The NFC East has devolved into a pair of two-team races after 10 weeks of the NFL season.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders are poised for an eight-week sprint for the division title. The two teams meet for the first time this year on Thursday night.
The winner of that game will have a nice advantage going forward.
Especially if it’s the Eagles, who would have a 1.5 game lead in addition to the head-to-head win in their back pocket.
The other race is one neither team wants to run, but here they are anyway.
The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are battling to see who finished last in the division. A higher draft pick in April is the consolation prize.
Only 10 of the other 31 NFL teams have a worse record than the Cowboys do.
The Giants are currently tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the worst record in the NFL right now.
Here’s how it looks in the NFC East after 10 weeks:
Dallas Cowboys (3-6)
The Cowboys weren’t eliminated from the playoffs, or even the chase for the division title, by Sunday’s loss.
But that sound you, and Micah Parsons, are hearing? That’s the fat lady warming up and she’s about to step out onto the stage.
There isn’t just one thing wrong with Dallas this season.
Which means there’s no easy fixes.
And there’s likely little reason to hope for a turnaround and a second-half surge. Right now, the best goal for the Cowboys to shoot for is to avoid a double-digit loss season.
After three-straight 12-5 seasons it’s a bad way for Mike McCarthy to go out.
And McCarthy is all but done right now. There really isn’t any reason to fire him now.
A coaching change isn’t going to jump start this team.
But at least we can start figuring out who Dallas needs to jettison on Jan. 6th. That’s the Monday after this forgettable season mercifully ends.
Next game: hosting Houston, Monday, 7:15 p.m.
New York Giants (2-8)
Thank your deity of choice for the New York Giants. They will likely be the only reason why the Cowboys will not finish dead last in the NFC East this year.
New York traveled all the way to Munich, Germany to face-off against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. It was the battle of the 2–7 teams.
The true winner of this game would be the fans in attendance.
They were consuming mugs, large mugs and not sippie cups, of good German lager.
Daniel Jones scored a rushing touchdown, as did rookie running back Tyrone Tracy, for the Giants. Unfortunately, Jones also tossed two interceptions.
Tracy fumbled on the first play in overtime to set up the Panthers for their game-winning field goal in the 20-17 final.
In case anyone out there was honestly wondering how this game turned out.
Mercifully, the Giants have next week off.
Next game: hosting Tampa Bay, Sun. Nov. 24, Noon.
Philadelphia Eagles (7-2)
With everything that was going wrong in Philadelphia, the Eagles should be hanging out in the same neighborhood as the Cowboys and Giants.
Yet here we are with eight weeks left on the schedule and the Eagles are in first place again in the NFC East.
They also appear to be very healthy again. This Thursday could launch them on their way to coasting to the divisional title.
Possibly even the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs as well. Philadelphia is currently tied with Minnesota at 7-2, just a game behind the 8-1 Detroit Lions for that coveted top spot.
If memory serves, I had the Eagles winning the division at 13-4, a record they are right on track to achieve.
Yes, I played an “I told you so card” in yesterday’s post. The good news is that I get to play as many of those as I want.
Especially given the comments I got after my prediction post back in September.
Next game: hosting Washington, Thursday, 7:15 p.m.
Washington Commanders (7-3)
It’s long been said that football is a game of inches. The Commanders can confirm.
Trying to drive into position for a game-winning field goal against the Steelers, Washington’s tight end Zach Ertz caught a pass on fourth down.
Unfortunately, he came up a few inches short of the first down marker.
Pittsburgh managed to run out the rest of the clock, thanks to a neutral zone infraction penalty, for a 28-27 win.
The loss kept Washington from matching its best start of 8-2 since the 1991 season. That was the last year they went to, and won, a Super Bowl.
Next game: at Philadelphia, Thursday, 7:15 p.m.