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NFC East Wrap-up: Picture is Becoming Clearer

Let's recap the Week 10 action in the NFC East, including standings and draft order.

Joe Najarian

NFC East Wrap-up: Picture is Becoming Clearer
NFC East Wrap-up: Picture is Becoming Clearer /
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Although the Philadelphia Eagles had a bye, it remains clear that they are the cream of the crop in the NFC East, while the New York Giants, who took yet another ugly loss from the Dallas Cowboys, are the least of the East.

The surprise is the Washington Commanders. Although they lost (barely) to the Seattle Seahawks, Ro Rivera's team continues to show grit to where they're now nearly a 10-point favorite over the Giants, whom they host next week.

That's significant, considering the Giants have typically owned the Commanders. But as we've seen this year, the Giants can't even seem to own their problems, let alone any opponent.

Here's how the NFC East stands after ten weeks of play.

Nov 5, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (55) flashes the No. 1 sign, reflecting where the Eagles sit in the NFC East standings.   / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Philadephia Eagles (8-1)

This Week: Bye
Next Week: at Kansas City
Current Projected Draft Slot: 32nd

Nov 12, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse (1) attempts to sack New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) in the second quarter at AT&T Stadium / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Cowboys (6-3)

This Week: Cowboys 49, Giants 17
Next Week: at Carolina
Current Projected Draft Slot: 22nd

Nov 12, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field.   / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Commanders (4-6)

This Week: Seahawks 29, Commanders 26
Next Week: New York Giants
Current Projected Draft Slot: 11th

The Washington Commanders fought hard against the Seattle Seahawks on the road but ultimately fell to 4-6 with a painful 29-26 defeat.

A dramatic 35-yard game-tying touchdown pass from Washington quarterback Sam Howell to wide receiver Dyami Brown was for naught, as Seahawks kicker Jason Myers capped a stellar day with a game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired.

Offensive possession was close to even (Seattle narrowly had the edge, 30:27 to 29:33), but total offense was more frequent than the final score might indicate. The two teams combined for a respectable 55 points, a stunning 845 yards (489 for the Seahawks, 356 for the Commanders), and only one turnover.

Howell had another productive game by completing 29 of 44 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, finishing the game with a 109.3 passer rating. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. had only eight carries for 38 yards but was the game’s leading receiver with six catches for 119 yards, most of which came on a 51-yard touchdown reception.

Seattle racked up nearly 500 yards of offense but had trouble finishing their drives despite not turning the ball over (on downs or via takeaway). Fortunately, Myers made up for this by kicking five field goals (without missing any), including the game-winner at the last second. 

Quarterback Geno Smith completed 31 of 47 passes for 369 yards and two touchdowns, with a 103.9 passer rating. Wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett had seven catches for 98 yards and eight catches for 92 yards, respectively. Running back Kenneth Walker III had 63 rushing yards on 19 carries, as well as a 64-yard receiving touchdown.

The Commanders got on the board just one minute and 34 seconds into the game, as Robinson Jr. caught a pass from Howell and took off down the sideline for a 51-yard touchdown reception, making it 6-0 after kicker Joey Slye missed the extra point. Seattle responded on their first possession with the first of Myers’s five field goals, this one from 45 yards. The drive was assisted by a targeting call on Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, who was ejected from the game after delivering a helmet-to-helmet hit on Lockett.

Both teams traded field goals early in the second quarter, with Slye hitting a 49-yarder and Myers converting from 43 yards out. Near the end of the quarter, Myers tied the game at nine with a 33-yard field goal, although the Seahawks had to settle for it due to a false start penalty on a 4th-and-1 conversion attempt. 

Seattle’s defense forced a three-and-out to give the offense 54 seconds for a potential go-ahead score, but the game entered halftime tied at nine, as Smith was called for an intentional grounding penalty that resulted in a 10-second runoff.

After Seattle went three-and-out to begin the second half, the Commanders retook the lead on Slye’s 47-yard field goal, set up by a 48-yard reception by Robinson Jr.. Still, the Seahawks took their first lead of the day just two plays later, after an 11-yard completion to Metcalf, Smith threw a check-down pass to Walker, who evaded several defenders before taking off down the sideline for a 64-yard touchdown and a 16-12 lead.

Both offenses sprung to life in the fourth quarter, combining for 27 points. A 7-yard run by running back Zach Charbonnet on 4th and 1 set up Myers’s fourth field goal, a 45-yarder, to extend Seattle’s lead to 19-12. However, this would be the first of five consecutive scoring drives to finish the game.

The next three drives all ended in touchdowns. The Commanders responded with an 8-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that included 43 all-purpose yards from Robinson Jr. before fellow running back Antonio Gibson hauled in a 19-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 19. 

Seattle struck right back by driving 75 yards in 10 plays; they were assisted by three key penalties on Washington’s defense, including a defensive pass interference penalty on cornerback Benjamin St-Juste on 4th-and-5 in Washington territory. Smith then put the Seahawks back ahead when he threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Lockett with just 3:47 left in regulation.

But the Commanders refused to quit and tied the game yet again in dramatic fashion. Their 10-play, 71-yard drive took just 2:55. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin had two key catches on the drive; the first was an 11-yard reception on 3rd-and-2 that moved the ball near midfield, and the second was an 8-yard catch on 4th and 1 to keep Washington’s hopes alive. 

Three plays later, facing 3rd-and-10 at the Seattle 35-yard line, Howell completed a pass over the middle to Dyami Brown at the 17-yard line, who scampered into the end zone to tie the game at 26 with just 52 seconds left.

That was just enough time for Smith to engineer a game-winning drive with just one timeout at his disposal. Facing 3rd-and-4 at his own 31-yard line with 33 seconds left, Smith completed a 17-yard pass to Metcalf to move the ball near midfield, leaving 28 seconds after Seattle used their final timeout. 

Two plays later, Smith completed another pass to Metcalf, who made the risky decision to fight for extra yardage despite having no timeouts. The gamble ultimately worked, as Metcalf was finally brought down at the Washington 25, and Smith successfully spiked the ball with four seconds left. Myers was then brought out for his fifth field goal attempt, and he drilled a 43-yarder perfectly through the uprights to win the game.

Nov 12, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) throws during the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

New York Giants (2-8)

This Week: Cowboys 49, Giants 17
Next Week: at Washington
Current Projected Draft Slot: 2nd

How bad was this loss against the Cowboys? Here is just a small sample size of how historic this loss was, courtesy of the Giants.

*Dallas dominated the game statistically with sizeable advantages in total yards (640-172), first downs (32-16), net passing yards (472-61), and time of possession (37:21-22:39).

*Dallas’ 49 points were the most allowed by the Giants since a 51-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 5, 2017. The previous high total given up in Brian Daboll’s two seasons as head coach was 48 points to Philadelphia last Dec. 11.

*The Cowboys’ 640 total yards were the second-most ever allowed by the Giants. On Nov. 14, 1943 – almost 80 years to the day – the Chicago Bears gained 682 yards in a 56-7 victory. The previous high under Daboll was 524 yards at Miami on Oct. 8.

*Dallas’ 472 net passing yards were the third-highest total allowed by the Giants. New Orleans threw for 505 yards on Nov. 1, 2015, and the Bears passed for 488 yards in the 1943 game mentioned above.

*The Cowboys’ 32 first downs tied for the third-highest total by a Giants opponent. The Rams had 38 on Nov. 13, 1966; New Orleans had 35 in 2015; and Dallas had 21 on Sept. 10, 1978.

*The Giants trailed 28-0 at halftime. It was their largest deficit after two quarters since they trailed the Eagles by the same score in their NFC Divisional Playoff Game last January. The halftime deficit was the Giants’ largest in a regular-season game since Jan. 3, 2010, when they were behind in Minnesota, 31-0.

*The Giants had one first down in the first 30 minutes, their lowest total in a half since Nov. 23, 2017, when they had one in the second half in a loss in Washington. 

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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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