NFC East Week 1 Wrap: Giants Only Team to Fall

The Commanders, Cowboys, and Eagles all won their respective games, while the Giants looked awful in theirs.

Author:
Joe Najarian
Publish date:
Sep 11, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

In this story:

Let's check in with the NFC East to see how the four teams fared.

Commanders 20, Cardinals 16

The Washington Commanders battled the lowly Arizona Cardinals before a sold-out home crowd and ultimately emerged victorious, 20-16.

Despite several miscues in the first half that accounted for 10 of Arizona’s points, Washington’s defense forced two key fumbles in the second half that set up the winning touchdown and an insurance field goal.

After both teams punted on their first possessions, the Commanders struck first with a 6-play, 91-yard drive that Sam Howell finished with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Brian Robinson Jr. Arizona responded with Matt Prater’s 28-yard field goal on their ensuing drive and a Zaven Collins interception of Howell set up a 54-yard Prater field goal to make it 7-6.

Late in the second quarter, Howell lost the ball while being sacked by Dennis Gardeck; Cameron Thomas then recovered the loose ball at the Washington 2-yard line and entered the endzone to give the Cardinals a 13-7 lead. But the Commanders quickly regrouped, needing only 55 seconds to set up a 30-yard field goal from Joey Slye, making the score 13-10 Cardinals at halftime.

Prayer kicked his third field goal on the second half's opening drive, but Arizona wouldn’t score again. Late in the third quarter, Washington’s Montez Sweat forced a fumble from Cardinals quarterback Joshua Dobbs, and fellow defensive lineman Daron Payne recovered it. This set up a 7-play, 29-yard drive that was finished by Howell’s 6-yard touchdown run, and Washington retook the lead, 17-16.

The Commanders’ defense would tighten up the rest of the way. Later in the fourth quarter, Sweat forced another fumble from Dobbs that was recovered by Abdullah Anderson, setting up Slye’s 33-yard field goal to make it a four-point game. Arizona would turn the ball over on downs on their next drive, and Washington ran the clock down before punting the ball away and tackling Greg Dorch to end the game.

Eagles 25, Patriots 20

The defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in Foxborough, 25-20, to start the season 1-0.

The Eagles built up a quick 16-0 lead in the first quarter, but the rest of the game would be extremely competitive, coming down to a climactic defensive stop.

Philadelphia opened the game with a Jake Elliott 32-yard field goal before Darius Slay made it 10-0 by intercepting Mac Jones and returning it 70 yards for a touchdown. A fumble by Jones on New England’s next drive set up Jalen Hurts’s 5-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, giving the Eagles a 16-0 first-quarter lead.

But the Patriots battled back late in the second quarter, getting on the board with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Jones’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry. After an Eagles three-and-out, New England needed just two minutes and eight seconds to score again, with Jones throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne. The two quick scores reduced Philadelphia’s lead to two at halftime.

The only scoring in the third quarter came on a 56-yard field goal by Elliott, and he would kick two more long field goals in the fourth quarter to build the Eagles’ lead to 25-14. But New England made it a game again when a 32-yard reception by Rhamondre Stevenson set up Bourne’s second touchdown catch, making it 25-20 after the two-point conversion failed.

There would be plenty of drama to end the game, as the Patriots had a prime opportunity to win after recovering a fumble from Hurts on Philadelphia’s ensuing drive. However, they turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert a 4th and 17. The Eagles themselves would turn the ball over on downs after a failed attempt to ice the game on a 4th and 2, only for New England to have Kayshon Boutte’s 12-yard catch on 4th and 11 overturned; Boutte was ruled to go out of bounds before attaining possession of the ball, and the Eagles escaped with a win.

Cowboys 40, Giants 0

The Dallas Cowboys completely dominated the New York Giants on the road with a 40-0 victory, one of the most lopsided meetings in the history of the two rivals.

Dallas’s defense allowed just 63 net passing yards and 171 total yards, sacked Giants quarterback Daniel Jones seven times, and forced three turnovers. The Cowboys scored two of their touchdowns on defense/special teams.

The Giants appeared to get off to a great start with a sustained drive to the Dallas red zone. But after a botched snap on third down, the Cowboys blocked the ensuing field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown, marking the beginning of a complete rout.

After Brandon Aubrey kicked a 21-yard field goal, DaRon Bland intercepted Jones and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown, making it 16-0 Cowboys.

Another field goal by Aubrey was followed by another interception by Jones, which set up Tony Pollard’s 2-yard touchdown run. Now trailing 26-0, the Giants attempted to salvage some points by driving into field goal range, only for Graham Gano to miss from 36 yards out.

In the second half, the Giants wouldn’t come anywhere close to scoring, while Dallas continued to increase their lead. A pair of rushing touchdowns, one by Pollard and one by KaVontae Turpin in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, would conclude the scoring.