Prior to the start of this season, if you had the Washington Commanders in sole possession of first place in the NFC East after four weeks, there would have been one universal reaction.
You’re out of your mind.
Yet here we are after four weeks of NFL football and look who stands alone atop of the NFC East. The Washington Commanders, with a 3-1 record.
They are starting a rookie quarterback and have rebuilt their defense under a brand-new head coach.
Granted, the combined record of the three teams they’ve beaten is 3-9. But they are 3-1, averaging 30 points a game, and are the only team in the division that’s scored more than they’ve allowed.
Whether or not they can keep up the pace remains to be seen.
Still, they are in first and will remain there for at least one more week no matter what happens this upcoming weekend.
Here’s how the teams fared in the fourth week.
Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
The one thing the Cowboys could not afford was to extend their losing streak to three games and tumble into sole possession of last place in the division.
Mission accomplished. The five-point win over the Giants sent New York into the division’s basement instead.
Tampa Bay’s beat down of the Eagles allowed Dallas to move into a tie for second place and remain just a game behind the surprising Commanders.
Dak Prescott had an efficient game. He threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception.
He completed 22 of his 27 pass attempts and made sure to get CeeDee Lamb involved early and often.
Lamb had seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
However, Dallas took a major hit in an area they were already struggling in.
Both Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence went down with leg injuries. Neither is likely to return until after the bye in the seventh week.
The Cowboys’ defense is going to have a find a way to win without both of their star edge rushers on the field.
Next game: at Pittsburgh, Sunday, 7:20 p.m.
New York Giants (1-3)
The Giants channeled the Cowboys’ offense over most of the first three weeks of the season. They kicked a lot of field goals.
Greg Joseph booted five field goals in the 20-15 loss to Dallas on Thursday.
They also had what looked to be an early touchdown drive on its opening possession derailed by a blown call by the officials.
The Giants had moved inside the Dallas 35 when Daniel Bellinger was flagged for a penalty. The call was that he had grabbed the facemask of Cowboys’ linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.
The only problem was that it was Overshown that had grabbed Bellinger’s facemask instead. The Giants managed to get back into field goal range and put three points on the board.
But how much different would that drive had been if the penalty had been called correctly and New York had a first-and-10 at the 18?
An opening-drive touchdown for a quick 7-0 lead, given the Cowboys’ slow starts in the previous two games, might have changed the way the rest of the game played out.
Dallas caught a huge break and to their credit took full advantage. The Giants definitely got screwed.
Next game: hosting Seattle, Sunday, 3:25 p.m.
Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
The Eagles were playing without their two-best receivers on Sunday.
If you had serious doubts about how good a quarterback Jalen Hurts actually is, they were confirmed in Sunday’s 33-16 loss to Tampa Bay.
Hurts finished 18-for-30 for 158 yards and a touchdown. Saquon Barkley had 84 yards on just 10 carries.
But 59 of those yards came on one run.
Hurts added a one-yard, tush-push for a touchdown and the special teams unit converted a blocked extra-point try into two points for Philadelphia.
But Baker Mayfield shredded the Eagles’ defense for 347 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Bucs to a 24-0 first half lead and cruising to the win.
Philadelphia was clearly missing wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown. I know my fantasy football teams were.
Just getting them back though will not be a full cure for the Eagles who have not looked good even in their two wins. The good news is that the Eagles have a bye week this week.
Then they host the Browns when they return to action on Oct. 13th.
Washington Commanders (3-1)
Have we mentioned that the Commanders are in sole possession of first place in the NFC East?
I know I didn’t see that one coming. Unless you’re a die-hard Washington fan, neither did you.
Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for a touchdown and ran for another in the Commanders’ 42-14 road win over the Cardinals on Sunday.
Daniels was 26-30 for 233 yards with one interception. Impressive numbers for a rookie, even one that’s a Heisman Trophy winner.
Head Coach Dan Quinn has his team riding a three-game win streak.
He also has them playing consistent football. That’s something the other three teams in the division can’t say.
Next game: hosting Cleveland, Sunday, Noon.