Cowboys slide below Eagles in NFC East standings

It was a tough Week 3 for most of the NFC East. Dallas, New York, and Washington all suffered ugly losses and watched as Philadelphia remained unbeaten on Monday night. What will this week’s action bring?

The Cowboys had the most shocking loss of the week, falling to the supposedly “tanking” Arizona Cardinals. While Dallas had some serious injury issues to overcome, their ineffectiveness on both sides of the ball felt more damning than the mitigating absences allowed for.

At least Dallas was still in the game near the end, though, which is more than can be said for the other two NFC East losers. The Giants unsurprisingly fell to the 49ers on Thursday night, but New York only had a few sparks of competitiveness. However, they too were battling multiple injuries that clearly had an effect.

The ugliest loss belonged to the Commanders. Returning home on a 2-0 high, they got a 37-3 reality check from Buffalo. It was a brutal day for QB Sam Howell, throwing four picks and getting sacked nine times. We’ll see if this was just a letdown day or a sign of where Washington really stands in the league this year.

Philly didn’t falter in their Monday night trip to Tampa Bay. Despite two interceptions from Jalen Hurts, the Eagles still won by two touchdowns on the road. They are now one of just three unbeaten teams left this year, Miami and San Francisco being the others. Predictions that they would remain an NFC elite and win the division have certainly been validated thus far.

Here are the NFC East standings after Week 3:

• Philadelphia Eagles 3-0 (0-0 in division)
• Dallas Cowboys 2-1 (1-0 in division)
• Washington Commanders 2-1 (0-0 in division)
• New York Giants 1-2 (0-1 in division)

We get a division rivalry game this week as the Commanders travel to Philadelphia. It’s hard to imagine Washington sticking the Eagles with their first loss of the season, but they did split their games in 2022. Division games are breeding grounds for oddities and anomalies, for which a Commanders win would certainly qualify.

Dallas returns home to host a reunion with Ezekiel Elliott and his new family from New England. This game felt much less threatening a week ago, but now the Cowboys are limping into it and Bill Belichick got about three hours of tape on how to exploit their issues. What was already going to be a tough three-game stretch against the Patriots, 49ers, and Chargers is only going to be harder now.

The Giants get a long rest between Thursday and Monday night games and will welcome the Seahawks in Week 4. Seattle has won their last two after dropping the season opener, which includes an impressive win over the Lions. New York needs this one badly, both to stay at .500 and to avoid talk of a lost season.