the New Orleans. Saints on November 5. Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush went from two brutal performances against the Philadelphia Eagles and Texans to a productive outing against the Commanders’ poor secondary. Washington has allowed its opponents to score 22 points or more in four straight games.

Daniels (275 passing yards, 74 rushing yards, three total touchdowns and two interceptions) bounced back from a tough first half, but it shouldn’t have taken the Washington offense nearly three quarters to get going against one of the worst defenses in the competition. Daniels and his offense have been out of sync over the past month, with flat games against the Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Bears.

To make matters worse, Washington special teams allowed a 99-yard kickoff touchdown to Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin and a 43-yard kickoff touchdown to Juanyeh Thomas after the failed onside attempt that came seconds after Seibert’s crushing miss .

All three phases of the Washington football team made crucial mistakes during one of the wildest games of the season. But perhaps the offense’s late surge could help them break out of this slump and end the losing skid.

The Commanders now have just a half-game lead for the seventh and final seed in the NFC playoff. They play the Titans and Saints (with a bye week in between) in two upcoming games that can’t be classified as easy wins after what happened on Sunday.

The first-place Seahawks tied with Macdonald

It might be safe to say that the Seahawks were right to hire coach Mike Macdonald this year.

Macdonald’s fingerprints were all over the Seahawks’ 16-6 win, which ended the Cardinals’ four-game winning streak and regained first place in the NFC West standings. Seattle’s defense didn’t allow Kyler Murray and his offense to produce a touchdown, holding them to 298 yards. Murray leaned on short passes to tight end Trey McBride (12 catches, 133 yards) with an absent rushing attack held to 49 yards. The lack of balance prevented Murray from expanding the field with Marvin Harrison Jr. (three catches, 47 yards).

Macdonald gets a lot of credit for the defensive turnaround as he is an expert on that side of the pitch, but it is also a good sign when coaches get the most out of young players. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been a star this season after a quiet rookie year. He again led the team in receiving yards after six catches for 77 yards and one touchdown.

However, Geno Smith will have to regain the rhythm with DK Metcalf (four catches, 59 yards) for Seattle (6-5) to maintain control of the NFC West. The Seahawks take on the struggling Jets before traveling to Arizona to face Murray & Co. again. to stand.

Panthers are finally moving in the right direction after pushing Chiefs

Imagine saying two months ago that Bryce Young would duel Patrick Mahomes in the fourth quarter with his Panthers on the verge of forcing the back-to-back defending champions into overtime.

The future in Carolina looked bleak after the team benched Young before Week 3 and then lost seven of the first eight games of the season. Now there is finally hope that a legitimate foundation can be established for the first time this decade because of what the Panthers showed in the 30-27 loss to the Chiefs and Young’s drastic improvements over the past month.

Young, the 2023 No. 1 pick, had an impressive game-tying touchdown drive, including a 13-yard completion to Adam Thielen on fourth-and-3, before Chuba Hubbard’s one-yard touchdown run with 1 more: 46 left in the regulations. Young finished 21 of 35 for 263 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers. Mahomes went 27 of 37 for 269 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.

Young’s numbers don’t exactly show up in the stats, but he kept a lot of drives alive to at least put his team in scoring position — the Panthers (3-8) punted just twice and had four drives that ended with field goals. Perhaps now the Panthers will realize that their poor infrastructure played a crucial role in why Young had disastrous performances during his rookie season before losing confidence earlier this fall.

With coach Dave Canales building a productive offensive scheme in his first season in Carolina, Young has shown the potential that made him a Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama, leading the Panthers to back-to-back victories before the moral victory over the opponent. Leaders. Staying competitive against the best teams in the league could pay off next season and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Young start many more games in Carolina.

As for the Chiefs, they once again played at the level of their competition, but at 10-1 it’s all about saving their best performances for the postseason. Some may be overreacting because the Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills last week and then kept a three-win team close.

But Mahomes performed efficiently, producing a 33-yard run to set up Spencer Shrader’s game-winning 31-yard field goal as time expired. Kansas City has plenty of time to figure out how to win games without the No. 2 tight end being Mahomes’ leading pass catcher (Noah Gray had four catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns).

Brock Purdy’s value stands out as 49ers continue to show fatigue

The 49ers really missed Brock Purdy during the ugly 38-10 loss to the Packers. But even if Purdy had played, the outcome still would have been the same, as the 49ers (5-6) haven’t shown any sign of being a playoff contender this season.

Maybe it’s time to accept that San Francisco is a mediocre team that’s probably lucky to be in the underachieving NFC West, with all four teams suffering at least five losses. Even the path to winning the division looks bleak for a roster full of aging stars, and it doesn’t help that the 49ers have lost at least once to all three of their division rivals this season.

Nick Bosa is in the midst of his prime, but he wasn’t on the field to help the defense against Josh Jacobs, who recorded 106 of Green Bay’s 169 total rushing yards on Sunday.

Backup quarterback Brandon Allen (17 of 29 for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception) failed to spark the offense, and it didn’t help that Christian McCaffrey (11 carries for 31 rushing yards) couldn’t seem to get his are. usual self. The 49ers will desperately need Purdy to be cleared of his shoulder injury before they face the red-hot Bills, who will have a bye week next week.

It’s too early to say that the 49ers will miss the playoffs due to the division they play in, but not many teams will be afraid to play this version of the 49ers, which is heading into the Super Bowl season had ambitions.