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          Top NFL Week 12 performances in the biggest games

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          Stephen A.: The Texans can win the AFC (1:50)

          Stephen A. Smith explains why he's more encouraged by the Texans than the Bills as the AFC playoffs loom. (1:50)

          • DJ Bien-AimeNov 25, 2025, 07:07 PM ET
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              DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets for the New York Daily News. He's a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show "Talkin' Texans."
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          It didn't take long for one of the fastest speeds of Week 12 to be reached. During the Buffalo Bills' thrilling Thursday night matchup against the Houston Texans, Bills running back James Cook III broke free for a 45-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game.

          Cook's top speed was 21.33 mph, the second fastest of the week among all ball carriers.

          The Cook TD put the Bills up 6-0, and it ended up being Buffalo's only offensive touchdown as Houston won 23-19.

          The fastest time of Week 12 belonged to Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs when he zoomed past the New York Giants defense for a 69-yard touchdown in the Lions' 34-27 overtime win. On that run, Gibbs clocked 22.17 mph, which marked the fourth fastest time all season.

          The third-year back is all over the list of fastest times this season. He hit 22.34 mph in Week 2 (which ranks second fastest) and 22.23 mph in Week 7 (third).

          New Orleans Saints wideout Mason Tipton clocked the third-fastest time of Week 12 when he returned a kickoff for 75 yards down to the Atlanta Falcons 16-yard line and hit a blazing speed of 21.03 mph.

          In Las Vegas, the buzz around the Cleveland Browns' 24-10 win was centered on the starting debut of rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, but he had some help. Coach Kevin Stefanski had perfect timing when he called a screen pass to running back Dylan Sampson, who went 66 yards and scored a touchdown while hitting the fourth-fastest time of the week at 20.82 mph.

          And the fifth spot belonged to Seattle Seahawks standout Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has 1,313 yards through 12 weeks and is on pace to become the first wideout to hit 2,000 receiving yards in a season. Smith-Njigba caught a deep pass from quarterback Sam Darnold for 63 yards and hit 20.80 mph.

          Each week, we will highlight top performances as defined by NFL Next Gen Stats, which tracks players' speed through sensors in their uniforms and on the field.

          We'll also feature some of the top games of the week. Here is a look back at four of the top games of Week 12 through the Next Gen lens.

          Kansas City Chiefs 23, Indianapolis Colts 20 (OT)

          The Chiefs snuck out with a win, but their offense didn't hit double digit points till the fourth quarter. A big reason why was the Colts' man coverage. On 40.8% of their coverage snaps against the Chiefs they went man, their second straight game calling man-to-man on at least 40.0% of coverage snaps.

          Two key reasons for the Colts' defensive prowess was the acquisition of cornerback Sauce Gardner along with the return of cornerback Charvarius Ward. Through the game's first nine drives, Ward and Gardner were targeted a combined five times in man coverage and didn't allow a single catch.

          Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes went 8-of-17 attempts (47.1%) for 108 yards (6.4 yards per attempt) and an interception against Cover 1 (man coverage) on the day. But against other coverages, Mahomes went 21-of-29 (72.4%) for 244 yards. Chiefs wideout Rashee Rice caught seven of his eight targets for 122 yards against zone coverage but only caught one pass against man coverage for 19 yards.

          Eventually the man coverage from Ward fell through. Across the Colts' six man-coverage snaps on their final two defensive drives, Ward was targeted four times, allowing two catches and 50 yards, while Gardner allowed one catch on one target for 8 yards.

          Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was in MVP talks prior to this marquee matchup but struggled, finishing with 58 rushing yards, his second-lowest output of the season. But it wasn't all on Taylor. His offensive line allowed him to be hit behind the line of scrimmage at a season-high rate (62.5%). And he averaged only 0.7 yards before contact, well below his 1.3-yard season average.

          Dallas Cowboys 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21

          The Eagles jumped out to a 21-0 lead with 5:07 remaining in the first half and the Cowboys' win probability was 3.3%. And while it gradually climbed, it was just 14% at the start of the fourth quarter as Philadelphia led 21-14. The Cowboys then scored 10 unanswered points.

          Eagles wideout A.J. Brown had one of his better outings of the season, catching eight of his 10 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown. The safety shell Brown was particularly effective against was single-high safety coverage, catching 5-of-7 targets for 62 yards and a touchdown.

          Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott went 23-of-36 for 354 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Prescott saw zone coverage on 65% of his dropbacks and threw for 208 yards while both his touchdowns came against man coverage.

          Prescott didn't have much success against Quinyon Mitchell. The Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback saw four targets on 40 coverage snaps, allowing just two catches for 16 yards while forcing two tight windows and defending a pass.

          Mitchell's teammates didn't fare as well as Adoree' Jackson and Cooper DeJean combined to allow 9 catches on 11 targets for 205 yards and two TDs. George Pickens did especially well against the pair, catching all five of his targets for 93 yards and a TD. DeJean allowed 152 yards in the game, the third-most by any defender in a game this season.

          Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw for 289 yards with a touchdown, but all the yards came against zone with zero yards against man coverage, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

          Los Angeles Rams 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7

          When Matthew Stafford had a clean pocket, the Buccaneers' defense struggled as the Rams quarterback went 22-of-27, throwing for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He also went 8-of-12 on passes traveling 10-plus air yards for 141 yards and two touchdowns, recording his second-highest success rate (66.7%) on such passes this season.

          Rams' cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. showed Sunday why he was Washington's first-round pick in 2023. He did not allow a reception on his 33 coverage snaps despite being targeted seven times. No other defender has been targeted as many times in a game without allowing a reception this season. Forbes also forced four tight window targets (less than 1 yard of separation) and had a career-high five passes defensed.

          And 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse recorded a season-high two sacks and spent 8.7 seconds pressuring Bucs QBs, the most in a single game of his career. He led all Rams defenders with six pressures.

          After Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker exploded for 106 rushing yards last week against the Bills, he only reached 43 yards against the Rams. On outside runs, he only averaged 2.5 yards per attempt, compared to 8.9 yards per rush last week.

          Houston Texans 23, Buffalo Bills 19

          Houston safety Calen Bullock had a career day, forcing three turnovers (two interceptions and a forced fumble), including the game-ending pick. But the advanced stats are even better. Bullock's three turnovers added 35.7% in win probability to the Texans' win.

          On the season, Bullock has allowed a 38.5% completion percentage in coverage this season, the lowest mark by any player targeted at least 15 times.

          Another big reason why the Texans won was because of their defensive line pressuring Josh Allen. The reigning MVP was sacked a career-high eight times in Week 12 and was sacked on 53.3% of his pressured dropbacks, the highest pressure-to-sack rate of his career (with a minimum of five pressured dropbacks).

          The Texans offense used their jumbo formation on 21 of 56 snaps (37.5%), the third-highest usage rate of any team in a game this season and their highest in any game since 2018. The Texans averaged 4.8 yards per play in jumbo and scored one touchdown. In a game where there were only three offensive touchdowns, that proved to be a pivotal one.

          Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. was targeted twice against the Bills, allowing no catches across 43 coverage snaps. This marked the fourth game of the season when Stingley allowed fewer than 10 yards in coverage. Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II had five such games last season, which helped earn him NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2024.