For the first time this season the top of the NFC East mountain is occupied by someone other than the Dallas Cowboys.
While the Cowboys have been busy losing three straight games, the New York Football Giants have been on a three game streak of their own… churning out a hat trick of victories.
Here’s your weekly breakdown of the NFC East and where each team stands.
New York Giants (3-2 Overall, 1-1 Against NFC East)
A New York Giant made a huge catch on Sunday Night Football and it didn’t spark a revolution of hype around him.
Pretty crazy, right?
Larry Donnell hauled in a touchdown from Eli Manning in the waning seconds of the Sunday Night contest, giving the Giants sole possession of first place in the NFC East. This victory is the third in a row for the Giants as they have now rolled past the Redskins, Bills, and 49ers.
The Giants are gaining steam at a very convenient time. Their star receiver Victor Cruz is nearing a return and their next four games are at Philadelphia, home against Dallas, at New Orleans, and at Tampa Bay. If they’re able to come away from those first two with one victory, and potentially two, they are in prime position as neither the Saints nor Buccaneers present that great of a challenge.
It’s still early in the 2015 season, but as a Cowboys fan I am worried about the Giants. Should they beat Philadelphia they will be 5-2, and 2-1 within the division, when we head up there. It would be scary to fall to 2-5 while they jump to 6-2. It is not a hyperbole to say that October 25th could very well decide the fate of the 2015 Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas Cowboys (2-3 Overall, 2-0 Against NFC East)
You are well aware by now about the 30-6 thrashing that the New England Patriots gave the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday; however, losing to them was not a shocker.
Very few people realistically expected the Cowboys to walk away victoriously last Sunday, the pain right now is still concentrated on watching CJ Spiller dash his way into the endzone back in New Orleans.
That was a game that the Cowboys HAD to have. They would be 3-2 right now and feel a lot better about their spot in the division given the recent success of the G-Men.
The Cowboys are now looking up at the Giants and can only sit by as we watch the Giants and Eagles square off next week on Monday Night Football. The state of the Cowboys now rests on the right arm of a new starting quarterback, Matt Cassel, who can hopefully reinvigorate this team and get them back on track.
Washington Redskins (2-3 Overall, 1-1 Against NFC East)
The Atlanta Falcons are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now. They are 5-0, but they were taken to overtime by the Washington Redskins.
All four of the NFC East teams have played Atlanta very tough this season (and Atlanta has vanquished them all, a perfect 4-0 against the division), but Washington took them to extra minutes.
The Redskins defense has really come to play this season as they have managed to lock down the Eagles and Julio Jones (for the most part) in back-to-back weeks. Bill Callahan has obviously had a great influence on their offensive line and perhaps their team as a whole.
Washington has a date with the New York Jets this week, which will surely be a tough test for quarterback Kirk Cousins. They’ve been a lot friskier this year than I think most people anticipated, and they’ve managed to play well enough that all of their misfires (e.g. Robert Griffin III) are an afterthought. It’s a pretty crazy world when the Redskins aren’t the most dysfunctional team in the NFL. Feels weird.
Philadelphia Eagles (2-3 Overall, 0-2 Against NFC East)
The Philadelphia Eagles offense finally showed up… a little. Even in a winning effort against the New Orleans Saints, Sam Bradford managed to inject doubt into the minds of Eagles fans (assuming they have brains) that he is a legitimate NFL quarterback.
Philly’s offensive potency can really be summed up to how porous the New Orleans Saints defense is… a tough pill to swallow for Cowboys fans as Dallas was unable to exploit that. This was a good game for the Eagles as it might have given them a sense of confidence that they are not a 3A high school team and that maybe they can sustain success through the magical smoothie recipe of Chip Kelly.
We’ll find out next Monday Night against the New York Giants.
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What did you think of the Dallas Defense on Sunday Night? Email me your thoughts at RJOchoa@InsideTheStar.com or Tweet to me @rjochoa!
