NFC East Fly-By
The Games:
Eagles @ Texans
Cowboys @ Jaguars
Colts @ Giants
Vikings @ Redskins
Eagles @ Texans
Donovan McNabb was 24/35 for
314 yards with 3 TDs as the Eagles rolled comfortably
over the Houston Texans 24-10. The number one overall pick in the 2006 draft,
Mario Williams, had a minimal impact against a dominating Eagles offense. New
addition Donte’ Stallworth
had 6 receptions for 141 yards and 1 TD while Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter combined for
121 yards on the ground. David Carr, the Texans QB who has taken his share of
abuse over the years was sacked five times by the Eagles defense, twice by
Trent Cole. For the Texans, Andre Johnson racked up 101 yards receiving while Carr
threw for 208 yards. All in all, a great win for the Eagles. For more
information on this game, please read the Post Game Report.
Eagles 24 Texans 10
Cowboys @ Jaguars
In this nationally televised
game, the talk was “All T.O. all the time,” as the infamous #81 played in his
first regular season game since being suspended by the Eagles last year against
the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars are a team that many are picking as a
sleeper in the AFC this year. The Cowboys started off strong with a very convincing
opening drive capped with a Julius Jones rushing TD. Owens would end the day
with 6 receptions for 80 yards and 1 TD. While the Cowboys showed several signs
of promise during this game, Drew Bledsoe’s inconsistency coupled with a good
game by Jaguars QB Bryon Leftwich helped the Jags
roll off 24 unanswered points (before Owens’ TD in the 4th Quarter)
as the Jaguars won 24-17. Bledsoe would end up throwing 3 interceptions and
towards the end, Cowboys coach Bill Parcells was not
vocal in hiding his disappointment with his team. The Cowboys played the game
without their new kicker, Matt Vanderjagt, who is
nursing a groin injury and is still listed as questionable. This game was
reminiscent of many of the tough losses ultimately cost
Cowboys 17 Jaguars 24
Colts @ Giants
For all the hype this game
got, it was pretty disappointing. ESPN and NBC were hyping this game because of
the battle between Eli Manning of the Giants and his older brother Payton of
the Colts. The Colts were eager to show off that they could still be the
dominating team they have been in past years despite losing Edgerin
James to the Arizona Cardinals, who was a catalyst to their offense and helped
set up the dynamic duo of Payton Manning and Marvin Harrison. The Colts new
running duo of Dominic Rhodes and rookie Joseph Addai
only had 54 yards and 1 TD between them. This proved irrelevant has new kicker
Adam Vinatieri and Payton Manning fueled the Colts to
a 26-21 victory over the New York Giants.
If you look past the colorful commentary of Al Michaels and John Madden,
this was a pretty interesting game to scout the Giants before they come to
Lincoln Financial Field next week. Plaxico Burress made two outstanding catches where he tipped the
ball to himself and caught it for a big gain. The always dangerous Tiki Barber also racked up 110 yards on 18 carries and
versatile tight end/jerk Jeremy Shockey also had a
TD. The Giants on defense were for the most part ineffective only registering
one sack on Payton Manning and intercepting him once. The key to this Giants
team is how well Eli Manning can lead the Giants offense. He is young and
therefore inconsistent, but truth be known, if Eli Manning can get in a rhythm,
he can be a very dangerous QB.
Colts 26 Giants 21
Vikings @ Redskins
This was a particularly
interesting game to watch, as it was the coaching debut of former Eagles
Offensive Coordinator Brad Childress who is now head coach of the Vikings. The
game featured a battle of the aging QBs as the
Vikings’ Brad Johnson who is 37 faced the Redskins’ Mark Brunell
who is 35. The atmosphere at Fed Ex Field looked absolutely incredible with a
sell-out crowd waving signs, sporting jerseys, and waving American flags. The
Redskins faithful and their legendary coach, Joe Gibbs would go home upset as
the Vikings won a thriller 19-16. Even though the Vikings have cleaned house
due to the seemingly endless amount of off the field scandals and gotten rid of
former franchise QB Dante Culpepper, the Vikings looked pretty solid against a
questionable Redskins team. The Redskins had a very tough preseason with their
first team offense not scoring any points and RB Clinton Portis
getting hurt early on. That all changed in this game as Brunell
led the Redskins on several impressive drives, several involving Portis who finished with 39 yards and a TD. What ultimately
killed the Redskins in this game were stupid penalties when it got to crunch
time. After a clutch punt by the Redskins that planted the Vikings within their
own 10, Brad Johnson led the Vikings seemed to have no trouble leading the
Vikings down the field, eating up the clock and forcing the Redskins to use
their time-outs. Helping out the Vikings’ effort were two penalties by Redskins
DB Sean Taylor for pass interference and a facemask. With 1:04 left in the
game, Vikings kicker nailed a 31-yard field goal. The Redskins made the game
interesting with a good kick return and a great job by Brunell
leading the ‘Skins down the field. After a catch by Antwaan
Randel-El Was short on 3rd Down, the Redskins opted to kick attempt a field goal with
12 seconds left. John Hall’s kick attempt sailed wide left and the Vikings
sealed Brad Childress’s well deserved first win as a head coach. The Redskins
had been plagued by personal foul penalties all of last year and this game was
no different. The penalties and an inconsistent Mark Brunell
would doom the Redskins.
Vikings 19 Redskins 16
What does it mean for the Eagles?
In a division where every
game could be important and important to playoff contention, this week could
not have gone better for the Eagles. Granted the Eagles played the worst team
from 2005, but a win is still a win. Even though these teams lost, they are not
to be taken lightly and the Eagles certainly know this. Andy Reid respects his
opponents and knows they are always going to show up on game day regardless of
the opposing team’s record. You better believe the Eagles will be going into
Sunday’s game versus the Giants with a chip on their shoulder. The Eagles were
0-6 against division opponents and lost two hard fought games to the Giants. An
important thing to remember is that with the exception of the Eagles, everyone
in the league played a tough opponent and came within a touchdown of victory or
a tie. The good news is that at least one of the teams will be 0-2 by the end
of next Sunday which bodes well for the Eagles. Either way, week 2 will be an
exciting one for the NFC East as it should make the division picture a lot
clearer. See you next week!
Current standings Next game
Eagles
1-0 vs. Giants
Redskins
0-1 @
Giants
0-1 @ Eagles
Cowboys
0-1 vs. Redskins