The New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and Philadelphia Eagles may have shown the rest of the NFL that they better take notice of the NFC East after week five. The New York Giants were impressive while the Dallas Cowboys start the year at 4-1 for the first time since 2008. The Eagles win again showing they can score in all kinds of different ways. The Redskins are, well, the Redskins. Here are the NFC highlights of week!
New York Giants 3-2
Perhaps the most impressive NFC East team in week five was the New York Giants. They were not perfect and even sputtered at times, however the team cohesiveness was evident. Despite falling 20-10 in the second half against an Atlanta Falcons team with a high powered offense, the Giants never appeared desperate or perturbed.
The Giants simply handled the situation as business as usual and ran off 20 unanswered points of their own in a convincing win. Giants’ 
rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made his presence known in his first ever NFL game catching four passes and accumulating 44 yards and a touchdown.
Eli Manning intentionally involved Beckham Jr. from the get-go although it didn’t seem forced. Manning’s two touchdown passes and zero turnovers were a result of the lack of disruption by the Falcons’ defensive line. There was no need to be overly aggressive as the meticulous pass game was complimented by the Giants’ consistent rushing attack.
Now winners of three straight the Giants may be poised to take over the NFC East. We will soon know what their future holds. A showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football is must see TV.
The Eagles are beginning to develop a pattern of inconsistent play, albeit that inconsistent play has been good enough to win more often than not. Philadelphia led the Rams 34-7 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter on Sunday and proceeded to give up 21 unanswered points. The Rams had the ball near midfield late in the fourth quarter with a chance to score the go ahead touchdown the Eagles defense rose to the occasion.
Could this be a sign of fatigue? Is Chip Kelly’s system becoming too taxing for players late in games? Better opponents await for the Eagles
and maybe it’s time for a more methodical pace.
Another area of concern continues to be running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy had a respectable 84 yards on the ground but only at 3.4 yards a clip. Still a fraction of the numbers we saw last year from the spry Eagles playmaker.
Special Teams continue to come up big for the Eagles. A blocked punt returned for a touchdown early in the game set the momentum early that jolted Philadelphia to the big lead. Another fumble returned for a touchdown by the Eagles defense early in the second half set the tone again.
The Eagles can’t rely on defensive and special teams touchdowns week after week to make the difference. Something is lacking on offense, and there have been signs of locker room rumblings in recent weeks about the intensity level of practices. Will the Eagles finally figure out how to click on all cylinders, or will the New York Giants take over the division?
Dallas Cowboys 4-1
The Cowboys solidified themselves as a team on the rise with an overtime victory over the Houston Texans. Especially promising was how Dallas stuck to their formula for success rather than have Tony Romo heave the pigskin around in the second half.
The Texans defense is under-rated but a steady dose of DeMarco Murray and the big play ability of Dez Bryant solved J.J. Watt’s pass rush. Murray gained another 136 yards on the ground and leads the NFL with 670 rushing yards.
DeMarco Murray may be the NFL’s leading rusher however his tendency to put the ball on the ground has put Cowboy’s fans on edge.
Murray has lost a fumble in every game this season except one. Murray fumbled once again against the Texans and the Cowboys finished the game with three turnovers to the Texans one.
As a result the game was probably closer than it should have been as the Cowboys outgained the Texans 456 to 330. The Cowboys currently rank fifth in the NFL in offense.
Despite a defense that ranks twenty-first in the NFL, Dallas has to be pleased with their ability to force turnovers. The Cowboys have nine takeaways in five games, tied for fourth most in the league.
Exactly how good are the Dallas Cowboys? Perhaps their showing against the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks in week six will tell us if they are contenders or pretenders.
The Redskins lost to the Seattle Seahawks 27-17 on Monday Night Football. Many expected this one to be a blowout. The Redskins were within a single touchdown and in possession of the football midway through the third quarter. So was this another moral victory for the Redskins?
Hardly.
This game was more about the Seahawks hurting themselves with thirteen penalties which resulted in three touchdowns being called back. The Redskins run game was stymied as they were never in control and consistently overpowered on the line of scrimmage. The final score could have easily been 48-17.
There were a few positives for the Redskins. DeSean Jackson showed why he is one of the NFL’s top playmakers catching 5 passes for 157
yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Kirk Cousins escaped without a single turnover while completing 21 of 36 passes for 283 yards and 2 touchdowns against Seattle’s outspoken secondary known as the Legion of Boom.
Defensively the Redskins looked dreadful throughout the first half. Russell Wilson had 80 yards rushing in the first quarter and the Seahawks as a team gained 225 on the ground. Wilson also finished the night with a quarterback rating of 127.3.
What’s next for the Redskins? A trip out west to visit the Arizona Cardinals comes on a short week. Not exactly the ideal rebound situation.
The Cardinals however rank 31st in passing defense after Peyton Manning scorched them for a career high 479 yards in week five. Despite this Kirk Cousins will need to fend off the alluring greed and be patient with what the Cardinals give him.
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