The first week of the 2020 NFL Season is in the books and all 4 NFC East Teams have now played. In what is a very NFC East type of development that no one should have expected, the Washington Football Team is sitting at the top of the Division…alone!
(Photo: Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media)
Things that you should know about the Eagles’ rivals coming out of Week 1:
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys suffered a very tough loss against the Rams (17-20) in L.A. There were two defining moments in this game. The first came at the start of the 4th quarter with the Cowboys trailing by 3. Coach Mike McCarthy decided to go for it on 4th and 3 only to have Prescott’s pass to CeeDee Lamb fall short of a 1st down. The second came with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. Dak Prescott managed to find Michael Gallup for a large gain which would have put Dallas in excellent field position to kick a game-tying field goal. Gallup however was flagged for offensive pass interference on Jaylen Ramsey which effectively ended the game. It was a call that has sparked controversy around the league. Nevertheless, the Cowboys are now 0-1 just like the Eagles and will look to bounce back at home against the Falcons.
The loss is not the only negative news coming out of Dallas this weekend. They also sustained some key injuries. Leyton Vander Esch suffered a broken collar bone and has been placed on IR. The hope is that he returns within 6-8 weeks. This means that he could be back for the week 8 game against the Eagles. This is a huge blow to the Dallas linebacking group as Sean Lee is already on IR. On top of this injury, the Cowboys have also lost tight end Blake Jarwin for the year with a torn ACL. Another injury, less serious, coming out of the Ram’s loss was a sprained MCL for tackle Cameron Erving. He is expected back by week 4.
The Cowboys next opponent, the Atlanta Falcons are coming off a 38-25 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The game is to be played in Dallas on Sunday both teams desperate not to go 0-2. The only notable Falcons injury to track at this point is Darqueze Dennard who left the game on Sunday and did not return. There is no further information at this point. With no serious home advantage due to lack of fans because of Covid-19, the Cowboys face a tough challenge on Sunday.
Washington Football Team
Washington defied expectations to come back from a 17 point deficit and beat the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField 17-27. For great insight from that game read Sam Steiner’s article “Reactions from Brutal Opening Day Loss”.
CB Kendall Fuller, LB Thomas Davis Sr and T Saahdiq Charles are the only players currently listed on The Football Team’s Injury Report. None of them played against the Eagles so at worst, Washington is going to look very similar to what we just saw on Sunday.
Washington play the high flying Cardinals in Arizona next Sunday. The Cardinals beat NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers 24-20 at Levi Stadium on Sunday and looked very impressive. The addition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has given second year QB Kyler Murray an unfair amount of weapons in that offence. They are going to be a very dangerous team this year. Notable injuries coming out of Sunday’s game are T DJ Humphries with an undisclosed injury, C Mason Cole with a hamstring and S Jalen Thompson with an ankle injury. All bear monitoring. Regardless of their impressive comeback victory over the Eagles, Sunday is going to be a huge challenge for the Washington Football Team.
New York Giants
The Giants are what we thought they will be; a team in rebuild mode. They are an incomplete product. They had some good moments but eventually fell to the Steelers in New York. The pivotal moment in the game was an interception forced by Bud Dupree on a pass thrown by Daniel Jones in the Red Zone following a 19 play, 87 yard impressive drive late in the third quarter. A touchdown would have made the score 16-17 in favor of the Giants and could have changed the trajectory of the game. Instead it served as the momentum changer which ended up propelling the Steelers to a 26-16 victory. It was Jones’ 2nd interception of the day. Saquon Barkley tied a record this week with his 6 yards on 15 rushes. He also had 60 yards on 6 receptions.
Golden Tate ended up not playing in last night’s game due to a hamstring. His status is “Questionable” going into Week 2. The only other notable name currently listed as injured is LB Tae Crowder with a hamstring injury as well.
The Giants are up against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. The Bears are coming off a statement 27-23 victory against the Lions in Detroit after exploding in the 4th quarter to outscore the Lions 21-0 and get the victory. Chicago is an enigma at this point. They boast a very good Defense but the Offense will only go as far as Mitch Trubisky can take them. The only notable injury for the Bears to track is Robert Quinn who missed the game against Detroit due to an ankle injury. This is a game that New York could plausibly win.