Mark Craig's Week 12 NFL story lines

Philadelphia (5-5) holds the NFC's eighth seed and plays host Seattle (8-2). Thanks to a weak NFC East, the Eagles are only a game out of the fourth seed, which the Cowboys hold. Philly's final games look like this: at Miami, Giants, at Washington, Cowboys, at Giants. Meanwhile, there's no breathing room for Seattle, which holds the fifth seed despite only two losses. The Seahawks' final five games: Vikings, at Rams, at Panthers, Cardinals, 49ers.

The Sunday night game features two teams with 17 wins and just three losses. But there's more at stake than the NFC's home-field advantage for the host 49ers (9-1) and Packers (8-2). The 49ers lead the NFC West by only a game over Seattle while the Packers' lead in the NFC North is just a half-game over the Vikings. Jimmy Garoppolo, Aaron Rodgers and two teams that rank in the top 10 in scoring and fewest points allowed. Should be a good one.

The Patriots are 9-1 and have won 17 straight regular-season home games. But, hey, at least the Cowboys (6-4) aren't playing this game in December, a month in which the Patriots have been virtually unbeatable at home for about two decades. Dak Prescott isn't quite Lamar Jackson, the only QB the Patriots haven't contained this year. But Dak does have a 5.8-yard rushing average and a league-best 8.8 yards per passing attempt.

Nov. 24, 1957: Exactly 62 years ago, a rookie named Jim Brown played in his ninth game for Cleveland. Facing the Rams, he rushed for an NFL-record 237 yards, breaking the mark of 223 set by the Rams' Tommy Wilson in a game against the Packers 11 months earlier.

Since then, the single-game rushing record has been broken seven times by six runners and has belonged to Adrian Peterson and the Vikings the past 12 years. Brown held the record until the Rams' Willie Ellison ran for 247 yards against the Saints in 1971.

Then came the Juice. Buffalo's O.J. Simpson broke the record twice in four seasons, running for 250 yards against the Patriots in 1973 and 273 against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day in 1976. A year later, Chicago's Walter Payton tagged the Vikings for 275 yards in a 10-7 win at Soldier Field on Nov. 20.

In 2000, Cincinnati's Corey Dillon ran for 278 against Denver. Three years later, Baltimore's Jamal Lewis hit 295 against the Browns. Then came Nov. 4, 2007, Peterson's eighth game as a pro. He went into halftime at the Metrodome with 43 yards. But a 253-yard second half broke the record by 1 yard.

With 1:58 left in a 35-17 blowout of the Chargers, Peterson broke loose for 35 yards. He was within 2 yards of the record. Chester Taylor carried the ball for 6 yards on the next play.

When the Vikings' sideline was informed that Peterson was 2 yards from the record, Peterson went back in and carried one more time for 3 yards. Then Brooks Bollinger took a knee on a play that most likely means the NFL will complete its first 100 seasons without a 300-yard rusher.

The Bears are in a bad place. It's about to get worse. Pick: Giants 19, Bears 9. Last week: Dolphins 28, Bills 23. Result: Bills 37, Dolphins 20. Record: 4-7.

MARK CRAIG