NFC East Week 11 Wrapup: Giants, Cowboys, Eagles Dominate

The Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants win, while Washington loses. Now that Week 11 is in the books, here's your latest NFC East wrap-up.

There would never be a clean sweep one way or another for the four NFC East teams in Week 11, but there was some pretty good football for three of the teams.

The Cowboys, predictably, rolled over the Carolina Panthers in their game, while the Giants snapped a three-game losing streak to sweep the regular-season series against Washington 31-19 in what was their largest margin of victory this season.

Meanwhile, the Eagles and Chiefs battled it out on Monday Night Football before the high-flying Eagles tacked on 14 points in the second half of their game while keeping the Chiefs off the scoreboard.

Let's recap everything from Week 11.

Nov 20, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs the ball as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay (50) defends during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles 21, Chiefs 17

The Philadelphia Eagles avenged their brutal loss in Super Bowl LVII by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium, 21-17.

From a statistical standpoint, the Eagles were generally outplayed by the Chiefs, being outgained in total yards 336-238, getting only one sack while allowing five, and wide receiver A.J. Brown was held to just one catch for eight yards.

But Philadelphia’s go-ahead touchdown with just over six minutes to play in the fourth quarter held up, as Kansas City could not score in the second half and overcome some brutal drops from their receivers, including three on their final drive that ended any chance of a comeback.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had 29 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries but had a mediocre passing performance; he completed 14 of 22 passes, but for only 150 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception, while being sacked five times. DeVonta Smith was the game’s leading receiver, with six catches for 99 yards. Running back D’Andre Swift was productive, with 76 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Although his wide receivers did him no favors, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wasn’t particularly sharp either; he completed 24 of 43 passes for only 177 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. His top target was Justin Watson, who had five receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown. Kansas City fared better on the ground, as running back Isiah Pacheco was the game’s leading rusher with 89 yards on 19 carries, while Mahomes chipped in 38 rushing yards of his own.

Both teams scored touchdowns on their second drives of the night. Kansas City struck first with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that was catalyzed by a 24-yard run by Pacheco and finished it with Mahomes’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Watson. Philadelphia responded in kind, with Smith catching two passes for 33 yards on a 9-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown run by Swift.

After a Chiefs punt, both quarterbacks would throw interceptions on consecutive drives. First, Hurts led the Eagles to the Chiefs’ 48-yard line, but he underthrew a pass to Brown that cornerback L’Jarius Sneed picked off. But when Kansas City drove to the Philadelphia 14-yard line, Mahomes returned the favor when his pass intended for Watson was intercepted by safety Kevin Byard in the end zone.

Later in the second quarter, the Chiefs had a great field position at the Philadelphia 42 thanks to a 21-yard punt return by former Giant Kadarius Toney. This sparked a 7-play, 45-yard drive that ended with Mahomes’s 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce to put Kansas City back ahead. The Chiefs’ defense immediately forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with 44 seconds left before halftime, and they successfully tacked on three more points courtesy of a 43-yard field goal by Harrison Butker.

But the Eagles would mount a comeback in the second half, as their defense clamped down and wouldn’t allow any more points while being assisted by crucial Chiefs mistakes.

After the first four drives of the half ended in punts, Philadelphia made it a three-point game by moving 61 yards in seven plays, a drive that featured a 35-yard run by Swift. Although the Eagles hadn’t converted a single third down up to this point, they converted a pair on this drive, the second of which was a 10-yard touchdown run by Hurts.

Kansas City looked to get those points back with a drive deep into Eagles territory, moving 65 yards in 12 plays. However, they wound up with no points when the normally sure-handed Kelce fumbled while being tackled by cornerback Bradley Roby, and linebacker Nicholas Morris recovered for Philadelphia.

This quickly became a key play of the game, as the Eagles took the lead for good later in the fourth quarter. They needed just seven plays to drive 80 yards, the biggest of which was a 41-yard bomb to Smith that moved the ball to the 1-yard line. One “Tush Push” by Hurts later, Philadelphia had their first lead of the night.

After both teams punted on their ensuing drives, the Chiefs had one last chance with 2:49 left in regulation and one timeout. However, their receiving core would screw up at the worst possible time. First, Kelce made another mistake by dropping an easy first down pass on 3rd and 2, but he made up for it on the next play by catching a 4-yard pass to successfully convert on fourth down. But Kansas City’s last three plays were so disastrous that they were impossible to overcome.

Facing 2nd-and-10 at his 49-yard line, Mahomes launched a deep pass perfectly in the hands of receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and would have been a possible game-winning touchdown. But Valdez-Scantling, whose shaky hands offset his excellent speed, inexplicably dropped the ball. 

The next play resulted in an intentional grounding penalty on Mahomes, forcing the Chiefs to use their final timeout and bringing up a daunting 4th and 25 to possibly save the game. Mahomes appeared to be up to the challenge as he threw another deep strike to Watson that would have converted the fourth down, but Watson dropped the ball for a turnover on downs, and the Eagles escaped with the victory.

The Eagles have now won four in a row and have the best record in the league at 9-1. the Chiefs fell to 7-3.

Nov 19, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) makes a throw against the Carolina Panthers during the second half at Bank of America Stadium / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Cowboys 33, Panthers 10

The Dallas Cowboys improved to 7-3 with a predictably easy 33-10 victory over the 1-9 Carolina Panthers.

Although the Cowboys’ offense wasn’t as dominant as it had been in past games, their defense was again firing on all cylinders, holding Carolina’s offense to just 77 net passing yards, 187 total yards, and 10 points while scoring a touchdown.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was solid and again took the 4th quarter off. He completed 25 of 38 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns before being relieved by backup quarterback Cooper Rush. Brandin Cooks was his top target with 42 yards on three receptions, while CeeDee Lamb caught six passes for 38 yards and a touchdown in a quiet game for his standards. Running back Tony Pollard had 61 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

The nightmare season continues for the Panthers, who currently have the worst record in the NFL but do not have their first-round pick (which would be the first overall pick), which belongs to the Chicago Bears.

Rookie quarterback Bryce Young, who the Panthers selected with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, was eaten alive by the Cowboys’ defense; he completed 16 of 29 passes for just 123 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, and was sacked seven times. 

The only wide receiver with more than 20 receiving yards and more than two receptions for Carolina was Adam Thielen, who caught eight passes for 74 yards. The Panthers’ run game was a bit better; running backs Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders combined for 107 rushing yards on 21 carries.

Both teams punted on their opening possessions before the Cowboys charged 83 yards in 10 plays, a drive that featured a 22-yard run by Pollard and concluded with Prescott’s 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Luke Schoonmaker for a 7-0 lead. After forcing Carolina to punt again, Dallas drove 69 yards in 12 plays, which featured a 22-yard reception by Cooks and ended with a 30-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.

Carolina would get on the board late in the second quarter, with a 20-yard reception by Steve Sullivan and a 14-yard run by Sanders setting up Eddy Pineiro’s 42-yard field goal to make it a 10-3 game. But Dallas responded with an 11-play, 60-yard touchdown drive in just one minute and 32 seconds, assisted by a 19-yard catch by Michael Gallup and a pair of unnecessary roughness penalties on the Panthers. Prescott finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Lamb to extend the Cowboys’ lead to 17-3 at halftime.

After both teams punted on their first drives of the second half, Carolina seemed to get back into striking distance with a massive, 17-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock and made up most of the third quarter. The drive featured three conversions on fourth down; the first was assisted by a running into the punter penalty on Dallas that turned a 4th-and-7 into a more manageable 4th and 2, and the Panthers capitalized when Young connected with Thielen for a 16-yard reception. 

Thielen again converted the second, this time a 3-yard catch on 4th-and-3. The third was a 4th-and-1 converted by a 3-yard run by Sanders. The drive finally ended when Young threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Tremble, cutting Carolina’s deficit to 17-10.

However, the Cowboys put the game away with a pair of touchdowns in 10 seconds. First, the offense drove 75 yards in eight plays, which included a 24-yard catch by tight end Jake Ferguson and a 21-yard touchdown run by Pollard. 

Then, on the first play of Carolina’s ensuing drive, Young’s pass was intercepted by DaRon Bland and returned 30 yards for a touchdown; it was the fourth pick-six by Bland this season, tying the single-season NFL record with seven games still remaining. Although the PAT failed, the Cowboys now had a commanding 30-10 lead, and the game appeared to be out of reach.

Carolina turned the ball over again on their next drive, as Young lost a fumble while being sacked, and Donovan Wilson recovered for Dallas. This set up Aubrey’s 27-yard field goal to conclude the scoring; the Panthers went three-and-out on their final drive, while the Cowboys ate up the remaining five minutes and 47 seconds of clock to secure the win.

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