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NFC East Week 15 Wrap-up: Cowboys Win the Division
The NFC East has a new division winner.
That would be the Dallas Cowboys, who become the new division champion thanks to their Week 15 win over the Giants and a loss by the Washington Football team. The NFC East, one of the shakiest in the NFL over the last decade-plus, hasn't seen a repeat winner since 2011-2004 when the Eagles pulled off the feat.
Meanwhile, two of the division's teams, the Washington Football Team, whose game against the Eagles was moved to Tuesday night due to a COVID-19 outbreak, and the New York Giants, are currently sitting in the top-10 of the first round of next year's draft order.
Let's run down the action.
Dallas Cowboys (10-4, 1st Place)
The Cowboys defense came up with four takeaways to set its offense up in prime shape, as Dallas held a struggling Giants offense to its lowest point total of the season in a 21-6 rout at MetLife Stadium.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who of late has looked a little off in his game, completed 28 of 37 pass attempts for 217 yards and one touchdown, but the Cowboys offense, missing left tackle Tyron Smith, struggled to convert inside the red zone.
Dallas scored touchdowns by running back Ezekiel Elliott on a 13-yard rush and a 1-yard catch by tight end Dalton Schultz, while otherwise settling for three field goals by kicker Greg Zuerlein.
As has been the case in each of the last four weeks, the Cowboys defense came to play. Dallas recorded four takeaways for the third consecutive game this season (all wins), including three interceptions by Jourdan Lewis, Malik Hooker, and Trevon Diggs.
They also came up with Giants running back Saquon Barkley's first career lost fumble, which they converted into a 27-yard field goal to close the first half en route to a 15-3 halftime lead.
Dallas also scored an earlier touchdown off a Mike Glennon interception.
Up Next: Washington
Draft Order: No. 30
Philadelphia Eagles (7-7, 2nd Place)
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Miles Sanders had stellar performances as Philadelphia beat up a COVID-19 depleted Washington Football team, 27-17.
Hurts completed 20 of 26 pass attempts (76.9 percent) for 296 yards and one touchdown. Hurts' completion percentage was his best mark since a Week 1 win over Atlanta when he completed 77.1 percent of his pass attempts.
Sanders rushed for 131 yards on 18 carries, the yardage a career-high and his fifth career 100-yard rushing performance. Sanders, who also caught both of his pass targets for 15 yards, has now rushed for 100 or more yards in his last two games since returning from a three-game absence.
The Eagles defense had success in getting after Washington quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who was signed last Friday off the Patriots practice squad to fill in for the COVID-19 stricken Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen. Philadelphia hit Gilbert seven times and sacked him twice while also breaking up three passes.
Up Next: Giants
Draft Order: No. 11 (via Miami), No. 12, No. 23 (via Indianapolis)
The Latest Giants News & Notes
Washington Football Team (6-8, 3rd place)
A significantly depleted Washington Football Team, which, thanks to a COVID-19 outbreak, had to pull in quarterback Garrett Gilbert from the Patriots practice squad to start this week's game, was no match for the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 27-17.
The Football Team jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, including a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Antonio Gibson, which capped a drive that began when Washington safety Landon Collins picked off Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts' pass intended for tight end Dallas Goedert.
But soon, it was all Eagles as Washington's defense gave up 519 total net yards of offense while also allowing Philadelphia, who held the all for over 35 minutes, to convert on three of its six red-zone trips, and seven out of 13 (53.8 percent) of its third-down attempts.
Last year's NFC East division winner, Washington, will not repeat this year as with the loss, the Cowboys clinched the title. The NFC East has not had a repeat winner since the Eagles did so between 2001-2004.
Up Next: at Dallas
Draft Order: No. 10
New York Giants (4-10, 4th place)
The New York Giants offense turned the ball over four times, two of which were converted into 10 points by the Dallas Cowboys as the NFC East leaders handed the Giants their third straight loss and their first home loss against a division opponent this season.
Giants quarterback Mike Glennon, starting his third straight game for Daniel Jones (strained neck), had his worst performance yet, completing 13 of 24 passes for 99 yards with three interceptions for a 24.8 passer rating.
Glennon was replaced with 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter by Jake Fromm, a fifth-round pick by the Bills in 2020. While Fromm, who finished six of 12 for 82 yards, ran the offense a bit more efficiently, he too was denied by a Cowboys defense that has held its last three opponents to 20 or fewer points, all wins.
The Giants offense, which has averaged 11.8 points per game over its last five contests in which they’ve posted a 1-4 record, failed to record a touchdown for the second time in the last three games.
The Giants defense did well to hold a Cowboys offense that entered this week’s game averaging 29.2 points per game, to 21 points. This week, Dallas went two of five in the red zone, getting a 13-yard score by running back Ezekiel Elliott to get on the board, and then a 1-yard catch by tight end Dalton Schultz sandwiched around three field goals by kicker Greg Zuerlein.
The Giants, who fell to 4-10 on the season, also saw receiver Sterling Shepard, their longest-tenured player, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
Before his injury, which happened with 1:33 left in the game, Shepard has caught two out of six pass targets for 15 yards. He finishes the 2021 season with 356 receptions for 366 yards and one touchdown.
The Giants, who will need to figure out what their plan is at quarterback going forward, will hit the road for the next two weeks, making their first stop down the Turnpike in Philadelphia to face an Eagles team due to play the Washington Football Team Tuesday night.
New York will then visit the windy city to face the Chicago Bears before returning home in Week 18 to close out the disappointing 2021 campaign against Washington.
Up Next: at Philadelphia
Draft Order: No. 5 (via Chicago), No. 6
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