Cowboys, Eagles take unsurprising lead in NFC East
Surprise, surprise; the Cowboys and Eagles are winners while the Commanders and Giants are losers. If you didn’t already know that going into the 2024 season, Week 1 was a good reminder about who runs the NFC East.
We’re being facetious here, but only to a point. Everyone from oddsmakers to most casual fans had Dallas or Philadelphia winning the division this season. That hardly happens after one week, but a look at the standings today feels like it sets the tone for the rest of the year.
Here are the NFC East standings after Week 1:
We hate to admit it, but Philly had one of the most impressive wins of the week on their Brazilian vacation. Green Bay came into 2024 with a lot of buzz and the Eagles used that platform to remind everyone they’re still one of the NFC’s best teams. The offseason pickup of Saquon Barkley looked brilliant as he took a lot of pressure off Jalen Hurts. It’s a good thing that Dallas and Philadelphia’s first meeting isn’t until November, allowing plenty of time and film for Mike Zimmer to study the enemy.
Washington’s road loss to Tampa Bay wasn’t surprising but the way Dan Quinn’s defense got handled was. The Commanders’ best chance this season was if the defense could be strong and help protect their rookie quarterback. But Jayden Daniels actually looked more competent than the other side of the ball, which is a recipe for disaster. This is clearly still a rebuilding team and they may not have the right coach for that project.
From bad to worse, let’s talk about the Giants. Getting trounced at home by a Sam Darnold-led Vikings team should probably be the end for Daniel Jones, but New York’s hardly competing with Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito at quarterback. This team is fundamentally broken and may already be thinking about their race to the bottom with Carolina.
Yes, Week 1 is often full of fool’s gold. Teams who rested starters in the preseason may be working out rust and new coaches may still be trying to get everyone on the same page. But allowing for that, we went into 2024 knowing full well who the Haves and the Have Nots are in the NFC East. The season-openers only validated the common-sense belief that this is a two-horse race between the Cowboys and Eagles.