Giants' loss opens door for Eagles
Because the Giants lost to the Cowboys Sunday, the Eagles can move into a first-place tie in the NFC East with a win Monday night. Here's a breakdown of how the division is setting up.
Giants' loss opens door for Eagles
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
The Giants' loss to the Cowboys Sunday evening has opened the door for the Eagles to move into a first-place tie with a win against the Redskins on Monday night.
The game is huge for Washington also. Despite the chaos that has enveloped the franchise in recent weeks, the Redskins would be just one game out of first with a win, and they would have a 3-0 record within the division.
New York travels to the Linc next Sunday night with a 6-3 record. What stood out to me today was the way Dallas routinely completed big plays in the air against the Giants' defense. By my count, New York allowed four plays of 40-plus yards in the pass game and six plays of 25-plus yards.
That's a good sign for the Eagles' offense, which is one of the best in the league when it comes to hitting big plays downfield.
Here's a breakdown of where things stand in the NFC East going into Monday night.
GIANTS (6-3)
Resume: Despite the loss to Dallas, the Giants are still in first place in the NFC East - for now. They had won five in a row before Sunday and are still tied with four others for the second-best record in the conference behind the Falcons.
Of the Giants' six wins, two have come against opponents that currently have a .500 record or better - the Week 4 victory against the Bears and last week's win at Seattle. The combined record of the teams the Giants have beaten is 20-34 (.370).
New York is 1-1 in the division, having faced the Cowboys twice. Four of the Giants' final seven games are against the Eagles and the Redskins.
Upcoming: The teams remaining on the Giants' schedule are a combined 32-27 (.542) through Sunday's games. New York is 3-2 at home and 3-1 on the road so far. Of their seven remaining games, three are at home, and four are on the road. Six of the Giants' seven remaining games are against teams that are currently .500 or better.
EAGLES (5-3)
Resume: The Eagles have a pair of impressive wins on their resume - the Week 6 victory against the Falcons and last week's win vs. the Colts. Beating the Jaguars looks better now than it did six weeks ago as Jacksonville sits at 5-4 after nine weeks. Of the Birds' five wins, three have come against opponents that are currently .500 or better. The combined record of the teams the Eagles have beaten is 22-23 (.489).
With a win Monday night against the Redskins, the Eagles would find themselves in a tie with the Giants for first place. The two teams square off at the Linc on Sunday night.
The Birds dropped their only division game (at home against the Redskins), with the secone one looming Monday night.
Upcoming: The teams remaining on the Eagles' schedule are a combined 33-38 (.465) through Sunday's games. The Birds are 2-2 at home and 3-1 on the road. Of their eight remaining games, four are at home and four are on the road. And five of those games are against divisional opponents. In the last four weeks of the season, the Eagles get the Cowboys twice and the Giants once. Four of the Eagles' final eight games are against teams that are currently .500 or better.
REDSKINS (4-4)
Resume: Washington has lost two of three heading into Monday night's game against the Eagles.
Of the Reskins' four wins, three have come against teams that are above .500 - the Eagles (5-3), Packers (6-3) and Bears (6-3). The combined record of the teams Washington has beaten is 19-16 (.543).
The Redskins are 2-0 in the division with victories over the Eagles and Cowboys.
Upcoming: The teams remaining on the Redskins' schedule have a combined 38-33 (.535) record. Washington is 2-2 at home and 2-2 on the road. Of the Redskins' remaining eight games, four are on the road and four are in D.C. The Redskins have four games remaining in the division, including two against the Giants.
COWBOYS (2-7)
Resume: For the first time all season, the Cowboys showed signs of life Sunday against th Giants. Their only two wins this season have come against the Texans (4-5) and New York (6-3).
The Cowboys are 1-2 in the division. They split with the Giants and lost a Week 1 matchup with the Redskins.
Upcoming: It was only one game, but Dallas provided a quick reminder that it does have talent. Given the way this season has gone, it's pointless to try to predict what kind of team the Eagles will face in Weeks 14 and 17. In the final seven weeks, the Cowboys face five teams that are currently .500 or better.
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It's lining up great for the Eagles. The Cowboys still have to play New Orleans and Indianapolis so their season will probably be over when the Eagles play them. Same goes for the Vikings.— soulman386- One of the few times that I was rooting for the Cowboys!— meez714
- Giants -- grossly over-rated by the media, as usual.— eagle1971
- Shawn Andrews played lights out! Get the movie rights, and find out what magic flower's in his miracle medical doobie bag.— mccloudmj
Charmed season all around. It was a win/win watching the two teams in football I hate the most play each other. Clearly, we benefitted more from the Cowgirls winning, but how awful are the Giants? Eagles look like they have a clue next to the two losers I watched tonight. GO EAGLES!!- Giants will come back fully ready to beat the Egals and send you loser fans crying out of the Linc.— MRD
- I really dont get all the talk about Atlanta. The Eagles throttled them, yet people consider the Falcons the better team. With Vick running the offense, the Eagles are arguably the best NFC team.— djack10
- if the eagles beat the redskins, we'll actually be in first place over the giants, because we would have the tiebreaker over them (we're 2-1 in common games while the giants are 1-2)— NovaWildcats36
Let's take first place!— wylies99
The Cowboys win last night was not really a good thing for the Eagles. The Giants will come into the Linc on a mission next week and Dallas is now playing inspired football again. How did we not have one game against Dallas when Wade was the coach and the team had quit? I'm not saying we can't beat either team but it going to be a lot tougher now.— delcodanno- Giants have played a weak schedule to date, if there is one in the NFL. They started their slide yesterday, losing to the Cowboys. The Deadskins still have an ineffective McNasty McNabb. As long as the Eagles can stay healthy, no reason this division can't be ours. Go EAGLES - E A G L E S EAGLES— thomasg
Hey MRD, the Vagiants are in their typical late season collapse mode. Pressure on shEli and he becomes a turnover machine, 3 yesterday. And Jacobs still can't convert on 4th and 1. BWAHAHAHA!— tornadoh- Mediocre division. Eagles will lose tonight and the NFC will become a jumbled mess!!— chickletonian
Yes, found , watching last nights game was one of only a few times in past years where I was rooting for Dallas.— rmship- I really can't remember a time I rooted for the Cowboys. Must have been during Aikman's early years when they only won 1 or 2 games per year.— dlscholt
- delcodanno - The Cowboys are planning inspired football? They left more points on the field than they scored. And yes, the Giants will be pumped up after a loss, but do you think they were that good? Look who they beat, the game is at home, and barring any injuries the Eagles are ready to go.— EaglesBleedMoney
- Don't be too quick to dismiss McFlabb. He is capable of showing us just enough to get us to believe he still has something... before crapping out in the clutch. Memories, memories...
Here we come...if your a dedicated Eagles Fan say Here we come!!! Go Birds!!!— Big#5- How great was that late fumble by Eli? Bad snap and he should fall on it, but he tries to lateral it. Love it.— P Even
- "he Cowboys win last night was not really a good thing for the Eagles. The Giants will come into the Linc on a mission next week and Dallas is now playing inspired football again." This is one of the dumbest comments I have ever seen. How scared can you be? I don't care if the Giants are angry or the Cowboys are confident. BEAT THEIR TAILS! You can't run and hide like a scared punk.— sbdons1982
- @ eagle1971... YOU ARE SOOOO RIGHT!— nafselgae1
- All I know is mccoy better get me 30 fantasy points!— jimmythec
- totally agree 1982, was thinking same thing. If you catch up to the team leading the conference, its never a bad thing.— peteike
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