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NFC East Wrap-up: Commanders Making a Push

It was a repeat performance from the previous week, as the Eagles, Cowboys and Commanders all coninued to roll while the Giants stumbled.

Joe Najarian

NFC East Wrap-up: Commanders Making a Push
NFC East Wrap-up: Commanders Making a Push /
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What a year it's been for the NFC East!

Once the laughing stock among the divisions, the NFC East has transformed into one of the most exciting divisions in the NFL, with every team at least two games above .500 and the action tightening up for the wild card.

The Eagles will be the clear runaway winners of the division, as they have completely dominated opponents on their 2022 schedule. Behind them, the Cowboys have started to separate from the rest of the foes thanks to a season sweep of the Giants, which gives them the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Washington, which looked like it would linger in obscurity, has made a strong late-season push. Thanks to winning six of their last seven, the Commanders currently would be the seventh seed in the NFC playoff race, one spot below the Giants, who have hung tough despite losing three of their last four.

Let's recap another strong weekend of NFC East football.

Nov 27, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Philadlephia Eagles (10-1), 1st Place

Eagles 40, Packers 33

In a rollercoaster game on Sunday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles earned their 10th win of the season by a 40-33 margin over the Green Bay Packers.

The Eagles ran wild offensively, with 500 total yards and an unfathomable 363 rushing yards, the most in a single game in Eagles history since 1948. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had a staggering 157 rushing yards on 17 carries, while running back Miles Sanders had 143 rushing yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns. Hurts did further damage with his arm, completing 16 of 28 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

The first half was wild, as both teams combined for 47 points. The Eagles got off to a great start, scoring on their opening drive with Kenneth Gainwell’s 4-yard touchdown run.

On Green Bay’s first drive, QB Aaron Rodgers was intercepted by Josiah Scott, and Philadelphia capitalized three plays later on Sanders’s 15-yard touchdown run, making it 13-0 after Jake Elliott missed the extra point.

But the Packers stormed right back into the game. They needed only four plays on their next drive, as a 30-yard reception by Aaron Jones set up a 20-yard touchdown run by A.J. Dillon. The Eagles then turned the ball over on downs at their own 37-yard line, and the Packers would take a 14-13 lead when Rodgers threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb.

In the second quarter, the Eagles regained the lead on Sanders’s second touchdown run of the game, and Reed Blankenship (filling in for the injured C.J. Gardner-Johnson) intercepted Rodgers deep in Eagles territory.

After Philadelphia moved just outside Green Bay’s red zone, Quay Walker recovered a fumble from A.J. Brown and returned it 67 yards inside Philadelphia’s red zone. Three plays later, Rodgers threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jones, tying the game at 20 after Mason Crosby missed the extra point.

After both teams punted, the Eagles stormed down the field, moving 71 yards in just over two minutes, and Hurts threw a 30-yard strike to Quez Watkins to put Philadelphia up 27-20 at halftime.

The Packers went three-and-out to start the second half, and the Eagles drove 86 yards in 11 plays, as Hurts threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brown that extended the lead to 14. Green Bay responded with a five-minute drive culminating in a Crosby field goal, but Rodgers suffered an oblique injury that forced the Packers to put in backup QB Jordan Love for the rest of the game.

The Eagles responded in kind with a field goal from Elliott while taking nearly six minutes off the clock. But Love suddenly made it a one-score game, as his third pass of the night was a 63-yard touchdown to Christian Watson.

The Eagles were finally able to put the game away when they burned six minutes and 44 seconds off the clock, a drive that was finished by Elliott’s 54-yard field goal to make it a 10-point lead. Green Bay responded with a Crosby field goal to make it 40-33, but Philadelphia recovered the onside kick to ice the game.

The Eagles will host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Nov 24, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) celebrates after he sacks New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) during the second half of the game between the Cowboys and the Giants at AT&T Stadium / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Cowboys (8-3), 2nd Place, New York Giants (7-4), 3rd Place

Cowboys 28, Giants 20 

The Dallas Cowboys roared back with 21 unanswered points in a 28-20 victory on Thanksgiving Day to erase a 13-7 New York Giants halftime lead.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones had a solid game, completing 21 of 35 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown. His top target was Darius Slayton, who had 63 receiving yards on just three catches. Running back Saquon Barkley was used sparingly, with only 11 carries for 39 yards, although he did score a touchdown.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott mirrored his team’s performance. He threw two interceptions in the first half, causing Dallas to fall behind, but threw a pair of touchdowns in the second half as Dallas asserted themselves. Receiver CeeDee Lamb was near-unguardable, making six catches for 106 yards.

The Giants took advantage of an early turnover on downs from Dallas with a Graham Gano field goal, although a questionable penalty call took a potential touchdown away from them. Dallas took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott, but the Giants responded quickly; a 44-yard completion from Jones to Slayton set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Barkley to put New York back in front.

Nearing the end of the first half, Giants safety Julian Love intercepted a pass from Prescott to halt a Dallas drive in New York territory. The Giants’ offense responded by advancing into field goal range, where Gano nailed a 47-yard field goal to extend their lead to 13-7 at halftime.

But the Cowboys completely dominated the second half, scoring touchdowns on their next three drives. On the first drive of the third quarter, Dallas marched 75 yards in 14 plays, capped off by Prescott’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz. The Cowboys led 14-13, and they wouldn’t trail again.

The wheels fell off for the Giants on their first drive of the second half; they attempted to go for it on 4th-and-1 at their own 45, but Barkley dropped a catchable pass from Jones to turn the ball over on downs. Dallas capitalized with Prescott’s second touchdown pass to Schultz six plays later, and the game became a lost cause for New York.

After a Giants punt, the Cowboys put the game away with a 10-play, 88-yard drive, capped off by Peyton Hendershot’s 2-yard touchdown run. New York made it a one-possession game when Jones threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Richie James, but by then, only eight seconds were remaining.

The Giants have now lost three of their last four games and have conceded the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Cowboys in terms of the wild card seedings. New York will host the soaring Washington Commanders Sunday in what is a big game for both. Meanwhile, the Cowboys will host the Colts.

Nov 27, 2022; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne (94) tips a pass by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota (1) ultimately intercepted by Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller (not pictured) in the end zone in the final minute during the fourth quarter at FedExField / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Commanders (7-4), 4th Place

Commanders 19, Falcons 13

The Washington Commanders improved to 7-5 with a 19-13 home win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Although Washington remains in last place in the NFC East, every team in the division is now at least two games above .500.

Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke once again did enough to win, completing 14 of his 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. But while both of Washington’s touchdowns came in the air, most of their offense came on the ground; the Commanders gashed the Falcons with 176 rushing yards, with Brian Robinson Jr. leading the way with 105 yards on 18 carries.

The Falcons took the opening kickoff and chewed up nearly seven minutes of clock, but had to settle for Younghoe Koo’s 47-yard field goal. On Washington’s first drive, they marched 74 yards in seven plays and took the lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Heinicke to Robinson.

The second quarter saw both teams score but end the half with very sloppy football. Atlanta retook the lead on Marcus Mariota’s 4-yard touchdown pass to MyCole Pruitt, only for Washington to tie it with Joey Slye’s 30-yard field goal. 

The Falcons turned the ball over on downs on their ensuing drive, but got the ball right back when Heinicke was intercepted by Mykal Walker on the very next play. But the score would remain tied at halftime, as Koo missed a 58-yard field goal attempt.

Both teams punted to start the second half, but Washington retook the lead with an 11-play, 60-yard drive finished by Heinicke’s 16-yard touchdown pass to John Bates, making it 16-10 after Slye missed the extra point.

Atlanta responded with a 48-yard field goal from Koo, only for Washington to make it 19-13 when Slye’s 45-yard field goal finished a seven-minute drive. Both teams punted on their ensuing drives, and then the Falcons looked poised to win when they advanced to the Commanders’ 2-yard line with just over a minute to go. 

However, Mariota threw a game-losing interception to Kendall Fuller in the end zone, allowing Washington to run out the clock and escape with a win.

The Commanders will face the Giants twice over the next three weeks, with their bye week sandwiched in between.

 

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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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