The NFC East nearly went 0-4 in the final week of the 2024 preseason on Sunday.
Ironically, it was a former Cowboys player who did it. And he was playing for one of the Cowboys’ division rivals.
Martavis Bryant’s four-yard touchdown reception with three minutes left capped the Washington Commanders’ 20-10 win over the Patriots in the final NFL preseason game of the year.
Bryant was briefly with Dallas until last season before joining the Commanders this offseason.
New England was leading 10-3 going into the final quarter. The Commanders’ reeled off 17 unanswered points for their only win of the preseason.
Both the Cowboys and Giants also finished 1-2 for the preseason.
The Eagles managed to go 2-1 despite losing their finale on Saturday.
Here’s how the teams’ final games went.
Dallas Cowboys
It was the Battle of former North Dakota State quarterbacks at AT&T Stadium on Saturday.
To be fair, neither Trey Lance nor the Chargers’ Easton Stick impressed. Stick put up more points on the board – and posted fewer turnovers – so he gets the win.
Neither Justin Herbert nor Dak Prescott left the stadium concerned about their starting jobs.
Stick was 12-of-29 for 187 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Lance was 33-for-49 for 323 yards with one touchdown. He also tossed five interceptions – including what turned out to be a game-losing pick six in the 26-19 loss.
Lance did have a nice 11-yard touchdown pass to rookie Ryan Flournoy and a 46-yard scoring run.
The Cowboys’ defense didn’t have that good of a day either.
In roughly 15 minutes of game play, the defense yielded a 70-yard touchdown run and a 78-yard touchdown pass.
Dallas trailed 17-3 just 11 seconds into the second quarter. Nice to see the Cowboys are already in post-season form this early in the season, isn’t it?
New York Giants
The Battle of the Big Apple – 2024 Edition – saw the New York Giants battle the New York Jets on Saturday. In New Jersey.
I miss the days when the Jets played at Shea Stadium in Queens and the Giants played in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
Okay, okay. I’m that old. Sue me.
As for the game itself, it was a 10-6 snooze fest that the Giants lost more than the Jets won. There was one shining nugget in the game for Cowboys’ fans though.
The Giants are going to stink in 2024.
Which means Dallas only has to worry about beating out the Commanders for second-place in the NFC East this year.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles rested their starters in their preseason finale.
Their backups played giveaway – an interception and two lost fumbles – resulting in a 26-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday.
With the injury to rookie J.J. McCarthy, Sam Darnold is the likely starter in Minnesota. But second-year player Jaren Hall may have secured the back-up spot.
Hall threw for two touchdowns on 17-of-25 passing for 189 yards.
Vikings kicker Will Reichard connected on four field goals – including a 57-yarder late in the game.
The Eagles’ lone highlights were the four sacks by its defense. Along with Jake Elliott’s 41-yard field goal.
In short, Philadelphia’s season-finale was about as bad as the Cowboys’ finale turned out.
Washington Commanders
For the first three quarters, it looked like a 0-4 sweep for the NFC East after all.
New England’s rookie quarterback, Drake Maye, made his case for the starting job over Jacoby Brissett. Maye was 13-of-20 for 126 yards and a touchdown.
He left with a 10-3 lead at halftime.
The Commanders rested most of their starters. Which makes the comeback in the fourth quarter that much more remarkable.
Trace McSorely won’t be the starter in Washington ahead of Jayden Daniels.
But he does have a very good come-from-behind victory on his resume going forward.