Newcastle United stumbled to a 1-1 draw against 10-man Fulham as Steve Bruce's side missed the opportunity to move into the top half.
Matt Ritchie was a tad unfortunate to put the ball through his own net just before half-time but the visitors were good value for their lead until Callum Wilson was awarded a penalty by VAR midway through the second half.
Following a lengthy check, Joachim Andersen was sent off after the Fulham defender was adjudged to have fouled Wilson and the striker stepped up to equalise from the spot.
Here are five things we learned from the game at St James' Park.
Where would Newcastle be without Callum Wilson?
Callum Wilson was on the wrong end of a VAR call against Leeds but the striker had the officials at Stockley Park to thank after he won and converted a penalty for Newcastle just after the hour mark.
Newcastle had been so passive and ineffective against a leaky Fulham side but on the first real occasion the Magpies counter-attacked with purpose, tellingly, they were rewarded with an equaliser.
Miguel Almiron slipped Wilson through and Fulham defender Joachim Andersen, who was already on a yellow card, pulled him back before the striker fell over inside the penalty area.
Following a lengthy check - referee Graham Scott even looked at the pitchside monitor - Andersen was sent off and Wilson was awarded a penalty, which he duly dispatched past goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
When the chips were down, Wilson stepped up and the summer signing has either scored or assisted 11 goals in his 12 league appearances for Newcastle. You fear where Newcastle would be without the £20m man, who has proved an inspired summer signing..
This certainly does not feel like progress
Ahead of this game, Steve Bruce stressed that 'progress was always going to be slow' because he could not 'just transform the way we want to go overnight'.
Yes, Newcastle have already accumulated 18 points but if the black-and-whites cannot take the game to a side in 17th place at home from the off then what is the point? This was another sobering watch and brought back memories of a contest against another newly-promoted outfit, Norwich, at St James' Park back in February.
Again, a visiting side dominated possession and territory, and the Magpies did not even offer a real threat on the break until after the hour mark.
Until then, Fulham were the only side playing with urgency and the visitors fully-deserved their opening goal even if Ritchie was unfortunate to head into his own net just before half-time.
It said a lot about Fulham's approach that even after going down to 10 men, Scott Parker's side still posed a threat.
Where was the response?
Often, under Bruce, Newcastle have at least mustered a response after a poor display or capitulation. After requiring penalties to get past League Two high-fliers Newport in the Carabao Cup earlier this season, the Magpies put in an impressive performance against Burnley three days later.
Following a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, the black-and-whites were much more solid defensively when they earnt a point at Wolves little more than a week later.
Most recently, after a weak display against Chelsea, Newcastle went on to record back-to-back league wins for only the second time this year against Crystal Palace and Southampton.
However, despite Bruce making five changes from the 5-2 defeat against Leeds on Wednesday night, Newcastle were strangely passive against Fulham. Even when Wilson levelled from the spot, the Magpies did not press home that extra man advantage in the final 25 minutes.
When you consider that Bruce's side face Man City, Liverpool and Leicester during the festive period, this felt a real missed opportunity to move into the top half and for some players to stake their claim to start the Carabao Cup quarter-final at Brentford on Tuesday night.
Poor defending again proves costly
Newcastle conceded three sloppy goals in 11 minutes late on against Leeds and the manner in which the Magpies were twice taken apart from their own corner kicks will live long in the memory.
'Naive', 'embarrassing' and 'schoolboy' were just some of the words used by figures in the dressing room. Bruce went as far as to say it was 'something you'd see on a park on a Sunday'.
Yet, some poor defending again cost Newcastle dearly against Fulham as the passive home side sat off and invited pressure against the Whites, who had conceded 22 league goals going into this game.
Newcastle were worryingly vulnerable at set-pieces even before Ritchie inadvertently turned Tosin Adarabioyo's free header into his own net and if you are going to drop deep, you need to be resilient and hard to break down.
So much is riding on Brentford
Newcastle's Carabao Cup quarter-final against Brentford was already significant but it feels doubly so now.
The Magpies have the chance to reach the last four of the League Cup for the first time since 1976 and, boy, will they need to offer so much more to get the better of the Bees.
With a brutal run of fixtures to come, Bruce needs a big performance from his side on Tuesday night.
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