Giants Country

NFC East Wrap: Eagles, Cowboys, Giants Seeded for Playoffs

Wrapping up the NFC East's final week of the regular season.

Joe Najarian

USA Today Sports via IMAGN Content Services
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It was a fairly successful season for the four NFC East teams, all of whom finished above .500 this season, with three of the four teams clinching playoff berths.

The Philadelphia Eagles are locked in as the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, followed by the Dallas Cowboys, who are No. 5, and the New York Giants, who are No. 6.

Let's recap the final week of regular-season action in the division.   

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Philadelphia Eagles (14-3), 1st Place, NFC East, 1st Seed, NFC Playoffs | New York Giants (9-7-1), 3rd Place, NFC East, 6th Seed, NFC Playoffs

Eagles 22, Giants 16

The Eagles clinched the NFC East and the top seed in the conference, defeating the playoff-bound New York Giants, 22-16.

The Eagles built a 19-0 lead in the third quarter but had to weather a Giants comeback attempt in the second half. The Giants, having already clinched a playoff spot of their own, decided to play their backups, with QB Daniel Jones and RB Saquon Barkley getting a day off.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts completed 20 of 35 passes for 229 yards, with one interception. Boston Scott led the team in rushing, with 54 yards on nine carries, while kicker Jake Elliott kicked five field goals.

For the Giants, Davis Webb had his first career start at quarterback. He completed 23 of 40 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 41 yards and another score. Backup running back Gary Brightwell rushed for 60 yards on 11 carries and added 64 yards on a pair of kickoff returns.

The Eagles shut out the Giants in the first half while the offense mounted four scoring drives. After Elliott kicked his first field goal on Philadelphia’s first possession, the offense would score their only touchdown on their second possession. Receiver A.J. Brown hauled in a 37-yard pass from Hurts, and Scott’s 8-yard touchdown run finished off a 12-play, 80-yard drive.

The second quarter was uneventful, as the Eagles only mustered a pair of Elliott field goals. Meanwhile, the Giants punted on all but one of their drives in the first half; the one that didn’t end in a punt ended with a failed fake field goal attempt that resulted in punter/holder Jamie Gillian being sacked for a turnover on downs.

The Eagles’ first two drives ended in a Hurts red zone interception and Elliott’s fourth field goal as they unusually struggled to seal the game. Eventually, the Giants got on the board with a Graham Gano field goal. After forcing a punt, New York marched 59 yards in 10 plays that Webb capped off with his first career touchdown, a 14-yard run. Suddenly, the Eagles only led by 10 points and needed points on their next drive.

Ultimately, Philadelphia put away the game with a long scoring drive. Although it ended with another Elliott field goal, the drive took almost seven minutes off the clock, and the Giants had used all three of their timeouts. New York then finished the scoring with a 7-play, 54-yard touchdown drive that ended in Webb’s 25-yard strike to Kenny Golladay; it was Webb’s first career touchdown pass and Golladay’s first touchdown as a Giant.

The Eagles then recovered New York’s onside kick to seal the deal.

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Dallas Cowboys | Washington Commanders (8-8-1), 4th Place, NFC East

The Dallas Cowboys struggled in their regular season finale against the Washington Commanders, falling 26-6.

Dallas needed a win and an Eagles loss to usurp the division title, but this game ended up being decided before the Eagles won their game.

Quarterback Dak Prescott struggled mightily, completing only 14 of 37 passes for 128 yards, one touchdown, and one interception that was returned for a touchdown. It was Prescott’s seventh straight game with an interception. The running game fell flat as well, with only 64 rushing yards total.

The Commanders, who had been eliminated the previous week, decided to start Sam Howell, who was making his NFL debut. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 35 yards and another touchdown. Both Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson had over 70 receiving yards, with each of them catching three passes.

Disaster immediately struck on the game’s opening drive, as Dallas punter Brian Anger fumbled the snap to give Washington an instant red zone possession. Two plays later, Howell threw his first career touchdown pass, a 16-yard pass to McLaurin, for an early 7-0 lead.

The Commanders got another great opportunity when Dallas punt returner KaVontae Turpin muffed a punt that Washington recovered at the 15-yard line. But this time, they came up empty when Joey Slye missed a 31-yard chip shot.

Washington had yet another great chance to score when they drove to the Dallas 2-yard line, but were turned away when Cowboys safety Malik Hooker intercepted Howell in the end zone. But just three plays later, Prescott was intercepted by Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller, who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. Washington now led 13-0 after Slye missed the extra point.

Slye would later miss yet again, as his 52-yard attempt hit the left upright. Dallas would eventually harness some much needed momentum just before halftime, as Prescott threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb with just six seconds left in the half, making it 13-6 after kicker Brett Maher missed the extra point.

The first six drives of the second half ended in punts, but Washington later extended their lead with a 6-play, 59-yard touchdown drive. Howell would finish the drive himself with a 9-yard touchdown run, making it 20-6 Commanders.

Washington concluded the scoring with a pair of Slye field goals in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Dallas was shut out in the second half, punting on all but two drives; the first ended on a turnover on downs, and the second resulted in time expiring in the game.

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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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