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NFC East Week 12 Wrap-up: Cowboys on a Mini Skid, Eagles Falter

Let's run down the NFC East standings and draft positions after 12 weeks of play.

Patricia Traina

USA Today Sports via IMAGN Image Services, LLC

Dallas Cowboys (7-4, 1st Place)

Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson's 29-yard field goal in overtime served the Dallas Cowboys a 33-30 loss on Thanksgiving day.

The Cowboys and Raiders exchanged scores throughout most of the game. It was also an ugly one filled with a combined 28 penalties accepted, 14 by each team.

On the Raiders' game-winning drive, there were four penalties alone, one by the Raiders and three by Dallas, including two consecutive neutral zone infractions on the final drive of the game resulting in the Raiders gaining 10 yards additional yards to shorten Carlson's game-winning field goal attempt from 39 to 29 yards.

The two teams combined for 946 net yards of total offense, the Raiders winning that statistic with 509 yards. The difference was the running game--Las Vegas managed to run for 143 yards on 35 carries and two touchdowns while the Cowboys were held to 64 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown.

Dallas was without its top two receivers, Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. Cooper is currently on the Reserve/COVID-19 while Lamb was a last-minute scratch as he's still recovering from a concussion.

The Cowboys have now lost two in a row and three of their last four games. They are also dealing with a mini COVID-19 outbreak on their team ahead of their game against the Saints Thursday night.

Up Next: at New Orleans Saints (Thursday)

Draft Position: No. 25

Washington Football Team (5-6, 2nd Place)

The Washington Football Team won their third straight game to improve to 5-6 by just narrowly edging the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football 17-15. Washington survived a close call after Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson brought his team within two points of sending the game into overtime when he connected on a 32-yard pass to receiver Freddie Swain.

However, the Seahawks' effort to tie the game fell short when Wilson couldn't connect with Swain on the 2-point conversion.

The two teams came to a 9-9 tie at the half. Washington then pulled ahead of the Seahawks in the third quarter 17-9 when running back J.D. McKissic recorded his second touchdown on a 10-yard run to make it 17-9 Washington.

After scoring a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Wilson to tight end Gerald Everett on their second possession, the Seahawks punted the ball away on seven of their next eight possessions.

The one drive they didn't punt, they turned the ball over when Wilson's pass to running back Alex Collins was stripped and recovered by Washington safety Landon Collins.

Washington is tied with the 49ers for the longest winning streak (three games) in the NFC. They also moved up in the division, from third place to second as they attempt to catch the first-place Dallas Cowboys.

Up Next: at Las Vegas Raiders

Draft Position: No. 19

Philadelphia Eagles (5-7, 3rd Place)

The Eagles committed four turnovers, including three interceptions thrown by quarterback Jalen Hurts, as they saw their two-game winning streak snapped by the New York Giants, 13-7.

The Eagles had their chances to keep their streak alive, but a combination of a curious game plan that called for Hurts to throw the ball more than run, combined with the turnovers as mentioned above that also included a forced fumble by Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence that was recovered by safety Julian Love late in the fourth quarter thwarted their streak.

The Giants gave the Eagles one final chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. After going three at out, the Giants punted the ball back to the Eagles with 1:19 left, but Riley Dixon's punt went 39 yards and was returned by Jalen Reagor nine yards to give Philadelphia 1st-and-10 on their 41-yard line with 1:11 left.

However, the drive stalled at the Giants' 27-yar line thanks to three straight incomplete passes thrown by Hurts, two of which were broken up by Giants safety Xavier McKinney.

With the loss, the Eagles failed to close in on some more ground against the Dallas Cowboys, who remain atop of the division despite a two-game losing streak.

Up Next: at New York Jets

Draft Position: No. 9, No. 10 (from Miami), No. 14 (from Colts)

New York Giants (4-7, 4th Place)

The New York Giants defense delivered on four turnovers, including three interceptions, to help lead the team to a 13-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The defensive pass rush created jitters for Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who completed just 46.6 percent of his pass attempts for 129 yards and the three interceptions. Outside of the Eagles' lone scoring drive in the fourth quarter that saw running back Boston Scott score a 1-yard touchdown, the Giants did an acceptable job in stopping the Eagles running game.

Meanwhile, on offense, the Giants, under new play-caller Freddie Kitchens, really didn't look that much different from a statistical perspective. The Giants scored under 20 points for the sixth time this season and were outgained on offense 332 to 264 net yards.

Quarterback Daniel Jones completed 63.9 percent of his pass attempts, his lone touchdown going to reserve tight end Chris Myarick in the third quarter. Kicker Graham Gano accounted for the rest of the Giants, scoring with two field goals of 35 and 39 yards.

The win, which came on the day that Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan's No. 92 as officially retired, gives the Giants a two-game regular-season winning streak over the Eagles and a three-game winning streak at home.

The win was also the Giants' first in the division; earlier this year they narrowly lost to the Washington Football Team in Week 2 and were no match for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5. However, the Giants are still in the hunt for the final playoff spot in the NFC despite having a sub-500 won-loss record.

Up Next: at Miami Dolphins

Draft Position: No. 6 and No. 7 (from Chicago)

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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