The first full week of the NFL preseason is in the books. The NFC East exited the week with a 2-2 record.
With the lone exception of Washington, most of the expected starters at nearly all of the skill positions rode the bench. That trend is likely to continue into the second week.
None of the games were blowouts – the Giants did win their game by 11 points – and most escaped without serious injuries.
One or two players even managed to make a move up the depth chart with their play. Here’s a recap of the NFC East’s opening week.
Dallas Cowboys
Usually, when your defense gets four interceptions and your offense doesn’t turn over the ball, you’ve earned yourself an NFL win.
But this is the Dallas Cowboys. It seems they go out of their way to find ways to lose games they should easily win.
Such was the case on Sunday in Los Angeles.
A fifth interception by Stetson Bennett was wiped off the board by a holding penalty.
An unnecessary roughness call moved the Rams into position to attack the end zone. And when the dust settled, the Cowboys walked off the field on the short end of a 13-12 score.
Despite the hiccup at the end, the defense looked good – especially with the expected opening week starters not playing.
The running game and the offense? Not so much.
But then again, most of the expected starters were on the sidelines, so there’s hope.
On the bad news side of the ledger, Chuma Edoga, who’s been getting most of the snaps at left tackle, injured the big toe on his left foot on Sunday. He left the stadium wearing a protective boot.
The injury put Tyler Guyton in the lineup for most of the game.
No word on the severity of the injury has been reported yet.
Next Game: The Cowboys head northeast from camp in Oxnard to play the Raiders in Vegas on Saturday.
New York Giants
Quarterback Daniel Jones spent most of last week getting into camp practice fights with the Detroit Lions.
On Thursday, Jones stayed on the sidelines. His backups, Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock, led the Giants to a 14-3 win over Detroit in their preseason opener.
Neither quarterback looked terribly impressive in the game.
But second-year running back Eric Gray certainly did.
Gray rushed for 52 yards on four carries, scoring both of New York’s touchdowns. He also added 46 yards on four receptions.
Devin Singletary is still listed as the top running back for the Giants.
But Gray made a solid opening statement in his bid to be the player to replace Saquon Barkley in the Giants’ backfield on Thursday.
Next Game: The Giants come to Houston on Saturday afternoon to play the Texans.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles escaped with a 16-13 win over the Ravens on Friday. The victory was all but gift-wrapped by Baltimore.
After Jake Elliott missed a game-winning attempt from 50 yards out with 16 seconds left on the clock, it looked like a tie was all but sealed.
But the Ravens ran out Emory Jones at quarterback for his first snap of the game.
Jones promptly got sacked on the first play, fumbled the ball to the Eagles, and allowed Elliott a second chance. Elliott nailed a 49-yarder for the win.
In Kellen Moore’s first game as offensive coordinator, the Eagles pounded the ball for 146 yards on 38 carries.
Philadelphia only gained 113 yards on 38 pass attempts. Kenny Pickett was 14-of-22 for 89 yards with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Will Shipley.
Next Game: The Eagles travel to New England to take on the Patriots on Thursday night.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders traveled to the Big Apple on Saturday and fell 20-17 to the Jets in Dan Quinn’s debut as their head coach.
Washington had taken a 17-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Jets rallied with 10 unanswered points in the final seven minutes.
A Quinn-led team blowing a lead in the fourth quarter?
Sounds familiar, especially if you are a Falcons fan, right?
Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels made his NFL debut and went 2-for-3 for 45 yards. He added a three-yard run for a touchdown.
His play capped an 11-play, 70-yard drive that gave the Commanders an early 7-0 lead.
If Daniels can continue to play at that level, he’s going to give the rest of the NFC East fits for years to come.
Next Game: Washington heads for South Florida for a Saturday evening contest with the Dolphins.