Giants Country

NFC East Week 5 Wrap-up: Eagles Still Perfect

The Philadelphia Eagles continued to soar in Week 5, while the Commanders, Giants, and Cowboys were all blown out by their respective opponents.

Joe Najarian

NFC East Week 5 Wrap-up: Eagles Still Perfect
NFC East Week 5 Wrap-up: Eagles Still Perfect /
In this story:

Week 5 of the NFL season was mostly about embarrassing blowouts suffered by the majority of the NFC East teams. Of course, the lone exception right now is the Philadelphia Eagles, who, along with the Sa Francisco 49ers, remain undefeated.

Let's recap the Week 5 action in the division.

Oct 5, 2023; Landover, Maryland, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore (2) scores a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the fourth quarter at FedExField.   / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Bears 40, Commanders 20

The Washington Commanders suffered an embarrassing blowout loss on Thursday Night Football, falling to the Chicago Bears, 40-20. This was the Bears’ first win since October 24, 2022, ending a 14-game losing streak.

The Bears, mourning the loss of team legend Dick Butkus, played inspired football from kickoff to the final whistle. They racked up 451 yards of offense, including 178 rushing yards, while their defense forced two turnovers and held the Commanders to 29 yards on the ground.

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell completed 37 of 51 passes for 388 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while completing at least one pass to 11 different receivers. Eight receivers had at least two receptions, with Logan Thomas leading the way with nine catches for 77 yards. However, Howell was the team’s leading rusher with just 19 yards and was sacked five times. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. had just ten rushing yards on six carries, although he caught four passes for 33 yards.

Meanwhile, Bears quarterback Justin Fields had one of the best games of his young career, completing 15 of 29 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns. Three of them went to wide receiver D.J. Moore, who totaled an astounding 230 receiving yards on eight catches. The Bears’ offense also fared much better on the ground than Washington’s, with Khalil Herbert rushing for 76 yards on ten carries and Fields rushing for 57 yards on 11 carries.

Chicago scored on the game’s opening possession for an early 7-0 lead, with Moore hauling in a 58-yard reception and a 20-yard touchdown. On their next possession, a 34-yard run by Herbert highlighted an 11-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard field goal from Cairo Santos, the first of four on the night for the Bears kicker. After forcing Washington to punt again, a 39-yard reception by Moore set up a 6-play, 69-yard drive that ended with Fields’ second touchdown pass to Moore, this one from 11 yards.

The Commanders, who went three-and-out on their first two possessions, finally got on the board midway through the second quarter on Joey Slye’s 51-yard field goal. But the Bears responded with Santos’s second field goal and immediately got the ball back when Greg Stroman Jr. intercepted Howell on the first play of Washington’s next drive. This eventually set up Fields’ third touchdown pass of the night, this one to Cole Kmet, and extended Chicago’s lead to 27-3 before halftime.

After an embarrassing first half, Washington began the second half with a sense of urgency. Aided by a 24-yard reception by Robinson and a 25-yard pass interference penalty on Chicago, the Commanders finally found the end zone on Howell’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Thomas. They added two more points when Howell scored the two-point conversion attempt.

Both teams added field goals to make the score 30-14 early in the fourth quarter, but the Commanders got themselves back into striking distance with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Howell completed four passes of 10+ yards and finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel, making it a 10-point game after the two-point conversion failed.

Washington then had an excellent chance to make it a one-possession game by forcing a three-and-out and mounting a drive into Chicago territory. But Slye missed a 46-yard field goal attempt, and the Bears put the game away three plays later when Fields connected a 56-yard touchdown pass to Moore.

Chicago later concluded the scoring with Santos’s fourth field goal, while Washington’s final two drives ended in a turnover on downs and time expiring in the game.

Oct 8, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick (7) celebrates after sacking Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during the second half at SoFi Stadium.   / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles 23, Rams 14

The Philadelphia Eagles improved to 5-0 with a 23-14 road victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Philadelphia’s offense totaled 454 yards and held the ball for almost 38 minutes, while their defense allowed only 249 yards and held the Rams scoreless in the second half. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 303 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 72 yards and another touchdown. Wide receiver A.J. Brown and tight end Dallas Goedert had 127 and 117 receiving yards, respectively, while running back D’Andre Swift totaled 108 yards from scrimmage.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who was making his season debut, caught eight passes for 118 yards.

Both teams mounted long touchdown drives on their first possessions, which took up most of the first quarter. The Eagles moved the chains six times before scoring on Goedert’s 6-yard touchdown catch, while Stafford completed five passes to Kupp for 56 yards before throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tutu Atwell.

In the second quarter, Philadelphia chewed up nearly eight and a half minutes on a 15-play, 56-yard drive that ended in Jake Elliott’s 34-yard field goal. But the Rams needed just one minute and 43 seconds to drive 75 yards in six plays; a 39-yard completion to Kupp set up a 22-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua, giving Los Angeles a 14-10 lead with just 32 seconds left in the half.

However, Philadelphia’s next drive would be the game's turning point. With 17 seconds left, Hurts threw a 38-yard strike to Brown, with an additional 14 yards added due to a horse collar tackle penalty. The next play resulted in defensive pass interference in the end zone, giving the Eagles the ball at the 1-yard line and no time remaining on the clock. Naturally, they used their unstoppable “Tush Push” for a 1-yard touchdown run by Hurts, taking a 17-14 halftime lead.

The second half would see the Eagles control the entire game flow. Although they only added six points, courtesy of a pair of Elliott field goals, the two scoring drives took off 8:09 and 5:49, a combined 13 minutes and 58 seconds of clock. Meanwhile, the Rams had the ball for just 10 minutes and 44 seconds throughout the entire second half, and their five drives resulted in three punts, a turnover on downs, and time running out.

October 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Kevin Givens (90) is sacked by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush (10) during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium.   / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

49ers 42, Cowboys 10

The San Francisco 49ers won their 15th straight regular season game by dominating the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, 42-10.

San Francisco totaled 421 yards and held the ball for 37 minutes while holding Dallas to 197 total yards. The 49ers led 21-7 at halftime and scored the last 21 points of the game.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy completed 17 of 24 passes for 252 and threw four touchdown passes, three of them to tight end George Kittle. The three touchdowns were Kittle’s only receptions, but they were enough to make him the game’s leading receiver at 67 yards.

It was a brutal night for the Cowboys offense, which had only 57 rushing yards, 29 from Tony Pollard. Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 14 of 24 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted three times. The defense wouldn’t fare much better, as not only did they allow over 400 yards, but key linebacker Leighton Vander Esch was injured in the fourth quarter.

Giants Shredded By Miami, 31-16

San Francisco started right away on their opening possession, moving 75 yards in seven plays and scoring on Purdy’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Kittle. Neither team would score again until the second quarter when Kittle scored his second touchdown on a 38-yard flea flicker play.

Dallas responded with their only touchdown of the night when Prescott threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin, but the 49ers got those points right back when Christian McCaffrey finished a 9-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. It was the 14th straight game where McCaffrey scored a touchdown, regular season and playoffs combined.

The Cowboys began the second half with a 29-yard reception by CeeDee Lamb, which set up Brandon Aubrey’s 50-yard field goal; however, they would not score again. Meanwhile, the 49ers offense picked up right where they left off, as a 23-yard completion to Brandon Aiyuk and an 18-yard reception by Deebo Samuel set up Kittle’s third touchdown.

Prescott was intercepted on the next three Dallas drives, picked off by Tashaun Gipson, Fred Warner, and Oren Burks. The 49ers would capitalize by scoring a pair of touchdowns to put the game away; the first came on a 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk, while the second was a 26-yard run by backup running back Jordan Mason. With the game effectively over, both teams would play their backups until the final whistle, with Cooper Rush taking over for Prescott and Sam Darnold for Purdy.

Published
Joe Najarian
JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian, a Rutgers University graduate, covered Rutgers Football and Rutgers Baseball during an eight-month stint with Jersey Sporting News (JSN).

Home/Game Day