Rams Rise, Eagles Collapse: How Week 12 Rewrote the Playoff Map

Week 12 didn’t just move the needle – it ripped the entire playoff picture off the wall and hung it back up sideways. In this episode of Football Army, we dive into one of the most chaotic weekends of the season, where both the NFL and college football landscape got completely reorganized in a matter of hours.

We start in the NFC, where everything now runs through Los Angeles. The Rams move to 9–2 with a ruthless 34–7 dismantling of the Buccaneers, powered by a surgical Matthew Stafford performance and a McVay game plan that had Tampa’s defense spinning. From schemed-open Devontae Adams touchdowns to backup tight end Colby Parkinson stepping in seamlessly, this was the definition of a complete team statement. On the other side, the defense smothered the Bucs, with Emmanuel Forbes Jr. posting a perfect coverage day and the pass rush feasting to turn this into a “message win” for the rest of the conference.

Then it’s over to Philadelphia, where the Eagles suffered a collapse that will live in rivalry infamy. Up 21–0 on the road in Dallas, they somehow lose 24–21, going scoreless for the final 41 minutes and 30 seconds. We break down how a statistically bad Cowboys defense suddenly looked like the ’85 Bears, why first-year OC Kevin Petullo is under the hottest spotlight in the league, and how CeeDee Lamb’s nightmare outing and sideline tantrum clashed with George Pickens’ breakout and composure in Dallas’ comeback.

From there, we zoom out to the NFC playoff race, where the Chicago Bears have completely changed the math. Now 8–3 after a gritty win over the Steelers, Caleb Williams and OC Ben Johnson are building an offense around quick-game timing, anticipation and smart scheming that hides offensive line flaws and punishes defenses. Even with catastrophic injuries at linebacker, the Bears’ “next man up” defense keeps delivering, turning the North into a three-way war with the Packers and Lions, while the Seahawks and 49ers slug it out out West. Every game is basically a playoff game now, and we walk through just how razor-thin the margin is between a home playoff berth and missing out entirely.

In the AFC, the “dead” dynasty might not be so dead after all. The New England Patriots have quietly ripped off nine straight wins to move to 10–2, reclaiming control of the AFC East from the Bills for the first time since Brady left. We break down how the Mike Vrabel–Drake Maye combo is winning with defense, discipline, and mistake-free football – and what the Will Campbell injury means for their stretch run. But the biggest individual story of the week is in Cleveland: Myles Garrett is on a truly historic tear, with 18 sacks in 11 games and a record-breaking four-game stretch. We explain how the Browns’ beefed-up interior line is forcing quarterbacks into Garrett’s path, turning every dropback into a horror movie and making his DPOY case feel almost too small for what he’s doing.

We also take you through the coaching fallout and identity crises across the league: Shédeur Sanders gets his first win behind that Browns defense while his performance helps push Raiders OC Chip Kelly out of a job. The Jets continue to sink behind risky fourth-down decisions even as Aaron Glenn shows real leadership with his players. The Falcons, meanwhile, might finally be building something real with a young, relentless pass rush and a throwback, under-center, ground-and-pound offense that just unlocked vintage Kirk Cousins.