NFC East Recap: Eagles soaring away as Cowboys get stomped

The Philadelphia Eagles are off to a 5-0 start. While I remain unconvinced they are as good as their record, they are 5-0.

They are also now two full games ahead of the Dallas Cowboys and three up on the Commanders.

The Giants are shrinking away so fast they’ll be officially renamed the Gnats starting next week.

New York suffered the lowest margin of defeat among the Eagles’ NFC East rivals in Week 5. A 15-point loss to the Dolphins on Sunday dropped the Giants to 1-4.

Washington lost by 20 to the Bears on Thursday to fall to 2-3 and are probably still seeing D.J. Moore in their nightmares.

The Cowboys were on the wrong end of a San Francisco Stomp on Sunday night, losing by 32 points and are now 3-2.

Dallas Cowboys

The same Dak Prescott that walked off the field at Levi Stadium last January walked back onto that same field on Sunday night.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 16: Samson Ebukam #56 and Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers sack Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Yes, Dak 2022 is back. The question is: Was it just for one week or has this version been permanently re-installed.

We have 12 more games left on the schedule to find out.

Dallas’ offense started with three, three-and-outs and a one-play drive that ended with a fumble. They were down 14-0 before the offense showed signs of life.

By then the defense was coming apart as well. Too many third down stops were erased by penalties.

They never pressured Purdy. They couldn’t stop McCaffrey.

The receivers, led by George Kittle, ran through the secondary with impunity.

Were Jimmy Johnson still the Cowboys’ head coach he’d probably have been throwing players out of the airplane the entire trip back.

Dallas will be back on prime time this Monday at the Chargers. They will face former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

Just how many players that were active against the 49ers on Sunday will be active against Los Angeles remains to be seen.

The Cowboys have become something of a MASH unit this week with all of the injuries from the loss. The biggest hit being Leighton Vander Esch’s injury.

The Cowboys are 7-5 all-time against Los Angeles and won the last meeting back in 2021 by a 20-17 score at SoFi Stadium.

Dallas is 5-2 against the Chargers in California. The last Chargers home win against Dallas was back in 2013.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are 5-0 and in first place in the NFC East. They will likely go to 6-0 as they face the Jets in New York on Sunday.

These are facts that cannot be denied.

But they haven’t exactly been beating the best of the best either. Nor have they blown anyone out.

Not like the 49ers, who have dominated four of their five wins to the tune of the games being all but over by halftime.

The Eagles have beaten the lowly Patriots by just five points and the Vikings by six.

They broke open a close game to beat the Bucs by 14, the Commanders by 3 in overtime, and the Rams by nine.

Philadelphia got a lot of help to get four cheap – but ultimately important — points at the end of the first half on Sunday too.

Washington Commanders

When Magic Johnson calls you out, you shut up and take it. And Magic had plenty to call the Commanders out about.

Multiple-NBA Champion Magic Johnson is a part owner of the Washington Commanders. He had choice words for his team after Thursday night’s loss to Chicago. (LA Times photo)

Can we rent Magic to chew out the Cowboys for an hour?

Because, barring a turnaround, neither team is making the playoffs this year the way they played last week.

The Commanders two wins – against the Cardinals and Broncos – are not resume enhancers. Washington hits the road to play the Falcons this Sunday.

New York Giants

The Giants were a playoff team last year. They were expected to make it back this year.

It would be easy to say that New York missing Saquon Barkley is a big reason why they are 1-4 to start the year.

But that isn’t it. This entire team, aside from that second half in Arizona in Week 2, has yet to check in to play this season.

It will be interesting to see if they decide to challenge the Broncos and the Cardinals for the right to draft Caleb Williams next year.

New York heads upstate this week to play the Bills on Sunday.