Can you believe that we are already one full month into the 2015 NFL season? The first quarter of the season is in the books and we’re starting to get an idea of who these teams are going to be across the entire season. Here’s a breakdown of exactly who the NFC East is after the first quarter of the season.
Dallas Cowboys (2-2 Overall, 2-0 Against NFC East)
America’s Team is coming off of two straight losses to the NFC South Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. It’s hard to say that the current state of the team is who they are going to be all season as they are currently without most of their playmakers on both sides of the ball.
The Cowboys hold one of the biggest ace cards in the entire NFL right now and that’s a 2-0 record within their own division. Considering the recent losses to Atlanta and New Orleans, the last-second comeback win that Tony Romo mounted against the New York Giants in Week 1 is more valuable than it even felt at the time.
Dallas takes on the World Champion New England Patriots this Sunday, undoubtedly their biggest test of the season. Ideally they would have come into this game loaded with their usual arsenal of weapons, but it’s hard to see them giving New England their first loss of the season. The good news it that reinforcements in the form of Greg Hardy, Rolando McClain, Randy Gregory, and Dez Bryant are on their way back. With a bye in Week 6 the Cowboys will take on the New York Giants in Week 7 with a lot more positive momentum in their direction.
New York Giants (2-2 Overall, 1-1 Against NFC East)
The G-Men channeled their Super Bowl XXV memories last weekend when they dropped a loss on the Buffalo Bills. I’ve been impressed by Buffalo this season and thought that their elite pass rush was going to be a problem for New York, but Eli Manning stood in the pocket and made it happen.
Tom Coughlin’s Giants are gaining a little momentum as they’ve quietly crawled up to .500 after starting the season 0-2. Up next is a date with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, a game that New York should win easily.
Odell Beckham Jr. hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire thus far in his sophomore season, but he’s a very talented player and will undoubtedly figure it out at some point. As much of a sign of hope that the returning players are for the Cowboys, Victor Cruz will be returning to the Giants at some point and will make their passing attack even more deadly.
I believe that the Giants pose the biggest threat to the Cowboys in the race for the 2015 NFC East crown, so bust out your Colin Kaepernick jerseys and hope for the best when San Francisco heads to Metlife Stadium this week.
Washington Redskins (2-2 Overall, 1-1 Against NFC East)
Kirk Cousins has given life to the Washington Redskins! The non-RGIII QB mounted a fourth quarter comeback drive against the Philadelphia Eagles last week, giving Washington its first win within the division this season.
Washington has most certainly been the surprise of the division so far in 2015 as they have managed to look better than an average high school team.
The Redskins take on the Atlanta Falcons this week, a team that is already 2-0 against the NFC East, and is set up for a trip back down to earth. While Cowboys fans are certainly grateful that Washington gave Philly another loss this season, history notes that at some point, in the same way that gravity will make things fall down, Washington will always implode. Enjoy mediocrity while you can, Redskins!
Philadelphia Eagles (1-3 Overall, 0-2 Against NFC East)
The jury is out on Chip Kelly. It would appear, shockingly, that you simply cannot throw a bunch of random players on a roster and have immediate success. Who would have ever thought that?
Philadelphia experienced a rare high moment in Week 3 when they beat the New York Jets, but experienced one of the lowest moments in their recent history when they lost to Washington last week.
To call the Eagles a dumpster fire at this point would be rude to dumpster fires. It feels like they are just one tiny thread away from completely coming undone, and a date with the New Orleans Saints this week could be that very thread.
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What are your thoughts on the NFC East so far? Email me your thoughts at RJOchoa@InsideTheStar.com or Tweet to me @rjochoa!
