NFC East Standings Through Week 7: Knotted Up at the Bottom

The Cowboys continue to rule the roost even on a bye week, while the Giants retain their grip of the division cellar despite the Eagles and Washington both losing their Week 7 games and now holding a won-loss record identical to the Giants'.
NFC East Standings Through Week 7: Knotted Up at the Bottom
NFC East Standings Through Week 7: Knotted Up at the Bottom /

The Dallas Cowboys still have a firm grip on first place in the division while the remaining three teams all share identical records in what is starting to look like a fight for the bottom of the division.

Dallas Cowboys (5-1), 1st Place

The Cowboys enjoyed a bye week with a firm grasp of first place in the NFC East. With the November 2nd NFL trade deadline looming, all eyes will be on the cowboys to see if they swing a deal for that one missing player that might take them over the top in their quest to rule the division.

Dallas could use some reinforcement on their run defense, and one name they could make available in a trade is wide receiver Michael Gallup, who's been slowed down this season by a calf injury and who is in the final year of his contract.

Next Week: at Minnesota

Washington Football Team (2-5), 2nd Place

The Washington Football Team was no match for the Green Bay Packers, who soundly defeated them 24-10.

Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who grew up a Packers fan, didn't help his cause. Heinicke, who finished 25 for 37 passing with 268 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while adding a career-high 95 rushing yards, committed two turnovers, one of which the Packers cashed in on with a touchdown.

Heinicke also came up short on the Football Team's second drive of the third quarter. The quarterback initially appeared to have scored on a 3-yard scramble, but the replay showed he was down at the half-yard line. On the ensuing fourth-down play, Heinicke was stuffed for no gain on a quarterback sneak.

Reports continue to swirl that the Football Team might be involved in a three-way trade with Miami and Houston that would see the Texans trading quarterback Deshaun Watson to Miami and Miami flipping their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, to the Football Team.

Otherwise, Washington, who has now lost three in a row and four of its last five games, has no choice but to remain committed to Heinicke at least until Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is still reportedly weeks away from returning from the hip subluxation that landed him on injured reserve in Week 1, is ready to return.

Next Week: at Denver

Philadelphia Eagles (2-5), 3rd Place

The Eagles dropped a 33-22 decision to the Las Vegas Raiders, the latter winning their second game in a row under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. But don't let the 11-point deficit fool you into thinking the game was close., as the Raiders took a 30-7 lead against Philadelphia by the end of the third quarter before backing off a bit and allowing two Eagles touchdown drives in garbage time.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 91.2 percent of his pass attempts for 323 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a 113.6 passer rating, as the Eagles defense had no answers for what was being done to them.

Next Week: at Detroit

New York Giants (2-5), 4th Place

The injury-depleted Giants summoned their inner superhero strength to win over the Carolina Panthers in a 25-3 blowout win.

After battling to a 5-3 lead at the half, the Giants scored 20 unanswered points in the second half of the game thanks to two touchdown drives sandwiched in between two of Graham Gano's three field goals of the day.

And while the Giants offense was getting all the glory thanks to a trick play that saw quarterback Daniel Jones catch his first NFL reception, the Giants defense, which has struggled since Week 1, finally showed up in full force.

Despite being challenged by the Panthers, who declared their intention to run the ball, the Giants held the Panthers rushing offense to 56 yards on 17 carries, New York's lowest output of the season.

And the dormant pass rush came alive against a makeshift Panthers offensive line to the tune of six sacks and ten quarterback hits, their best production of the year.

Next Week: at Kansas City (Monday Night)


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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over 30 seasons for multiple media outlets, including Inside Football, Fan Sided, SB Nation, The Athletic, Forbes, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated).  In addition to being a credentialed member of the New York Giants press corps, Patricia has covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. Patricia’s late father was a long-time New York Giants season ticket holder who helped instill her love and appreciation of the game and the franchise at a very early age.  She was able to parlay that knowledge of Giants franchise history into her first published work, The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants (Triumph Books, September 2020). She has enhanced her knowledge of the game by completing two semesters with the Scouting Academy and taking a course in NFL salary cap management. In addition to her work with Giants Country, Patricia is the host of the very successful LockedOn Giants podcast (also available on YouTube), featuring analysis, interviews, and Giants fan interaction. Patricia is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America and has participated in the mentoring of aspiring journalists. Patricia holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature (with a minor in creative writing) and a Master’s degree in Corporate Communication. She is a certified resume development specialist (corporate, military transition, and federal) and interview coach who enjoys music and creating fan art featuring her favorite bands.