NFC East Updated Standings For Week 3

Through three weeks, the NFC East has seen another shuffling of sorts. At this time last week, there were people attempting to convince themselves that the Washington Redskins could be players after defeating the St. Louis Rams, while the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles were left out of the mix. The Dallas Cowboys were just looking to tread water without two of their most important players in Tony Romo and Dez Bryant.

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Despite picking up the win, the Eagles are still technically in last place in the NFC East because they have the worst conference record of the three teams that are tied. The Redskins are then in third because they have a worse division record than the Giants, who now hold the tiebreaker over the Redskins because they defeated them in a head-to-head matchup.

How did all the teams fare this week? Well, there was some positives but also some negatives. For the Giants, they were able to get a much needed first win of the season. They now have some momentum heading into their Week 4 game, and are also getting healthier. Jon Beason was able to make it through the Thursday night game without any setbacks, Victor Cruz is ready to take the field for the first time in Week 4, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has also began practicing again after being cleared of his concussion. Also, rookie Owa Odighizuwa looks like he could be making his debut in the upcoming week as well.

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The Giants have some things they will have to clean up though. Despite not trailing in the game, the Giants never really put the Redskins away. There was never a feeling that they would lose this one like the previous two weeks, but it wasn’t encouraging to see them kind of let the Redskins hang around. A better team may have taken advantage of the opportunities the Giants presented to them.

The Eagles were the other team to get into the win column this week, but it also wasn’t pretty. The Eagles may have pulled off a 24-17 victory over the Jets, but it was far from encouraging. The Eagles offense was unable to really get anything going, as they managed only 231 yards on the afternoon. They were very opportunistic with the opportunities the Jets gave them, as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions and Brandon Marshall made what he called the worst play in NFL history when he attempted to lateral to a teammate.

Ryan Mathews looked solid in relief of the injured DeMarco Murray, but this offense still has a lot of kinks to work out. Mathews ran for 108 yards on 25 carries, but the team overall ran for only 123 yards on 39 carries for a yards per carry of 3.2. While still not great, it’s a huge improvement over what Murray gave them the first two weeks of the season as the lead back.

Sep 27, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden (3) throws in the pocket against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

For the Cowboys, things started great without Tony Romo under center. The Cowboys scored touchdowns on four of their first six possessions, with a punt and Brandon Weeden interception in between. They were running the ball at will with Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden, and Weeden was limiting his mistakes. But then the second half came, and the Cowboys just abandoned the run.

Without Romo and Bryant, the Cowboys passing game is as daunting as a teddy bear. Terrance Williams didn’t step up at all, as he wasn’t even targeted.. Jason Witten is gutting through two sprained ankles, but still performed well with six catches for 65 yards; he just will not be a game breaker any longer.

The leading receiver was actually running back Lance Dunbar, who caught 10 passes for 100 yards and continued the trend of the Falcons not being able to stop running backs as receivers. It is tough to put the blame on Weeden in this one, as he completed 22-of-26 for 232 yards and the one interception. He won’t win the game for the Cowboys it seems, but if he completes passes at that frequency he won’t lose very many either.

Then there are the Redskins. They went from potential NFC East contenders last week, according to some people, to bottom feeders once again. The Redskins showed exactly what they are; an offense that will struggle without a consistent run game with a leaky defense. Kirk Cousins looked horrible again against the Giants, as they look to be his kryptonite. He has six interceptions against them in two games, and put together arguably the least impressive 300+ yard game this past Thursday night.

The hero of the Week 2 game, Matt Jones, was also held in check by the Giants. He also fumbled once, but ran ahead of Alfred Morris all night, as it looks like Morris will be phased out of the offense more and more as the season goes on.

In Week 4, we will see another NFC East rivalry, as the Eagles and Redskins will face off. The Cowboys will be in primetime on Sunday Night Football in a matchup that looked much better on paper two weeks ago as they will travel to the Superdome to take on the New Orleans Saints. Meanwhile, the New York Giants will be traveling to Orchard Park in western New York to take on the Buffalo Bills.

Here are the current standings in the NFC East:

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

Next: Giants Full Team Grades vs. Redskins Week 3

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