{"id":303546,"date":"2025-11-20T16:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/303546\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T16:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:55:09","slug":"nfl-week-12-shedeur-starts-the-chiefs-need-a-win-and-the-bengals-cant-catch-a-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/303546\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Week 12: Shedeur starts, the Chiefs need a win and the Bengals can\u2019t catch a break"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Week 12 of the NFL<\/a> season brings about a big game for Patrick Mahomes and Co., injury intrigue and a sneakily important Monday Night Football<\/a> game.\n <\/p>\n

\n From Shedeur Sanders starting for the Cleveland Browns to the Cincinnati Bengals never seeming to catch a break, here are five things to know about Week 12.\n <\/p>\n

\n Pittsburgh Steelers fans can breathe \u2013 at least a little. Head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Aaron Rodgers will not need surgery on the fracture in his left, non-throwing wrist. Whether he actually plays Sunday in Chicago? Still a coin flip.\n <\/p>\n

\"Aaron<\/p>\n

\n The 41-year-old\u2019s practice status on Friday will likely decide everything. Rodgers said his ability to protect himself is going to be the deciding factor, not pain management.\n <\/p>\n

\n And make no mistake: Rodgers would love nothing more than another crack at the Bears. During his Packers days, he saw them twice a year and went 24-5 against Chicago, famously telling fans \u2013 multiple times \u2013 that he \u201cowns\u201d the Bears.\n <\/p>\n

\n If Rodgers can\u2019t go, Mason Rudolph is expected to step in.\n <\/p>\n

\n Joe Burrow<\/a> could return on Thanksgiving night against the Baltimore Ravens \u2013 but the Bengals may already be out of runway.\n <\/p>\n

\n At 3-7, Cincinnati can\u2019t afford another slip if it wants any shot at the postseason. The defense, in particular, has put them in a historic hole. The Bengals have allowed 27 or more points in each of the last nine games, becoming the first team in NFL history to do so.\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n Now, they get a New England Patriots team that\u2019s quietly rolling. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye leads the NFL with 2,836 passing yards, and here\u2019s the wild part: He hasn\u2019t had a single 300-yard game. No explosions \u2013 just relentless, efficient production every week.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Patriots are 9-2 and suddenly staring at a possible No. 1 seed if they keep stacking wins.\n <\/p>\n

\n The AFC\u2019s game of the week features the 5-5 Chiefs hosting the 8-2 Indianapolis Colts, and nothing about Kansas City\u2019s season has gone the way anyone expected.\n <\/p>\n

\"Kansas<\/p>\n

\"Jonathan<\/p>\n

\n A year after going 11-0 in one-score games, the Chiefs are 0-5 in those same situations this season. The late-game Mahomes magic just hasn\u2019t shown up. The three-time Super Bowl winner has bluntly put the blame on himself: \u201cWe haven\u2019t been consistent enough to win games. It starts with me.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Since becoming the Chiefs\u2019 starter, Mahomes has never failed to reach at least the AFC Championship Game. A loss on Sunday would drop Kansas City to 5-6, and the margin for error the rest of the way becomes razor-thin.\n <\/p>\n

\n The more things change, the more they stay the same: A new QB is going to be under center in Cleveland. The Browns are turning to rookie Shedeur Sanders on Sunday in Las Vegas, making him the 42nd starting quarterback the franchise has used since returning in 1999 \u2013 a staggering reminder of the instability that has defined the position in Cleveland for over 25 years.\n <\/p>\n

\"Sanders<\/p>\n

\n Sanders was thrown into the fire last week against the Ravens after Dillon Gabriel exited with a concussion, and the results were rough. The rookie finished just 4-of-16 for 47 yards and an interception, struggling to find any rhythm against a tough Baltimor defense.\n <\/p>\n

\n Now, he gets his first full start \u2013 and his first real opportunity to rewrite the narrative.\n <\/p>\n

\n For Sanders, it\u2019s a chance to show the Raiders, and every team that passed on him in the draft (which is all other 31 franchises considering he was selected with the 155th pick in the 4th round), that they misjudged him. For the Browns, it\u2019s yet another hope that maybe this time they\u2019ve found a spark.\n <\/p>\n

\"Carolina<\/p>\n

\n Monday Night Football brings a sneaky-important NFC matchup: the 7-4 San Francisco 49ers hosting the 6-5 Carolina Panthers.\n <\/p>\n

\n Brock Purdy returned from his toe injury last week and hardly missed a beat, throwing 19-of-26 for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-22 win over Arizona. With the NFC wild card picture tightening, this one carries real postseason weight.\n <\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

\n San Francisco\u2019s path is tougher \u2013 the NFC West has been the best division in football with the Los Angeles Rams (8-2), Seattle Seahawks (7-3), and Niners (7-4) all above water.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Panthers are coming off a huge overtime win in Atlanta that saw Bryce Young throw for a career-high 448 yards. He could be in for another big game as the Niners\u2019 banged up secondary gives up the fifth-most passing yards per game<\/a> in the league.\n <\/p>\n

\n And here\u2019s your weird stat of the week: the Panthers are 6-0 when winning the coin toss and 0-5 when losing it. So, we may know how this one goes before the ball ever leaves the tee.\n <\/p>\n

\n Away @ home\n <\/p>\n

\n Thursday\n <\/p>\n

\n Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans, 8:15 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Sunday\n <\/p>\n

\n Indianapolis Colts @ Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Seattle Seahawks @ Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n New York Jets @ Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n New York Giants @ Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Pittsburgh Steelers @ Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n New England Patriots @ Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Cleveland Browns @ Las Vegas Raiders, 4:05 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Jacksonville Jaguras @ Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints, 4:25 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Los Angeles Rams, 8:20 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n

\n Monday\n <\/p>\n

\n Carolina Panthers @ San Francisco 49ers, 8:15 p.m. ET\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Week 12 of the NFL season brings about a big game for Patrick Mahomes and Co., injury intrigue…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-303546","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-nfl","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}