Week 18 NFC East Wrap-up: Dallas Wins the Division
There will be no repeat winner of the NFC East yet against, as the Philadelphia Eagles, who throughout most of the season seemed to be in full control of things, stumbled badly down the stretch, losing five of their last six games. That includes a big 27-10 loss to the New York Giants in Week 18, in which the Eagles simply had no answers for what the Giants were doing.
With the loss, the Eagles, who are banged up on offense (quarterback Jalen Hurts (hand) and receiver A.J. Brown (knee), fell to the fifth seed, which means if they want a repeat trip to the Super Bowl, they'll have to do so as road warriors, after finishing 5-4 in road games this season.
The Eagles will visit the Bucs in the Wild Card Round on Monday, January 15.
The Giants, who finally delivered a dominating performance against a hated division rival, finished 6-11 but 3-3 in the division. New York will draft sixth in this year's draft held in April.
Here's a look at the rest of the action in the division.
Jan 7, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Dallas Cowboys place kicker Brandon Aubrey (17) attempts a field goal against the Washington Commanders during the second half at FedExField.
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Cowboys 38, Commanders 10
The Dallas Cowboys clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a dominant 38-10 win over the last-place Washington Commanders. Dallas finished 12-5 for the third consecutive year, while the Commanders finished 4-13 and ended the year on an eight-game losing streak.
Needing a win or an Eagles loss to clinch the division, Dallas left no doubt by totaling 440 yards of offense while holding Washington to just 180. Despite falling behind 10-7 late in the second quarter, the Cowboys dominated the rest of the game by scoring 31 unanswered points.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed 31 of 36 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception; he was taken out for backup Cooper Rush on his team’s final drive and finished the game with a pristine 124.4 passer rating. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had another excellent game by catching 13 passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns while running back Tony Pollard rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Tight end Jake Ferguson had six receptions for 69 yards.
Commanders quarterback Sam Howell likely played his final game as the starting quarterback, completing 19 of 27 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions; he finished the season with an NFL-leading 19 picks. Washington had only 50 rushing yards as a team, with Brian Robinson Jr. accumulating half of that total on nine carries, although he also caught three passes for 10 yards and his team’s only touchdown. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin had six receptions for 56 yards.
Washington turned the ball over on downs on the game’s opening possession, advancing to the Dallas 31-yard line before Robinson lost two yards on a 4th-and-1 attempt. The Cowboys responded by driving 67 yards in eight plays, with a pair of 15-yard receptions by Lamb and Brandon Cooks settling up Prescott’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert.
Dallas immediately got the ball back when Robinson lost a fumble, and cornerback Jourdan Lewis recovered, but Joshua Pryor blocked Brandon Aubrey’s 32-yard field goal attempt. Jace Whittaker picked up the ball and raced 51 yards to the Dallas 20-yard line, which set up Howell’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Robinson seven plays later. Aubrey entered the day with a perfect 35-for-35 on field goal attempts to begin his career before his 36th attempt was blocked.
The Commanders now had momentum and built on it when safety Jartavius Martin intercepted Prescott to give his team the ball near midfield; the offense then drove 38 yards in nine plays before taking a 10-7 lead on Joey Slye’s 36-yard field goal.
But the Cowboys flipped the game on its head with a pair of touchdowns to conclude the half. First, they retook the lead with a 7-play, 71-yard drive finished by Pollard’s 1-yard touchdown run. On Washington’s next possession, safety Donovan Wilson intercepted a pass from Howell at the Dallas 35-yard line; the Cowboys offense capitalized by driving 65 yards in six plays, featuring a 32-yard reception by running back Rico Dowdle, before Lamb’s 4-yard touchdown catch put his team ahead 21-10 at halftime.
Dallas picked up right where they left off, opening the second half with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that took 6:32 off the clock and was finished by Prescott’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Lamb. The game continued to spiral out of control as Washington went three-and-out, and Peyton Hendershot blocked Tress Way’s punt; this gave Dallas the ball at the Washington 9-yard line, and they increased their lead to 35-10 three plays later with Prescott’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Cooks.
Howell was intercepted again on Washington’s next possession, with cornerback DaRon Bland hauling in his NFL-leading ninth interception. Although the Cowboys would come away with nothing when Aubrey missed a 36-yard field goal attempt, they still ran 7:03 off the clock and quickly forced the Commanders to punt afterward.
Dallas would then conclude the scoring by driving 36 yards in 4:05, and Aubrey kicked a 50-yard field goal with just over a minute left in the game to put the finishing touch on a division-clinching win.
Washington finishes with the second overall pick in the draft, a pick that will be made in part by a new head since the Commanders relieved head coach Ron Rivera of his duties.
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