NFC East Recap: Washington Lone NFC East Winner in Week 2

The Cowboys lost at home to the Saints, and the Eagles were defeated by the Falcons on Monday Night Football.

Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Atlanta Falcons 22, Philadelphia Eagles 21

Quarterback Kirk Cousins brought the Atlanta Falcons back from the depths of despair on Monday night as the Falcons turned back the Philadelphia Eagles 22-21 in Philadelphia.

With Atlanta down by six 21-15, with less than 2:00 minutes left to play in the game, the Eagles had the ball, but could not convert on a third down and three. Accordingly, they gave the ball back to Atlanta with 1:39 remaining in the contest.

Atlanta drove 70 yards before Cousins hit Drake London for the game-winning score. Darnell Moody made two huge receptions on the game-winning drive for 47 yards. On 3rd-and-5 from the Eagles' seven-yard line, Cousins found London for the score.

After taking the lead, the Falcons gave the ball back to the Eagles with 0:34 remaining in the game, Quarterback Jalen Hurts was attempting to lead his team into field goal territory. The long pass was intended for DeVonta Smith. However, Hurts was picked off by Jessie Bates III to seal the Eagles fate.

The Eagles were forced to play without wide receiver A.J. Smith, who is expected to miss several weeks with a hamstring injury.

Philadelphia travels to New Orleans next Sunday, while the Falcons host the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

New Orleans Saints 44, Dallas Cowboys 19

Running back Alvin Kamara scored four touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington on Sunday.

Kamara, the Saints' all-time leader in touchdowns, had three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. The catch was a 57-yard screen pass he took to the house. He caught two passes for 65 yards and rushed for 115 yards on 20 carries.

Kamara is the only player in the long history of the New Orleans Saints to rush for four touchdowns in one game, He also eclipsed the 6,000-yard career rushing plateau,

Meanwhile, quarterback David Carr had a sensational afternoon himself. He was 11-of-16 or 243 yards and two scores. His first score was a 70-yard bomb to Rashid Shaheed. Carr also scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak.

Shadeed had 96 yards on four receptions to lead the Saints. Chris Olave added four receptions for 81 yards.

The New Orleans defense stifled the Cowboys all afternoon. Cornerback Paulson Adebo had a pick, while Bryan Bresee had a strip sack. Carl Granderson added 1.5 sacks. Dallas failed on two fourth and short conversions in the loss.

The Cowboys' loss at home was their first in 16 games.

Dallas will host the winless Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, while New Orleans will host the Eagles.

Washington Commanders 21, New York Giants 18

The New York Giants lost more than a football game on Sunday. On the opening kickoff, they also lost kicker Graham Gano to a hamstring injury. Gano, who found himself on the injury report on Saturday with a groin injury, should have been held out of the game.

Gano was running downfield to try and tackle Commanders kick returner Austin Ekeler, who scored an apparent touchdown on a 98-yard return. A penalty wiped out the touchdown, but unfortunately, it could not wipe out the Gano injury.

The Giants failed to promote practice squad kicker Jude McAtameny. This was a major blunder. As the Giants saw Gano on the sidelines, they had to replace him with punter Jamie Gillan. Gillan missed his first extra point badly.

The Giants were forced to go for two on their next two touchdowns and failed to score. Accordingly, the three missed points after touchdowns would come back and bite the Giants, who lost by three. 

The Giants also had to go for it on fourth down instead of attempting a 39-yard field goal, which would be the losing margin. Instead of going for the field goal, the Giants turned it over on downs at the Washington 22-yard line.

Meanwhile, in his first game since being signed earlier in the week, the Washington placekicker Austin Seifert went 7-for7 on field goals and accounted for all 21 Commanders points. The bottom line is Washington had a kicker who could convert his kicks, but the Giants did not.

The Giants offense had a reversal of fortune from last week, where they could only muster six points against the Minnesota Vikings. Quarterback Daniel Jones led three touchdown drives. Jones, who was dismal in his first game this season, was better this game. He kept the Giants in the game.

The defense had a bend-but-not-break mentality. They gave up seven scores, but they were all field goals. They did not allow Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to execute any touchdown drives.

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