NFC East Fly By

The Games

 

Falcons @ Redskins

Cowboys @ Giants

Panthers @ Eagles

 

Falcons @ Redskins

After losing four straight games, the Falcons found themselves faced with a must win against the woeful Washington Redskins and did not disappoint. Despite a crazy week that saw QB Michael Vick flipping off his own fans and an overall shaky effort, the Falcons came ready to play. Things looked bleak for the Falcons early as they fell behind 14-0 in the 1^st quarter. From then on, it was all Falcons. Atlanta’s 3 headed monster rushing attack of Norwood-Dunn-Vick destroyed the Redskins and Vick himself threw for 122 yards and 2 TDs. The Falcons moved back into the wild card hunt by improving their record to 6-6 while the Redskins dropped to 4-8.

 

Falcons 24      Redskins 14

 

Cowboys @ Giants

This was one of the most anticipated games of the entire week and did not disappoint. The game pitted the surging Cowboys and their savior Tony Romo against the struggling Giants and the inconsistent Eli Manning. Neither team played particularly well in this game as both teams had something to prove. The Cowboys were looking for revenge against the Giants as the Giants were trying to put the off the field turmoil to rest. With the Cowboys leading 20-13 and victory appearing eminent, the Giants drove down the field and scored on a 5 yard TD strike from Manning to Plaxico Burress. The game appeared destined for overtime until Tony Romo worked some of his magic and drove the Cowboys into FG range. With six seconds left, Dallas’ new kicker Martin Gramatica (replacing the recently cut Matt Vanderjagt) nailed a 46 yard field goal to give the Cowboys their 4^th straight win and hand the Giants their 4^th straight loss.

 

Cowboys 23       Giants 20

 

Panthers @ Eagles

In this Monday night match up, the struggling Panthers rolled into Philadelphia to face the equally struggling Eagles. The game started off slow with both teams looking shaky but the game became a pretty good one in the 2^nd half. QB Jeff Garcia had his best game in years throwing for over 300 yards with three TDs. The game had a side storyline of Panthers WR Keyshaun Johnson vs. the Eagles fans. Keyshaun would say a few things to the Philly faithful only to have a pass thrown to him intercepted by Lito Sheppard in the endzone with less than a minute left. The win by the Eagles put them at 6-6 on the year while the Panthers loss puts them also at 6-6. For more details please read the post game report.

 

Panthers24         Eagles27

 

What does it mean for the Eagles?

We’ve been dreading this part of the schedule all year and it is finally here: the road trip from hell. The Eagles are the first team in NFL history to have three straight road games against division opponents. Not the best way to close off a season, but all three of these games are winnable. The Eagles manhandled Washington in Week 10, they beat the Cowboys (pre-Tony Romo) in Week 5, and should have won in week 2 against the Giants had they not blown a 17 point lead. The Redskins are not even a factor anymore, but can certainly play spoiler for the Eagles’ playoff aspirations. The Cowboys for the most part have the division wrapped up, and right now the Eagles and the Giants will be battling for a wild card spot. Both teams are 6-6 and control their own destiny. If the Eagles can play against their division rivals the way they did against the Panthers, things could look up. It will be an interesting last 4 weeks of the season and the Eagles will have to take it one game at a time and let the chips fall when they may. Every game carries equal importance and the Eagles have to come ready to play against their division foes to hang on to their slim playoff hopes and to do that, everyone has to do their part.

 

 

 

Current standings

                        W-L  (Div) Next Game

Cowboys          8-4   (2-3)  Saints

Giants              6-6   (3-1)  @Panthers

Eagles              6-6   (2-1)  @Redskins

Redskins          4-8   (1-3)  Eagles