NFC East Fly-By

 

The Games:

 

Cowboys @ Eagles

Redskins @ Giants

 

Cowboys @ Eagles

 

The Eagles ended their seven-game NFC East losing streak in style with a huge win in the league’s most hyped-up game of the year. Not only did the game live up to the hype, it provided more excitement than anybody anticipated. Fans saw plenty of big plays, with long touchdowns coming from Hank Baskett, Reggie Brown, and Lito Sheppard. Led by Darren Howard, the defensive line redeemed itself (and then some) after last week’s lackluster performance by getting more sacks against the Cowboys (7) than any other team this year and forcing two fumbles. The Cowboys looked threatening all day, but could not finish when it mattered, scoring just three points in the second half. Not to be overlooked is another fantastic performance from Donovan McNabb (256 yds., 2 TD, 1 rushing TD). And although none of them will admit it, the Eagles relished Terrell Owens’s ineffectiveness in a game where all eyes were on him. For more information on this game, please read the Post Game Report.

 

Eagles 38 Cowboys 24

 

Redskins @ Giants

 

The Redskins opened the scoring with a late first-quarter field goal, but that was all they would come up with as Jay Feely converted 4 of 5 field goal attempts and Plaxico Burress came up with a short touchdown to bring the Giants back to .500. Neither team was too impressive, as they combined for 26 penalties and the defenses did not come up with a single turnover, but the Giants produced 411 yards of offense, and that was good enough to make the difference. The Giants’ defense can be proud of themselves; the fewest points they allowed in the first month of the season was 24 against the Eagles, and their 3 sacks of Brunell were their first since week 2.

 

The ’Skins entered the Meadowlands with positive momentum after a big win over Jacksonville, which features one of the NFL’s elite defenses, last week. However, Washington leaves with big questions on both sides of the ball. Their offense, which put up 67 points in weeks three and four, only entered Giants territory three times, resulting in a field goal, two consecutive third-down penalties to force a punt, and a missed field goal. The Redskin offense has now failed to score a touchdown in two NFC East contests this year. Their stars failed to step up today, with running back Clinton Portis limited to a modest 74 yards on the ground and no catches, while Santana Moss had just 3 catches for 39 yards. Washington’s biggest woes this week were on third down; they only managed 3 conversions in 11 tries.

 

The Giants don’t have much to complain about this week. As mentioned above, the defense had their best game of the season and strung together four solid quarters for the first time all year. Tiki Barber played a big role in setting up the field goals, rushing for 123 yards. Eli Manning didn’t make many mistakes either, going 23-33 for 256 yards. The only thing that really hampered the G-Men was stupid penalties. Tight end Jeremy Shockey was a total dud; he was the target of six passes but only caught one, had more penalty yards (20) than receiving yards (13), and one of his penalties negated a touchdown. For those of you keeping score at home, Shockey cost his team 18 yards, 4 points, and about $59,375 this week.

 

Giants 19 Redskins 3

 

What does it mean for the Eagles?

 

The Eagles protected first place on Sunday and extended their lead in the division to 2.5 games. Their winning streak now stands at three games, and the injury report seems to be diminishing each week. These are great accomplishments and Birds could not have asked for much more so far, but fans should contain their excitement for now. The Eagles’ lead is by no means safe, and the second half schedule is far more demanding than the first half, featuring tough matchups against Jacksonville, Indy, Carolina, and Atlanta as well as a three-game NFC East road trip in December. In the more immediate future, the Eagles begin a mini-tour of the NFC South next week at the Superdome and then head to Tampa. Though these are not “must-win” games, they are “should-win” games and the Eagles need to win these games now so they won’t have to battle their way back into contention come December. The upcoming contest with the Saints has all the makings of a trap game: the Eagles are coming off of their most emotional win of the year against their most hated rival and the Saints will have the rabid post-Katrina crowd behind them (and don’t look now, but the Saints are 4-1). But the Eagles haven’t overlooked anyone all year (see the Packers), and should be well-prepared next week and every week.

 

Meanwhile, the Cowboys (and particularly Bill Parcells) are now at a critical crossroads in the season. This year, the ’Boys have been getting more media attention between Mondays and Saturdays than they have on Sundays thanks to Owens, Bledsoe, Owens, Vanderjagt, Owens, etc. Somehow, Parcells has managed to keep the rest of his troops level-headed and put a decent team on the field each game. But after Owens’s on-field frustrations and sideline antics on Sunday, the Dallas media room may be in for its roughest week of the year. The question on everyone’s minds when Jerry Jones signed T.O. was not if he would tear the team apart, but when. It seems to be only a matter of time before Owens starts calling out teammates, coaches, or anyone who he can blame for his sub-par performance. If the Cowboys drop two of their next three and Owens becomes a bigger distraction, their playoff hopes could be gone. Owens could easily have a big game against Houston, and the Cowboys had better hope he does for the sake of locker room unity. The Cowboys are one of the most well-rounded teams in the NFC and pose the biggest threat to the Eagles’ division supremacy, so we will monitor this situation closely in weeks to come.

 

The Giants showed signs of improvement this week and have a golden opportunity to vault into sole possession of second place over the next two weeks with key games at Atlanta and Dallas. If their defense continues to play tight and makes fewer mistakes, when coupled with Eli Manning’s ability to lead late scoring drives they will never be out of a game all year. The Redskins continue to be one of the NFL’s most confusing teams. No matter how weak or strong their opponents are, Washington’s play is unpredictable. We have seen ineffective offense both with and without Clinton Portis, but we have also seen explosive offense. The biggest constant has been penalties, as in lots of penalties. We may not be able to predict the score of a given Redskins game, but it is pretty safe to say they won’t be playoff contenders this year. The Eagles need to realize that the Redskins should be taken seriously regardless of their record when they meet on November 12 and December 10.

 

Current Standings
	W-L (Div.)	Next Game
Eagles	4-1 (1-1)	@ New Orleans
Giants	2-2 (2-0)	@ Atlanta
Cowboys	2-2 (1-1)	Houston
Redskins	2-3 (0-2)	Tennessee

 

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