The Cowboys just fell down a peg in the NFC East standings, and their bye week may allow Washington and Philadelphia to build greater leads.
With their Week 6 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Cowboys fell to third in the NFC East. They’re limping into the bye week, both with health issues across the roster and from their cringe-worthy performances. What’s worse, Dallas may have to watch the Commanders and Eagles pick up some more wins while they rest.
As miserable as Cowboys Nation feels right now, the face value of Dallas’ situation could be worse. After this week they’ll still be 3-3 and within striking distance of the division leaders. At worst, they’ll be just 2.5 games behind Washington and still have two to play against them and Philly. And so far, the Cowboys are still undefeated against the NFC East.
It’s been a lot easier to rip our garments and throw ash on our heads this week, and it’s probably been emotionally healthy to vent. But even if the Commanders and Eagles extend their leads over Dallas this week, there are still eleven more to go and plenty of time for the Cowboys to improve their situation.
Current NFC East Standings
- Washington Commanders 4-2 (1-0 in division, 2-1 vs NFC)
- Philadelphia Eagles 3-2 (0-0, 2-2)
- Dallas Cowboys 3-3 (1-0, 1-2)
- New York Giants 2-4 (0-2, 1-3)
We’re talking about assumptive wins for Washington and Philadelphia in Week 7 because of their scheduled competition; the Commanders host the Panthers while the Eagles will face the Giants in New York. After a brief surge of improvement when Andy Dalton replaced Bryce Young at quarterback, Carolina is back to losing games big and staying in the hunt for the first pick in the 2025 Draft. Washington should have little trouble improving to 5-2 this Sunday.
The Eagles’ task is certainly taller. The Giants have shown heart the last two weeks, even getting a stunning road win in Seattle. Meanwhile, Philly came off their bye and had trouble putting the Browns away last week. The offense clicked better with A.J. Brown back in action but the game was far closer than expected, and Nick Sirianni is still behaving like a heel wrestler’s manager.
Bye weeks are funny things, though. We focus on the opportunities for rest or healing and to get back in the lab to work on issues. We certainly hope all of those things happen for the Cowboys this week. But it’s also well-documented that teams can struggle coming out of a bye, falling out of the rhythm of their schedule. This is especially true of undisciplined teams, and the Eagles seem to be leaning toward that trait the longer they play under Sirianni.
So while the narrow win over Cleveland may seem like a red flag, it could be mitigated by the bye week factor. How the Eagles look this Sunday against the Giants is probably a much better indicator of just how much of a threat they are this season.
