Anthony DiBona
Well that was a pretty underwhelming start for the NFC East! Each week here at PhillyInfluencer.com, I’ll take a look at the NFC East as a whole. Breaking down the latest news for your hometown Philadelphia Eagles and all of those other teams in their division.
So let’s jump right into it, here’s your NFC East report for week two of the 2015 season!
Standings
Week 1 wasn’t exactly the most impressive performance by the four teams in the NFC East. While our beloved Philadelphia Eagles fell flat on their faces in the first half against the Atlanta Falcons, the rest of the division came out flat as well. One team had to win between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, but neither team looked particularly good. That Washington football team looked just as horrific as we all expected, putting up a whopping 10 points in a loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)
It’s tough to think about the Eagles’ Week 1 performance against the Falcons. After such a crazy offseason, the team appeared as though it was ready to showcase itself to the world. Except they came out on Monday Night Football, arguably the NFL’s biggest stage and disappointed. At least in the first half they did, in the second half it looked like a different football team was on the field. Maybe they used some of Michael Jordan’s secret stuff from Space Jam.
Either way, despite the Eagles’ surprising comeback, they fell short and have to live with a Week 1 loss. Luckily for them, they can make it up with a win over the Dallas Cowboys this week. Some are already calling this week’s match-up a “must-win” game which is a bit extreme. But not being able to beat a banged up Cowboys’ team would be concerning, to say the least.
Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
Although the Cowboys were the lone team in the NFC East to win a game in Week 1, they may have actually suffered the biggest loss. They lost their star wide receiver Dez Bryant for anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks after he suffered a broken bone in his foot. There’s no understating the loss of Bryant, who single-handily carried the team at times in 2014. When they played the Eagles last season and the running game wasn’t working, Tony Romo would just lob the ball up to Bryant for easy touchdowns.
ESPN's Dr. Mark Adickes said 4-6 weeks was an aggressive timeframe, and a more likely timeframe for Dez Bryant's recovery is 8-12 weeks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 15, 2015
But that won’t be the case this season, at least for the next few weeks. Considering the Cowboys still don’t know who their go-to running back will be, it’ll be a tough challenge for them to adjust while Bryant is out. They no longer have a workhorse like DeMarco Murray in the backfield, now even more will fall on Romo’s shoulders and he’ll have to make the most of an underwhelming group of wide receivers. A win against the Eagles would give the Cowboys a huge early edge over the rest of the NFC East.
New York Giants (0-1)
The Giants fought admirably against the Cowboys but ultimately fell short on the road. I personally was surprised with how well the Giants played on the defensive side of the ball, at least before that final drive. Eli Manning struggled but that was due to the Cowboys basically taking his favorite target, Odell Beckham Jr. out of the game. “OBJ” couldn’t handle how physical Dallas was getting with him and seemed frustrated at times.
This week the Giants will head home to play the Falcons, a team that obviously just upset the Eagles and is riding high right now. Considering the way Tony Romo was able to pick apart the Giants’ defense towards the end of their Week 1 matchup, look for Matt Ryan to try and do the same. Julio Jones and Roddy White could cause some major problems this Sunday against the Giants.
Let’s not forget the Giants still have no idea when Jason Pierre-Paul will return after that embarrassing offseason fireworks incident. Apparently “JPP” thinks he doesn’t even need his index finger to play.
I can't think of the last time my index finger got me a sack 😉
— Jason Pierre-Paul (@UDWJPP) September 17, 2015
Washington Redskins (0-1)
The Washington Redskins are still an absolute mess, despite putting up a fight against the Dolphins in their season opener. Robert Griffin III is still their third-string quarterback for some odd reason and Kirk Cousins is…well, Kirk Cousins. Former Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson strained his hamstring and will apparently miss 3 to 4 weeks, which could mean he’ll miss the first game of the season between the ‘Skins and his former team.
Either way, the Redskins were already projected to be one of the league’s worst teams and they look to be heading down that path already. Without Jackson, they’ll only look even worse and this week their schedule doesn’t get any easier. They’ll host the St. Louis Rams in Week 2, who are fresh off an overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks. Yeah…good luck with that Washington football team!
That’s all for my NFC East report for Week 2, be sure to check back here at PhillyInfluencer.com for all of the latest news regarding your beloved Birds and everything else happening in Philadelphia!