The NFC East has managed a kind of misery nobody has ever seen before.
When the Washington Commanders fell 23-17 to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, the division made history as the first since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to go winless in consecutive weeks when all four teams were in action.
Over the last two weeks, the NFC East has gone 0-6-2. The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles each dropped back-to-back games, while the New York Giants and Commanders both finished 0-1-1 after their Week 5 tie.
Philadelphia’s slide is the loudest alarm in the group. The Eagles have now lost four straight for the first time since 2020, when they ended up 4-11-1. Their week only got worse Monday, when doctors discovered blood clots in Jalen Hurts’ lungs and he was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Dallas hasn’t exactly steadied the ship either. The Cowboys opened 2-2, then lost prime-time games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers. Their offense has gone quiet, and the defense is sitting last in yards allowed per play.
New York still owns the division lead after six weeks, but the picture there is far from settled. Jaxson Dart’s season-ending knee injury in Week 2 has left a quarterback controversy hanging over the team, and head coach John Harbaugh has not announced who will start in Week 7 between Jameis Winston and J.J.
McCarthy. The Giants also benched Winston in Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The Commanders’ defeat on Monday Night Football rounded out a stretch that left the whole division in a place no NFL division has ever been before.
And despite all of that, the NFC East could still wind up with a losing champion. The last division winner to finish below .500 came in 2020, when Washington took the title at 7-9. That has happened elsewhere too: two of the last four NFC South champions finished with losing records, including last year’s Carolina Panthers at 8-9.
In Other News...
Dan Quinn Just Opened The Door To A Commanders O-Line Shakeup
The Commanders are still sorting through a stretch that has tested both sides of the ball, and the latest roster churn is a reminder of how quickly depth can get stretched. While Steve Wilks has been brought in to help the defensive staff and veteran lineman Laremy Tunsil continues to offer leadership despite injury, the offense has had its own issues, with receiver Stefon Diggs struggling with multiple drops and the line not playing cleanly enough for Dan Quinns liking.
Quinn made it clear he sees the offensive line as a spot that could change, and he did not shut the door on personnel adjustments as Washington tries to steady things. Elsewhere, receiver Jaylin Lane had surgery for a fractured and dislocated ankle and is expected back before offseason workouts, while the kind of roster movement that always follows a rough stretch has already started to show up around the edges of the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Daniels Faces A Tough New Debate After Uneven Monday Night
Jayden Daniels return to the Monday night stage came with the kind of uneven finish that tends to sharpen the conversation around a young quarterback. In Washingtons 23-17 loss to the 49ers, the Commanders saw Daniels complete nearly 73% of his passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns, a line that still offered plenty of evidence of his talent even as he continued working back from a left elbow injury.
The bigger issue for Washington was the way the night ended, and how quickly the outside debate has started to turn toward Daniels long-term development. Stephen A. Smith and Emmanuel Acho both weighed in afterward, comparing his performance and injury history with other quarterbacks and raising questions about where his growth goes from here, a conversation the Commanders would much rather have on their terms than after a frustrating loss. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Next Two Games Could Shape A Painful Deadline Choice
Washingtons next two games loom larger than a normal midseason stretch because they could help decide whether this front office leans into a sell-off or keeps trying to ride out the season with the current group. The Commanders have a losing record, but they are still close enough in the NFC East to make the deadline conversation more complicated than a simple teardown, especially with a roster that includes veterans who would draw real interest on the market.
Stefon Diggs and Daron Payne have already surfaced as the kinds of players rival teams would monitor if Washington decides to shop help for future draft capital. The challenge for the Commanders is balancing short-term competitiveness with the temptation to turn veterans into assets, and the next two games could go a long way toward deciding whether this becomes a push for relevance or a painful reset. [Read more 🡒]