Anthony DiBona
Week 10 is in the rear view mirror for the Philadelphia Eagles and the rest of their division rivals in the NFC East. So where does each team currently stand in the division and what should you look for this upcoming week? I’ve got you covered in this week’s NFC East Report for the eleventh week of the regular season!
Standings
Well ladies and gentlemen, we had ourselves another stinker of a week in the NFC East. All four of the division’s teams played a game on Sunday and all of them lost except for the Washington Redskins. Granted, they were playing the New Orleans Saints, who basically don’t even field a defense. Either way, there was a bit of a shake-up in the standings following this past week and now the Redskins are ahead of our beloved Philadelphia Eagles once again while the Dallas Cowboys fade into darkness…or are they still alive? Let’s take a look at each team in this awful division heading into Week 11!
New York Giants (5-5)
Although they put up an admirable fight, the Giants fell one point shy of handing the undefeated New England Patriots their first loss of the season. Once again, the Giants fell victim to a questionable coaching decision by head coach Tom Coughlin. For some odd reason, Coughlin elected to throw the ball late in the fourth quarter, instead of running the ball and some time off of the clock. The Giants almost had it, but their performance reminded me of this:
Luckily the Giants are heading into their bye week, which couldn’t have come at a better time. They’ve been battling injuries all over their roster throughout the season and this could give them a chance to finally get healthy. Whether or not they actually will get healthy remains to be seen. Once they return from their bye week, they’ll play a crucial divisional game against the Washington Redskins in Week 12.
Next Game: BYE
Washington Redskins (4-5)
While many were brushing the Redskins off weeks ago, they are very much alive and in the hunt for first place in the NFC East. Although they did play the Saints and their atrocious defense last week, so that is worth noting as well. Just look at the combined numbers quarterbacks have posted against New Orleans’ “defense” this season thus far:
QB stats vs Saints this season on left; Tom Brady stats on right. Saints turning all QBs into Brady. pic.twitter.com/7hrJPUMYzz
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 16, 2015
Now you know exactly why they fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan yesterday. But in Week 11, the Redskins will go from one extreme to the other. They’ll travel down south to take on the undefeated Carolina Panthers, who are just a tad bit better on defense then the Saints are. If the Redskins can somehow, someway hand the Panthers their first loss, watch out. I know it may sound crazy now but the Panthers let teams hang around a bit too long sometimes and Kirk Cousins has proven himself to be a clutch quarterback.
Next Game: @ Carolina Panthers, Sunday, November 22nd, 1:00 PM
Philadelphia Eagles (4-5)
Just in case you didn’t read my five takeaways from the Eagles’ embarrassing loss to the Miami Dolphins yesterday, you should totally go check that out. Once again, the Eagles had a chance to win a game and elected to pass on the opportunity and shoot themselves in the foot. It’s become the same story every week for this team, dumb mistakes are plaguing them this season for some odd reason.
Either way, it’s time for Mark Sanchez to shine. I’m not entirely sure “shine” was a good choice of words there but he’s getting another chance in Chip Kelly’s offense. Many fans were clamoring for Sanchez to become the starter earlier in the season when Sam Bradford was really struggling. But lately he was playing a bit better and starting to quiet his doubters. Sure enough, Bradford suffered a concussion and shoulder injury against the Dolphins and it’s time for the “Rise of the Sanchize,” courtesy of Chris Steuber.
The rise will hopefully begin this Sunday when the Eagles host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although the Bucs helped the Eagles a bit by handing the Dallas Cowboys their seventh consecutive loss, Philadelphia won’t be returning the favor this weekend. Hopefully they’ll finally beat a team they’re supposed to beat on paper. But then again, we’ve seen how that has worked out thus far this season. Be sure to check out my game preview for this matchup on Friday!
Next Game: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, November 22nd, 1:00 PM
Dallas Cowboys (2-7)
No team has ever made the playoffs in the NFL after starting a season with a 2-7 record. That’s cool and all but that team probably wasn’t playing in a division as bad as the NFC East is this year. Enter the Dallas Cowboys, who have lost seven games in a row and somehow still aren’t dead. That leaves me to ask one question, hey Dallas!
But in all seriousness, I’m legitimately worried about the Cowboys. They’re only two games out of first place in the loss column, that’s insane. Now they’re getting quarterback Tony Romo back at full health and could get things rolling. Hopefully the rest of the NFC East can manage to finally win some games and officially put an end to Dallas’ season but that seems like a longshot. This Sunday the Cowboys will visit South Beach to take on the Miami Dolphins, who are fresh off upsetting the Eagles on the road. Could this be the start of the Cowboys’ improbable playoff push?
Next Game: @ Miami Dolphins, Sunday, November 22nd, 1:00 PM
That’s all for my NFC East report for Week 11, 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!
Don’t forget to join us tonight at The Goat’s Beard in Manayunk from 6pm-9pm for our first official Philly Influencer Networking Happy Hour!
