Week 5 of the 2019 NFL Season was a big one for the NFC East. The division lead is now shared between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Redskins fired head coach Jay Gruden after starting the season 0-5.
The Cowboys still are officially on top of the division by the narrowest of margins, having one extra win over NFC East competition than the Eagles. It’s purely circumstantial, though, as Philadelphia has only had one division game so far on its schedule.
- Dallas Cowboys 3-2 (2-0 vs division)
- Philadelphia Eagles 3-2 (1-0 vs division)
- New York Giants 2-3 (1-1 vs division)
- Washington Redskins 0-5 (0-3 vs division)
The first meeting between Dallas and Philadelphia in 2019 is drawing close, a Sunday Night Football showdown in Week 7. Both teams will be looking to stay even in the standings before they finally clash.
The Cowboys are headed to New York for a cushy game against the 0-4 Jets. While we just watched the Jets get trounced by the Eagles last Sunday, they are getting Sam Darnold back at QB after a three-week absence. Still, this is a game the Cowboys should win and really must after back-to-back losses.
As for the Eagles, they start a three-game road trip this Sunday in Minnesota. At 3-2, the Vikings are no slouches and could help Dallas regain sole control of the NFC East.
While the Week 7 game is already drawing eyes, both teams have to stay focused on the task at hand. Despite the two losses they share, Dallas and Philly do still appear to be the class of the division.
The Giants came back down to earth this week with a 28-10 drubbing at home from the Vikings. The pain is likely to continue on the road against the Patriots this week.
But hey, at least they’re not the Redskins.
Redskins Fire Jay Gruden; Bill Callahan Interim HC
Washington became the first team in 2019 to fire a head coach. It ends a mediocre run for Gruden with only one winning season at 9-7 and several poor handlings of his quarterback situations, going back to his time as the offensive coordinator and how things unfolded with Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins.
Washington has named Bill Callahan as their interim head coach. Callahan is no stranger to the NFC East, having served as the Cowboys’ offensive line coach from 2012-2014 in addition to some offensive coordinator duties. He was even the Eagles OL coach for a few years back in the 90s.
Of course, nobody expect the head coaching change to bring about any new outcomes this year. The Redskins are simply a mess, and especially at QB with Dwayne Haskins not ready to play and neither Colt McCoy or Case Keenum good enough to overcome the team’s weaknesses.
Firing Gruden now is about a few things. For one, Owner Dan Snyder can’t be happy with how many opposing fans are showing up to games. He needed to do something to at least try to re-energize his audience.
Also, now the Redskins can already get to work on figuring out their next coach. Callahan is a band-aid; someone new will definitely be taking over come January.
One of the NFL’s worst teams over the last two decades, Washington can’t seem to find solvency under Snyder’s ownership. Dan’s not afraid to throw money at a problem, but he just always seems to give it to the wrong people.
We’ll see in a few months who inherits the dumpster fire that is the Redskins organization. But really, given their history, will it even matter?
