Giants Country

NFC East Week 10 Wrap-up: No One's Perfect

The Giants and Commanders win, the Cowboys lose a heartbreaker, and the Eagles are no longer perfect.

Joe Najarian

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Let's reap the Week 10 action in the NFC East.

Philadelphia Eagles (8-1), 1st Place

Washington Commmanders (5-5), 4th Place

Commanders 32, Eagles 21 

In a stunning upset on Monday Night Football, the Washington Commanders beat the previously undefeated Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, 32-21. With the Eagles’ loss, there are no more undefeated teams in the NFL this season.

The Commanders forced four turnovers and held the ball for over 40 minutes as they built up a 23-14 lead entering the fourth quarter and ended any hope of an Eagles comeback with two critical fumble recoveries.

Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke completed 17 of 29 passes for 211 yards, although he didn’t have any touchdown passes and was intercepted once. Running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson each scored a rushing touchdown and combined for 130 rushing yards.

Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 17 of 26 passes for 175 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while also adding a rushing touchdown. But the Eagles’ rushing attack, renowned for being among the best in the league, only racked up 94 yards.

The Eagles would force a turnover on the game's first drive, as Josh Sweat forced a fumble from Heinicke that Marlon Tuipulotu recovered on the first drive. Three plays later, Hurts scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to put Philadelphia up 7-0.

The next three drives all resulted in points. Washington rebounded nicely from their miscue, as Gibson’s 1-yard touchdown run finished a 13-play, 75-yard drive. The Eagles responded with another touchdown, this one a Hurts pass to Dallas Goedert, but Washington responded with the first of four field goals from Joey Slye to make it 14-10 Philadelphia.

But on the Eagles’ next drive, Hurts threw a deep pass intended for A.J. Brown that Darrick Forrest intercepted. Washington capitalized with a 16-play, 86-yard touchdown drive that took over seven minutes off the clock, punctuated by Robinson’s 1-yard touchdown run. Washington was up 17-14, and surprisingly, they would lead for the rest of the game.

The Eagles went three-and-out, and Washington added a 58-yard field goal from Slye as time expired in the half. After Philadelphia went three-and-out again on their first drive of the second half, the Commanders chewed up over eight minutes of clock on a drive that ended with Slye’s third field goal.

But Philadelphia refused to go quietly, as they made it a two-point game when Hurts threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith on the first play of the fourth quarter. 

Then, the Eagles quickly got the ball back when C.J. Gardner-Johnson picked off Heinicke. But their momentum came to a screeching halt when Goedert fumbled, and Jamin Davis recovered for Washington. The play was not without controversy, as the referees missed an obvious facemask call on Washington that could have negated the fumble.

Instead, Washington extended their lead on Slye’s fourth field goal of the night. Philadelphia appeared to have a potential game-winning drive going when Hurts threw a 50-yard bomb to Quez Watkins, but Benjamin St-Juste knocked the ball out, and Forrest recovered for the Commanders. 

The next three drives ended in punts, and the Eagles’ hopes for a comeback were squashed when their lateral play with five seconds remaining resulted in one last fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

Somewhere, the surviving members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins are popping bottles of champagne.

The Eagles visit the Colts, who won their first game under interim head coach Jeff Saturday by beating the Raiders 25-20, while the Commanders will visit the Texans, 24-16 losers to the Giants last week.

New York Giants (7-2), 2nd Place

Giants 24, Texans 16 

The New York Giants improved to 7-2 on the season with a 24-16 home win over the Houston Texans. Coupled with the Dallas Cowboys Week 9 loss to the Packers, the Giants moved into second place in the NFC East.

Quarterback Daniel Jones completed 13 of his 17 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, leading to an excellent 153.3 passer rating. Jones’s efficient passing was complemented by 191 rushing yards from the ground attack, with running back Saquon Barkley rushing for 152 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 35 carries.

The first half was low-scoring; the Giants scored on their first drive when Jones threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lawrence Cager, but that was the only touchdown from either team in the game’s first 30 minutes. The Texans could only muster a Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal in the first half.

The second half saw better offense from both teams. The Giants scored on Darius Slayton’s 54-yard catch-and-run to the end zone on the opening drive. Although the Texans got those points back on Davis Mills’ 12-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins, New York put seven more points on the board when Barkley finished their next drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

In the fourth quarter, the Giants defense forced two turnovers in their own territory; the first was a fumble recovery by Jaylon Smith deep in the red zone, and the second was an interception by Dane Belton in the end zone. The Texans would kick two field goals late in the game, but the Giants kicked one of their own and recovered both of Houston’s desperate onside kicks to seal the deal.

The Giants host the Detroit Lions, who thanks to their 31-30 win over Chicago have a two-game winning streak going, on Sunday.

Dallas Cowboys (6-3), 3rd Place

Packers 31, Cowboys 28 (OT)

The Dallas Cowboys blew a 28-14 fourth-quarter lead to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and ultimately fell in overtime, 31-28, at Lambeau Field.

Dallas running back Tony Pollard filled in for the injured Ezekiel Elliott and racked up 115 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had a huge game, catching 11 passes for 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Quarterback Dak Prescott’s performance, however, was a mixed bag. He completed 27 of 46 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted twice in the first half, both of which set up Packer touchdowns.

The Cowboys’ vaunted defense, which includes arguably the most feared pass rush in the NFL, was gashed by Packers running back Aaron Jones and rookie wide receiver Christian Watson. Jones had 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who had a fine game himself (14/20 for 224 yards, three touchdowns, 146.7 passer rating), benefited greatly from Watson’s performance, as three of the rookie’s four receptions were touchdowns, alongside 107 yards.

Both teams scored 14 points in the second quarter. The Cowboys struck first on Prescott’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Lamb, and Demarcus Lawrence then forced a fumble from Rodgers for another instant red-zone opportunity. But Prescott was intercepted in the end zone by Rudy Ford, and three plays later, Rodgers threw a 58-yard strike to Watson to tie the game.

Prescott threw another interception to Ford on Dallas’s next drive, and Green Bay had great field position at the Dallas 24. The Packers would score just three plays later on Jones’s 12-yard touchdown run. But the Cowboys stormed back with an 8-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that ended with Prescott’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz, tying the game at 14 entering halftime.

The Cowboys immediately capitalized on a fumbled punt return by the Packers, leading to Pollard’s 13-yard touchdown run to put Dallas back ahead early in the third quarter. After a quick three-and-out by Green Bay, the Cowboys extended their lead to 14 when Prescott threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Lamb.

But Green Bay stormed back in the fourth quarter. They got seven points right back when Rodgers connected with Watson for a 39-yard touchdown, capping off a nine-play, 76-yard drive. After forcing Dallas to punt, the Packers marched 89 yards in 10 plays, and Rodgers threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Watson that tied the game. Neither team would score in the quarter, and the game went into overtime.

Dallas won the coin toss, but coach Mike McCarthy elected to go for it on 4th-and-3 at the Green Bay 35. This decision backfired, as the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs. The Packers capitalized and moved 55 yards in six plays, and kicker Mason Crosby drilled a 28-yard field goal to win the game.

The Cowboys visit Minnesota in Week 11. The Vikings knocked off the Bills 33-30 in Week 10 action.

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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).

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