NFC East Standings Update: Week 2

With two weeks now in the books, the NFC East somehow looks more wide open than it did at this time last week. The New York Giants still find themselves in the cellar after losing to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon, but they are not alone there. But, it is not the team that you would expect it to be.

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The Philadelphia Eagles, who many people believed to be NFC East and potentially Super Bowl contenders, are joining the Giants at the bottom of the NFC East. The Eagles suffered a pretty embarrassing loss to the Dallas Cowboys this past weekend, as the Eagles sit at 0-2 while the Cowboys are leading the way at 2-0. Surprisingly, it is the Washington Redskins in second place, as they pulled off an upset win over the visiting St. Louis Rams to even their record up at 1-1.

Normally, you would say that the Giants and Eagles are both in bad shape being 0-2, but that is not the case. Despite both teams losing, it could be argued that they had better weeks than the Cowboys, who were hit hard by the injury bug. Already without superstar wide receiver Dez Bryant, who will miss anywhere from 8-12 weeks, will now be without quarterback Tony Romo for at least eight weeks. Romo broke his left clavicle against the Eagles and will be put on the IR-designated to return list.

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Expect the Cowboys to lean heavily on their rushing attack in the coming weeks, as Brandon Weeden will be taking over for Romo under center and Terrance Williams, Devin Street and Cole Beasley will try to replace Bryant. Expect Jason Witten to also see a big increase in targets.

While the Cowboys are being forced to make some changes to their lineup, the Eagles look like they might as well. Head coach Chip Kelly said that everyone in the offense will be evaluated this week in practice as they have looked pitiful outside of a handful of drives against the Falcons Week 1. The Eagles managed only 226 yards against the Cowboys, rushing 17 times for only seven yards.

DeMarco Murray has been a disaster through two games, gaining 11 yards on 21 carries, averaging 0.5 yards a carry. Ryan Mathews hasn’t been much better, as he has gained only four yards on four carries. Expect Mathews to at least get more of an opportunity to see what he can do, even though this is largely a product of what is in front of the running backs; the Eagles offensive line has been horrific, allowing penetration right off the snap. It is hard enough for a running back to find holes with some momentum as a quarterback drops back from under center, but the Eagles run almost exclusively out of shotgun so it is difficult for running backs to sometimes get going.

Sep 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) celebrates after a touchdown by Redskins running back Matt Jones (31) against the St. Louis Rams in the fourth quarter at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

As for the Redskins, they look to finally be getting something together. Despite being without DeSean Jackson this past week, the offense looked good with Jordan Reed and Pierre Garcon as the top targets. Ryan Grant filled in for Jackson, and while he may not the burner Jackson is, Grant provides solid and precise route running. That is something that can help out a quarterback such as Kirk Cousins, who isn’t very mobile and needs his receivers to be in the right place at the right time for him to put the ball where it needs to be.

The running game though is the bread and butter of the Redskins, so for them to have Alfred Morris and Matt Jones go for 123 and 59 yards respectively was huge, especially given their opponent. The Rams have one of the best front sevens in the NFL, so to gash them as the Redskins did is quite a feat.

At this point in time, it actually looks like the normally dysfunctional Redskins are the most even keeled team in the division. The Giants continue to find new ways to beat themselves and lose games, blowing 10-point fourth quarter leads in both games. The Cowboys lost their two most important offensive players, and Chip Kelly continues to search for answers along the Eagles offense.

This week we will see another rivalry game, as the Redskins will be traveling to take on the Giants on Thursday Night Football. It is tough to call a Week 3 game a must win, but for the Giants it is as close to being one as you can get. Falling to 0-3 would be bad enough, but having two of those losses be in the division would make things much worse.

The Eagles will be going on the road to a stadium they are familiar with, as they will be playing at MetLife Stadium but against the upstart Jets, who are 2-0 after defeating the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football. The Cowboys will be continuing the Falcons tour through the NFC East, as they will host Atlanta at Jerry World in Week 3, the third straight NFC East opponent the Falcons will face.

Here are the current standings in the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys: 2-0
Washington Redskins: 1-1
New York Giants: 0-2
Philadelphia Eagles: 0-2

Next: Giants vs. Falcons Full Team Grades

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