EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Here’s how rough this past week went in the NFC East: All four teams played, including two against each other, and they combined for zero wins.
That is difficult to do.
Dallas lost at home to previously 0-4 Tampa Bay on Thursday night. Philadelphia got beat by Jacksonville after taking the lead in the finals seconds. And then Washington and the New York Giants played to an almost inexplicable tie — the NFL’s first game since at least 1978 to end with the final snap in overtime coming inside an opponent’s 25-yard-line.
Coach John Harbaugh’s 3-1-1 Giants are alone atop the division, the 2-3 Eagles had their All-Pro right tackle retire and traded their starting center, the 2-3 Cowboys still haven’t fixed their defensive issues and the 1-3-1 Commanders are dealing with the fallout of the clock running out on them instead of kicking a go-ahead field goal.
“We still have a long way to go,” Giants left guard Jon Runyan Jr. said. “This whole division stacks up how it does, as long as we take care of what we got — like we got the Saints coming in this week — coach Harbaugh has been saying go 1-0 every week, and that’s kind of been our mindset. And it’s been working so far this year.”
Given all the Ls, it might be better termed the NFC Least, but someone has to finish first and get the home playoff game that comes with it.
“It’s busy,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “There’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of moving pieces. I think it’s wide open.”
Giants are leading despite two big injuries
All the good feelings created by defeating the Cowboys in prime time in the season opener disappeared when franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart went down with a left knee injury the following game at the Los Angeles Rams. Dart will be out at least through the regular season, the team said.
Linebacker Brian Burns, arguably New York’s most important defensive player, tore the ACL in his right knee six days later. With Jameis Winston starting in place of Dart, the Giants won an ugly game against lowly Tennessee, then beat Arizona and have not lost since after escaping with a draw Sunday.
“Those two guys going down, it’s hard for the guys, the morale,” cornerback Dru Phillips said, crediting Winston and Kayvon Thibodeaux for stepping up. “We all believe in these guys where it’s like you don’t need to pull extra because these guys that are coming in can pull the same load as the guys that came out.”
Eagles look to be spiraling
After winning their first two games, the Eagles got routed 27-7 at Chicago and blew a 10-point lead to lose to the Rams at home while attrition mounted. Running back Saquon Barkley and receiver DeVonta Smith got injured, Lane Johnson abruptly retired to focus on his mental health and center Cam Jurgens was dealt to Baltimore for draft picks.
Despite all that, their win probability was over 99% when Jake Elliott kicked a field goal to put them up 17-16 on the Jaguars with 8 seconds left in London. Ameer Abdullah’s 53-yard return and Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal sent Philadelphia to a third consecutive defeat.
Coach Nick Sirianni is trying to keep players’ psyches up by communicating with them and checking in on them daily.
“It is very early on in the season,” Sirianni said. “Right now, we are what our record says we are. We’re 2-3, and we know there’s a lot left in the season. I don’t think that there is any panic on any aspect of any player or coach in this building. We’ve had three-game losing streaks before — last year — and our job is to get up and keep fighting.”
Cowboys haven’t solved their biggest problem
Despite hiring Christian Parker as defensive coordinator and overhauling the roster on that side of the ball, Dallas ranks second-worst in the league. The latest blunder was losing to undrafted rookie QB Jalon Daniels and the Buccaneers, who gained 419 yards and had owner Jerry Jones saying his team was right where it started on defense.
The Cowboys brought Mike Pettine out of retirement to help Parker. Their offense has scored the seventh-most points, and the staff is focused on visiting Green Bay on Sunday night, rather than the division standings.
“We’re not playing an NFC East opponent this weekend: We’re playing the Packers and they’re a good football team,” Schottenheimer said Wednesday. “You’re going to play these guys all again. We got Philly twice left and the Giants and Washington each once, and these things always play themselves out. But as we start the second quarter of the season, we’re not concerned about how January’s going to look. We’re worried about this weekend.”
Commanders are searching for answers
Coach Dan Quinn, quarterback Jayden Daniels and rookie offensive coordinator David Blough share the blame for the time-management debacle that cost them a chance at a game-winning field goal attempt. Before that, the defense allowed the Giants to score 24 second-half points, blowing a 27-13 lead in the process.
“I don’t catastrophize things, but I do want to make sure that I don’t minimize things either,” Quinn said Monday. “And there are plenty of things for us to improve upon in this game and not just the last play. ... I have a lot of faith in who we are as an organization, ownership, coaching, players, so I’m very much looking forward to getting back on the field Monday night.”
That game is on the road at 5-0 San Francisco, and the 49ers are 7 1/2-point favorites. No pressure.
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AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon in Frisco, Texas, and AP Sports Writers Andrew Gillis in Landover, Maryland, and Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press