32 things we learned in Week 12: A trade paid off for cruising Cowboys
- The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, while Dak Prescott became the franchise’s all-time passing leader.
- Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders won his first NFL start, ending a long-running team streak.
- The New England Patriots took over first place in the AFC with a league-best 10-2 record.
- Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is on pace to break the NFL’s single-season sack record.
The 32 things we learned from Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season:
1. The number of teams officially eliminated from playoff contention − the New York Giants the first to clinch that ignominious honor this season.
2. It was the earliest the Giants had been ousted from even the most remote relevance since the 1976 season.
3. The number of losses suffered by the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, who surrendered a 21-0 lead Sunday in a 24-21 come-from-ahead loss to the hated Dallas Cowboys.
4. Two straight wins, both coming in the aftermath of DE Marshawn Kneeland’s untimely death, has Dallas back at .500, if still in 10th place overall in the NFC. Yet the team, flag waving and all, seems to be deriving fuel from its fallen teammate.
5. And as much (deserved) flak as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has taken for the Micah Parsons trade, give him credit for the acquisition of WR George Pickens, who leads the team with 67 catches for 1,054 yards and eight TDs, including another score in Sunday’s win.
6. However Pickens is going to create a Bengals-caliber dilemma in the offseason given he’s scheduled to hit free agency and the team has already committed a ton of money to QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb.
7. Did we bury the lead … Cowboy? Prescott passed for 354 yards and two TDs on Sunday (he ran for another score) and became Dallas’ all-time passing leader with 34,378 career yards after overtaking Tony Romo.
8. The number of receptions Sunday, a season high, for Eagles WR A.J. Brown, who finished with 110 yards and the game’s first touchdown. Good thing they made such a concerted effort to get him involved.
9. Elsewhere, Philly RB Saquon Barkley rushed for a season-low 22 yards. He’s on pace to rush 1,057 yards, nearly half his 2024 output of 2,005.
10. The number of times the Cleveland Browns sacked Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith on Sunday. More on this later.
11. With Sunday’s win at Cincinnati, the New England Patriots moved their record to a league-best 10-2, which also allowed them to assume first place in the AFC over the idle Denver Broncos.
12. And while the Seattle Seahawks have been showered with deserved praise as fierce road warriors, the Pats’ 6-0 record away from home is the league’s best.
13. The number of sacks Browns DE Myles Garrett has … in the past four games. More on this later.
14. New England’s win came at the expense of the snakebit Cincinnati Bengals, who fell to 3-8 with QB Joe Burrow still not quite ready to return from his Week 2 turf toe injury. With Ja’Marr Chase suspended and fellow WR Tee Higgins felled by a concussion, credit to the Stripes for nearly salvaging a win before succumbing 26-20.
15. The jersey number of Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, who led the defending AFC champs out of an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to overcome the Indianapolis Colts 23-20 in overtime and possibly salvaging K.C.’s season.
16. The Colts, meanwhile, have lost two of three and are slowly falling into the clutches of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans in the AFC South. Indy’s top-ranked offense matched its season-low with 20 points and went three-and-out on all four of its drives after the third quarter.
17. Dating to 1995, before the previous iteration of the franchise relocated to Baltimore and became the Ravens, the number of consecutive quarterbacks who had lost their first NFL start with the Browns − a streak rookie Shedeur Sanders ended Sunday.
18. The number of sacks Garrett has … this season, most in the league. More on this later.
19. Cleveland’s three touchdowns came courtesy of Sanders and two fellow rooks. He threw a 66-yard TD to RB Dylan Sampson, who did most of the work on Sanders’ first professional scoring strike. RB Quinshon Judkins ran for the Browns’ two other TDs in their 24-10 triumph.
20. The Detroit Lions rode Jahmyr Gibbs hard in order to avoid their first losing streak since 2022. The third-year back rushed for career-best 219 yards (and had a career-high 264 yards from scrimmage) and scored three times − including a 69-yard run in overtime − as Detroit staved off the Giants 34-27.
21. The Lions will be back on the field Thursday, Thanksgiving afternoon, against the Green Bay Packers in the second portion of their season-long three-game homestand. Detroit, which currently still sits outside the NFC playoff field despite a 7-4 record, needs to string some wins together.
22½. The league’s single-season sack record, which is shared by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.
23. Packers RB Josh Jacobs hopes to suit up on Turkey Day to face the Packers, but a knee injury sidelined him Sunday.
24. Not to worry, Pack RB2 Emanuel Wilson rushed 28 times for 107 yards – topping any of Jacobs’ single-game highs in 2025 – while scoring twice as Green Bay dispatched the listing Minnesota Vikings 23-6.
25. The second half summed up the Vikes’ day – and maybe season: 4 total yards and three turnovers.
26. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba needed all of 11 games to rack up a league-leading 1,313 receiving yards – already a single-season record for Seattle.
27. The Seahawks D also dropped Tennessee Titans rookie QB Cam Ward four more times. The No. 1 overall pick has now been sacked 45 times this season, most in the league.
Almost 28. The number of sacks Garrett is on pace to collect over 17 games, his current pace currently at 27.8 to be completely precise.
29. Congrats to Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry, who moved from 15th to 12th place on the league’s all-time rushing list Sunday, when he ran for 64 yards and two scores in a win over the New York Jets. Now at 12,294 career rushing yards, Henry needs 19 more to displace legendary Jim Brown for the 11th spot all time.
30. Of more importance, the Ravens dislodged the Aaron Rodgers-less Pittsburgh Steelers for first place in the AFC North by winning their fifth game in a row. The teams will meet for the first time this season in Week 14.
31. Three games have already gone into overtime in Week 12. Overall this season, there have been 47 games decided by a game-winning score in the final two minutes or OT, the most through Week 12 in league annals.
32. Week 12 is also cool because it provides NFL players an early opportunity to give thanks, shine a spotlight or otherwise with the league’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign. Take a look below.
