NFC East Fly-By

 

The Games:

 

Giants @ Eagles

Redskins @ Cowboys

 

Giants @ Eagles

 

The Eagles fell apart big-time in an overtime heartbreaker, despite leading 24-7 at the end of the third quarter. The offense clicked through the first half and the first drive of the third quarter, but stalled afterwards, netting just 53 yards in the last six drives. Though the Eagles’ defense did a good job containing Jeremy Shockey (though one of his two catches helped do in the Birds), Tiki Barber, and Brandon Jacobs (86 combined yards rushing) and putting pressure on Eli Manning (sacked 8 times for 53 yards), the secondary was atrocious sans Lito Sheppard, allowing 371 yards and 3 touchdowns (4 if you count the recovered fumble), all from outside the red zone. The Eagles were also plagued by questionable play-calling, officiating, injuries to Jevon Kearse (knee) and Rod Hood (heel), and a 49-yard miss by David Akers. For more information on this game, please read the Post Game Report.

 

Giants 30 Eagles 24 OT

 

Redskins @ Cowboys

 

We’ll start by discussing the positives for Washington, since there aren’t many of them. Rock Cartwright became the first player to return a kickoff for a touchdown against Dallas since 1993. The secondary held T.O. to just 19 yards on three catches, all coming in the first quarter. The secondary, especially Sean Taylor, did a good job covering other Dallas receivers and were a big reason that the Cowboys dropped eight passes in the first half alone.

 

Unfortunately for the ’Skins, the Cowboys did an even better job of covering their star receiver, Santana Moss. If you look at a box score, you will see that Moss had four catches for 69 yards, but in reality 62 of those yards came after Jerry Jones had claimed victory and the Cowboys were just waiting for the clock to run down. And it wasn’t just Moss who was absent: Brandon Lloyd, Antwaan Randle-El, and Chris Cooley combined for only four catches. Safety Roy Williams and CB Terence Newman were all over the ’Skins, teaming up for 11 tackles and a pick. With their stars out of the picture, the Portis-less Washington offense was reduced to Ladell Betts, and lots of him. As Joe Gibbs probably learned, running Betts up the middle or throwing a short pass to Betts on the outside every play is no way to get first downs. It did turn out to be a good way to get Mark Brunell hurried, hit, and sacked, especially by linebackers Greg Ellis and Demarcus Ware.

 

The story for the Dallas offense had a much happier ending. Despite Owens’ disappearance (both figuratively and literally: Owens went to the locker room in the fourth quarter for hand x-rays), Drew Bledsoe got great protection from his line and got the ball to his old friend Terry Glenn, including a 40-yard touchdown, as well as his tight ends Jason Witten and Anthony Fasano. Julius Jones and Marion Barber were a productive duo in the backfield, giving the Cowboys 4.7 yards per carry and a balanced attack throughout the game. The Redskins commited five defensive penalties, including a 41-yarder that set up a Barber touchdown. Kicker Mike Vanderjagt was perfect in his Dallas debut, including a 50-yard field goal, and this game should quiet anybody crying about a kicker controversy in Big D.

 

In short, the Cowboys won handily against a Washington team that could not establish a running game, couldn’t find their big playmakers, and once again took critical penalties on defense.  

 

Cowboys 27 Redskins 10

 

What does it mean for the Eagles?

 

This week, the NFC East certainly lived up to its billing as the toughest division in football. Despite their meltdown, the Eagles still managed to run an effective offense for two and a half quarters and shut down one of the game’s most dependable backs. Manning showed a national audience that he can respond under pressure and manage an offense with the best of them. The Cowboy defense put on a clinic, while Bledsoe and Vanderjagt secured their jobs. The jury is still out on the Redskins, who await the return of Portis and Springs but have dug themselves a deep hole.

 

The question is not if this is the most competitive division, but rather if any of these teams are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. In the NFC, the Seahawks are getting their act together and the Bears have been absolutely dominant, outscoring opponents 60-7. We won’t get answers any time soon, but a few puzzle pieces will fall into place. This week marks the last intra-division games until October 8th, when the ’Skins go into Giants Stadium and T.O. (and the Cowboys, too) returns to Philly. In the meantime, the incompetent Redskins will probably stay in the cellar, but the Cowboys should beat the lowly Titans, and the Eagles should handle the Niners and Packers. Championship teams win the games they’re expected to win, and the Birds and ’Boys are expected to win these games. The most telling game will be the Giants’ matchup next week at Seattle, whom many consider to be the class of the NFC. Another road win or even close loss can earn the Giants and the division a lot of respect, so we will watch this game with interest. The Eagles have plenty of time to right the ship and should not panic yet, but this week’s loss is definitely cause for concern.

 

Current Standings
	W-L (Div.)	Next Game
Cowboys	1-1 (1-0)	Bye
Giants	1-1 (1-0)	@ Seahawks
Eagles	1-1 (0-1)	@ 49ers
Redskins	0-2 (0-1)	@ Texans

 

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