The Dallas Cowboys are sitting at 2-4, but the bigger story right now might be the mess around them. The NFC East, once a division with real bite, has stumbled into a stretch so ugly that every team has now gone at least two weeks without a win. That hasn’t happened since the 1970 merger.
It gets stranger. Two of the division’s teams met in Week 5 and still couldn’t produce a winner, as the Washington Commanders and New York Giants played to a tie. So while Dallas has its own problems, the rest of the division has handed the Cowboys an unexpected opening to keep their season from slipping away.
Washington’s season has been a roller coaster, but the numbers are still the numbers: one win, an 0-2-1 mark in the division, and a lot of pressure on Dan Quinn. The Commanders did knock off the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 3, and they showed some fight Monday night by climbing back from a 23-3 hole against the San Francisco 49ers before falling 23-17.
Philadelphia is in a worse spot in terms of momentum. The Eagles have dropped four straight and are expected to be without Jalen Hurts for the rest of the season because of blood clots in his lungs. The health issue is the priority, but on the field the slide has put the Cowboys in position to take advantage when the two teams meet on Monday Night Football.
Dallas, meanwhile, has some reason to believe there’s still something left in the tank. The defense showed signs of life against the Packers, with Dee Winters picking off a pass, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark each recording a sack, and Joey Porter Jr. turning in a strong performance. If that side of the ball keeps building and the offense wakes up, the Cowboys could make a push.
Then there’s New York, a team that opened the season by shocking Dallas but has done little since. The Giants have beaten only the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans since that Week 1 win, while losses to the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints and the tie with Washington have left them scrambling. Losing quarterback Jaxson Dart has been a major blow, and Week 7 brings another difficult test against the Houston Texans, who are suddenly surging.
For now, the Cowboys are still in second place, tied there with the Eagles and stuck behind them in the tiebreaker. That could change quickly if Dallas takes care of business and Philadelphia keeps sliding. In a division this rough, even a bad team can find a path back into the race.
In Other News...
Eagles Fans Suddenly Have Real Reason To Watch Shane Steichen
The Colts decision to fire general manager Chris Ballard after a sluggish start has inevitably put Shane Steichen back in the spotlight, and for Eagles fans, it is a familiar one. Steichen spent two seasons as Philadelphias offensive coordinator in 2021-22, when the offense grew into one of the leagues most dangerous units, and he has spent the last four years trying to steady things in Indianapolis as head coach.
Steichens overall record there sits at 27-30, and with the Colts now resetting in the front office, his future is suddenly a talking point again. If Indianapolis eventually makes a bigger change, Philadelphia would be a natural place to wonder about a reunion, especially with the Eagles still searching for answers on offense and the old connection to Steichen never far from the surface. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Week 7 Showdown Could Change Who Survives This Collapse
The Eagles season has already veered into survival mode, and the next stretch figures to tell a lot about who, if anyone, gets to keep their footing once the losses stop piling up. At 2-4 and in the middle of a four-game skid, Philadelphia has seen the margin for error shrink fast, with a number of familiar faces suddenly under the microscope as the frustration around the roster and coaching staff keeps growing.
Saquon Barkley, Landon Dickerson, Offensive Coordinator Sean Mannion and Head Coach Nick Sirianni are all part of the conversation now, because a collapsing season tends to turn every week into a referendum. Week 7 looms as the kind of checkpoint that can change the tone around the building, and for some in the organization, it may also change how long their jobs are safe. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Suddenly Have A Real Jalen Hurts Backup Plan Problem
Jalen Hurts is out for the rest of the 2026 season, leaving the Eagles to adjust on the fly with Tanner McKee now set to run the offense. It is a brutal turn for a team that had every reason to think its quarterback room was settled, and it also puts a spotlight on a much longer-term issue that was always lurking beneath the surface. McKee will get his chance, but Philadelphia also has to think ahead to a future where roster continuity at the sports most important position is far from guaranteed.
The complication is that McKee and Joe Milton are both expected to become restricted free agents, which means the Eagles may not be able to simply carry this same setup into next year and beyond. With eight picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, they at least have the draft capital to explore options, and the front office already looks like it will need to spend serious time studying the quarterback market. For a team built around stability, the next few months may end up shaping the backup plan as much as the present. [Read more 🡒]