NFC East Week 9 Recap
Philadelphia Eagles 28, Dallas Cowboys 23
Photo Credit: Mitchell Leff
Heading into Week 9 of the regular season, the Philadelphia Eagles were preparing to take on the Dallas Cowboys for possibly the biggest game of their season thus far.
Ultimately, the Eagles were able to come out of the game with a win beating the Cowboys 28-23 in a thriller of a game that had fans watching until the final seconds of the game.
It was a back-and-forth game in the first half but then in the second half, the Eagles were able to take a two-score lead. When the Eagles took the lead it seemed as though they were gonna pull away but the Cowboys fought back with a score to cut the lead to five. The Cowboys had a chance at the end of the game to score a touchdown and take the lead.
However, they were unable to do so as the Eagles made the tackle on Ceedee Lamb to stop him short of the endzone. Their defense was key the whole game, especially their defensive line as they were able to generate pressure on quarterback Dak Prescott and sack him five times. Jalen Hurts and the offense had a successful day as they put up 28 points against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
This win improves the Eagles record to 8-1 and more importantly, gives them a divisional win against their strongest opponent. It also gives them a comfortable lead in their division as we are now at the halfway point of the season. As of now, the Eagles are first in the NFC and in a firm position to keep the number one seed.
Their bye week is up next but coming out of the bye they will have another heavily anticipated matchup as they will face off against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football.
Photo Credit: Tom Fox
Week 9 was a huge game on the Cowboys schedule as they faced off against their division rivals, the Eagles. This was a vital game for them as they needed a win not only to close the margin between them and the Eagles but also to prove to everybody that their division rivals are not invincible.
The Cowboys ended up losing the game 28-23 but put up a great fight against arguably the best team in the NFL. Throughout the whole game it never really felt like the Cowboys were ever truly out of it and they just kept fighting back.
They had a chance to take the lead at the end of the game with a touchdown but were unable to get the ball in the endzone. This game was put on the shoulders of quarterback Dak Prescott and he delivered as he threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns however, they didn’t get the win.
Now the Cowboys drop to a record of 5-3 and get further from first place in the NFC East. They will look to bounce back next Sunday as they face off against the New York Giants.
Washington commanders 20, New England Patriots 17
Photo Credit: Matthew J. Lee
The Washington Commanders came into Week 9 with a record of 3-5 but were able to capture a win against the New England Patriots to improve their record to 4-5 and stay in the race for a playoff wild card spot.
After trading away defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young earlier in the week, fans were concerned about the team’s defensive production. This didn’t seem to matter much as they were able to hold the Patriots’ offense to only 17 points. Even though the Patriots have been struggling on offense this season, it is still a respectable achievement as it helped them get the 20-17 win.
Quarterback Sam Howell continues to impress as he was able to command the offense and lead them on a drive that took the lead. Next week the Commanders take on the Seattle Seahawks and will look to make a statement against one of the other teams also competing for a playoff wildcard spot.
Las Vegas Raiders 30, New York giants 6
Photo Credit: Kyle Terada
Week 9 saw quarterback Daniel Jones come back from injury for the New York Giants but that quickly ended as he ended up exiting the game at the start of the second quarter. This injury is reported to be a torn ACL, which would sideline Jones for the rest of the season at least, if not cutting into the 2024 season for Big Blue as well.
At the end of the day the Giants still had a game to play against the Las Vegas Raiders. They ended up losing this game by a score of 30-6 as it looked like they could not get anything right the whole game.
Whether that was a result of Jones exiting the game or not it was a bad performance by the team as a whole. It seemed like the offense could not get anything going the whole game until they were down by 27 points. To add to the Giants’ struggles they gave up eight sacks and it is evident now that this offensive line needs immediate help in any way possible. Backup quarterback Tommy DeVito was able to lead them to a scoring drive but also threw two interceptions and was under pressure all day as he was running for his life.
Quite possibly the only bright spot of the day for the Giants was Saquon Barkley as it looked like he was getting into a rhythm running the ball, he averaged 5.6 yards per carry and had 90 yards rushing. Ultimately, the Giants record is now 2-7 as they find themselves last in the NFC East which nobody in the organization could have predicted after their success last season. For the Giants to turn things around or at the very least compete with teams they will have to take a hard look at themselves in the mirror and find out who they truly are as a team. The Giants have a tough matchup next week as they face their division rivals the Cowboys in Dallas.
NFC East Standings
Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
Dallas Cowboys (5-3)
Washington Commanders (4-5)
New York Giants (2-7)
