Commander Country

Commanders Remain Tied with Cowboys, Eagles Atop NFC East

The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles are right with the Washington Commanders in the NFC East standings.

Tim Kelly

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The Washington Commanders are off to a 2-0 start, but they haven't gained an edge in what looks like it could be one of the NFL's closest division races.

Despite defeating the Denver Broncos 35-33 on Sunday, the Commanders find themselves in a three-way tie atop the NFC East after two weeks. And realistically, Washington hasn't been the most impressive team in the division to this point.

That title would belong to the Dallas Cowboys, who followed up a 40-0 thrashing of the New York Giants in Week 1 by defeating the New York Jets 30-10 in Week 2. Do-it-all defender Micah Parsons looks like he could be a legitimate NFL MVP candidate, as he already has racked up seven combined tackles, six quarterback hits, four tackles for a loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery through just two games. 

The Commanders and Cowboys won't meet until Thanksgiving, and coach Mike McCarthy's team appears to have a shot to build on their scalding-hot start to the season. Dallas will likely be comfortable favorites against the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots the next two weeks, before facing a tough test against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5. 

It remains to be seen just how real the Commanders are, but like the Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys, coach Ron Rivera's squad is also 2-0. Granted, the Cardinals and Denver Broncos are two pretty favorable opponents to draw to open the season. But new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and quarterback Sam Howell combined to bring the Commanders back from a 21-3 deficit in Week 2, ultimately defeating the Broncos 35-33.

Washington Commanders quarterback / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

In the win, Howell completed 27 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, including this excellent throw to receiver Terry McLaurin. 

Mind you, this is a Commanders team that won eight games a season ago despite largely utilizing the unreliable duo of Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke at quarterback. If Howell proves to be a guy, a team with some nice offensive weapons and a ferocious defensive line could very well be a playoff contender.

The Eagles are coming off a season in which they went to the Super Bowl, and while it hasn't been perfect so far, they've picked up where they left off a year ago. They beat the Patriots in Week 1 and followed that up with a Thursday night win against the Minnesota Vikings.

And for as disastrous as coach Brian Daboll's Giants looked for the first six quarters of the 2023 season, they stormed back from a 21-0 halftime hole to defeat the lowly Cardinals 31-28 Sunday.

Perhaps everything that could go right did go right for the Giants last year, and a group led by quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley will regress a bit this season. Still, if the Giants are the worst team in the division, the NFC East will be pretty formidable. 

Every time there's a primetime broadcast of an NFC East game, networks feel required to remind viewers that the division hasn't had a repeat winner since the Eagles did so from 2001-2004. That should bode well in the Commanders' favor. 

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Tim Kelly
TIM KELLY

Tim Kelly is a contributor to SI's team sites. Additionally, Kelly covers the Philadelphia Phillies as the Editorial Director for PhilliesNation.com. Previously, Kelly has been a producer at SportsRadio 94 WIP and a content producer for Audacy Sports, with written content syndicated to WIP, WFAN, WEEI and some of the biggest sports radio stations in the country. Kelly also has previously written for SportsTalkPhilly.com and Section 215, FanSided's Philadelphia affiliate. Kelly is a 2018 graduate of Bloomsburg University, with a major in Mass Communications and a minor in political science. 

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