The playoff race is starting to heat up.  Dallas, Oakland, New England, and Seattle have established themselves as the teams to beat.  Here’s a recap of week 12.

The Dallas Cowboys continue to turn heads after their latest victory over the Washington Redskins, winning 31-26.  Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, who currently leads the MVP race, was 17/24 for 195 yards and 1 TD passing, and ran for 39 yards and 1 TD.  “We have high expectations for ourselves on offense,” Prescott said. “We obviously want to score on every possession and they gave us some scoring chances late.  No matter if we’re up or down, we’re going to go out there and score and I think we’ve shown that the last couple of weeks.”  Ezekiel Elliott ran for 97 yards and 2 TD’s on 20 carries.  The Cowboys are the only 1 loss team in the NFL.

The Carolina Panthers were almost able to beat the Raiders on Sunday, but a Sebastian Janikowski field goal late in the game gave Oakland their 9th win of the season, which gives them their first winning season since 2002.  The Raiders defense did not play well in the second half, but Derek Carr strengthened his MVP candidacy, tying the game at 32-32 after a TD pass to TE Clive Walford.  The Raiders are 9-2.

The Minnesota Vikings gave up a victory after a Sam Bradford interception with :38 seconds left, leading to a Matt Prater field goal to give the Lions a victory.  “A heartbreaker like that,” Minnesota left guard Alex Boone said.  “Believe me, it hurts.”

Week 12 Scores

MIN  13-16   DET

WSH 26-31   DAL

PIT    28-7     IND

TEN   27-21  CHI

JAX   21-28   BUF

CIN   14-19    BAL

ARI   19-38    ATL

NYG  27-13    CLE

LA     21-49    NO

SF      24-31   MIA

SD      21-13   HOU

SEA     5-14    TB

CAR   32-35   OAK

NE      22-17    NYJ

KC       30-27   DEN

GB        27-13   PHI

NFL MVP Race

1. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas
2. Derek Carr, QB, Oakland
3. Ezekiel Elliott, HB, Dallas
4. Tom Brady, QB, New England
5. Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington